Ukraine-Russia war – latest: Putin unleashes ‘largest’ airstrike on Kyiv as capital city marks its birthday

Russia unleashed a major two-wave overnight air strikes on Kyiv in what Ukraine said was the “largest” attack on the city since the beginning of the war.

The attack came ahead of Kyiv’s anniversary of its official founding 1,541 years ago.

More than 40 drones were downed in the capital’s airspace, its military administration officials said on Sunday on Telegram. At least one person was killed from the falling debris.

Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration cited preliminary information and said the air raid was the largest drone attack on Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion.

Russia used the Iranian-made Shahed drones in the attack, he said. The claims could not be verified immediately.

Meanwhile, Russia’s UK envoy warned of an escalation of the war as the UK and other Western allies commit more weapons to president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The actions of Nato countries, “especially the UK”, risk lengthening and triggering a “new dimension” in the war, Andrei Kelin told BBC News.

Key Points

• Russia unleashes airstrikes on Kyiv as the capital city marks its birthday

• 'Escalation of war' can open up 'new dimension' to war in Ukraine, warns Putin envoy

• Russia ‘plotting provocation at nuclear power station to delay counteroffensive’

• Putin ally says Ukraine war could last 'decades’

Ukraine joining NATO ‘could end war,’ says top Ukrainian official

16:40 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine joining NATO could be a “key factor in ending this war,” the head of the office of the president of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, has said.

In an interview with Voice of America, Mr Yermak said: “I believe that the invitation of Ukraine to NATO can be a key factor in ending this war. Russia, with its aggression changed reality on February 24. But now this is the reality. Finland has already become a member of NATO, Sweden is on the way to it. The same should happen for Ukraine.”

NATO members are honour-bound to come to the defence of any of its fellows under attack.

Last September, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky announced a bid for fast-track membership of NATO after Russia’s president Vladimir Putin proclaimed four partially-occupied regions of Ukraine as annexed Russian land as part of Moscow’s invasion.

Western allies of Kyiv have been wary of moves that could push NATO towards an active war with Russia.

NATO general secretary Jens Stoltenberg said last week Ukraine will not be able to join NATO as long as Russia’s invasion continues.

“To become a member in the midst of a war is not on the agenda,” Mr Stoltenberg said. “The issue is what happens when the war ends.

“There are different views in the alliance and, of course, the only way to make decisions in Nato is by consensus. There are consultations going on now,” he said, with the alliance set to hold a summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in July.

“No one is able to tell you exactly what will be the final decision of the Vilnius summit on this issue,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

In April, Mr Stoltenberg made a visit to Kyiv to reiterate that the alliance stands with Kyiv. “Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO,” the alliance’s secretary general said, “and over time, our support will help you make this possible.” However, he did not give a timeframe.

NATO agreed at its 2008 summit in Bucharest that Ukraine will eventually become a member of the alliance.

Plan for West to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets an ‘unacceptable escalation’ - Lavrov

16:25 , Martha Mchardy

The plan for some Western countries to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine is an “unacceptable escalation”, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has warned.

Lavrov criticised what he described as an attempt by the West to “weaken Russia,” the kyiv Independent reported.

“It’s playing with fire,” he said.

US president Joe Biden gave the green light for Western allies to hand over their F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv to bolster Ukraine’s defences during the G7 summit in Japan.

President Biden said Volodymyr Zelensky had given the US a “flat assurance” that Ukraine would not use F-16 jets to attack Russian territory.

The US also said it will provide training to Ukrainian pilots.

Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko has warned that supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets would carry “colossal risks”.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak welcomed President Biden’s decision on the F-16 fighter jets, having previously pressed allies to provide the Ukrainian president with the jets.

Supplying Ukraine’s Air Force with F-16s would represent a substantial upgrade in the country’s defence capabilities.

Picture shows drone exploding after it was shot down over Kyiv

16:10 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine’s ministry of defence claimed that the country’s air defence shot down 52 out of 54 Iranian-made Shaheds drones overnight.

Two killed in seperate shelling in Kharkiv province, regional governor says

15:48 , Martha Mchardy

A 61-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man were killed in two separate shelling attacks in the north-eastern Kharkiv province in the past day, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Three others were injured, the governor said, adding that Russian forces attacked 12 settlements across the region.

Houses and a cultural facility were damaged in the attack, the Kyiv Independent reported.

Elsewhere, explosions were heard in the city of Zhytomyr early on Sunday morning, Ukrainian state news agency Suspilne reported.

A kamikaze drone attack damaged an infrastructure site, governor Vitalii Bunechko said in a Telegram post. No casualties were reported.

Ukrainian rapper took fury over war to Eurovision after brother killed

15:38 , Martha Mchardy

Otoy’s emotional music about the invasion ‘helps him feel alive’ despite tragedy close to home, Tara Cobham writes.

Ukrainian rapper took fury over war to Eurovision after brother killed

Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk booed for refusing to shake Belrusian opponent’s hand after French Open match

14:45 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk was booed after refusing to shake hands with Aryna Sabalenka following defeat in the French Open first round to the Belarusian.

It was a dominant win for the world No 2 to begin her Roland Garros campaign, which could see her become world number one, but it came against a player who “hates” her.

Kostyuk has been the most outspoken Ukrainian player about the sport’s response to the invasion of her home country by Russia and believes Russian and Belarusian players should have been willing to condemn their nations’ actions.

Jack Rathborn reports:

Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk booed for refusing to shake opponent’s hand

Lindsey Graham calls ‘Russians dying’ the ‘best money US has spent’ in Zelensky meeting

14:15 , Martha Mchardy

US senator Lindsey Graham dubbed ‘Russians dying’ as ‘the best money’ the US has spent during a meeting with Ukraine’s President Zelensky on Friday (26 May).

Footage from inside the room where it took place shows Graham joking with Zelensky that it’s ‘free or die’, as Ukraine requested more ‘long-range weapons’ to aid the ongoing invasion.

In a statement after the meeting, he said he expected the Ukrainian counter-offensive to ‘yield results’.

Lindsey Graham says ‘Russians dying’ the ‘best money US spent’ in Zelensky meeting

Watch: Russia’s ambassador to the UK openly defends attacks on Ukraine by shifting blame

13:45 , Martha Mchardy

Russia‘s ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, openly defended the country’s attacks on Ukraine during a new appearance on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg (28 May).

As the journalist brought up recent devastation from a missile hitting a hospital, the ambassador appeared agitated.

“The problem is the shooting is going on for nine years”, he said, blaming ‘US weapons’ as the cause of mass destruction, and denying Russian war crimes taking place.

Instead, Kelin said he had ‘documentation’ of crimes being committed by Ukrainian troops since the invasion began.

One killed in Russian airstrikes on Donetsk region

13:09 , Martha Mchardy

One person died after Russia launched 19 airstrikes on the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine’s National Police has said.

Police said people were also injured in the attack but did not say how many. The Kyiv Independent reported that three people were injured in the attack, citing governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

A Russian missile also struck an industrial site in the city of Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast, the Kyiv Independent reported.

A total of 30 houses, as well as a factory, several cars and the city’s electricity network were damaged in the attack.

Attacks by Russian forces also injured a total of five people in the Ukrainian cities of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia over the past 24 hours, according to the cities’ regional governors.

Zelensky asks Ukrainian parliament to sanction Iran for 50 years after Russian drone attack on Kyiv kills one

12:33 , Martha Mchardy

President Zelensky has asked the Ukrainian parliament to impose sanctions on Iran for 50 years.

Iran has supplied Russia with drones and military equipment since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions include a complete ban on trade with Iran, investments, and transferring technologies, the Kyiv Independent reported.

They will also include bans on Iranian transit across Ukrainian territory and the withdrawal of Irainian assets from Ukraine.

A vote has not yet been scheduled by the Ukrainian parliament.

Ukraine’s ministry of defence claimed today that the country’s air defence shot down 52 out of 54 Iranian-made Shaheds drones overnight after Russia unleashed the largest drone attack on the capital since the start of the war ahead of Kyiv Day, killing one person.

The US and the EU have imposed sanctions against Iran for supplying Russia with drones.

400 Russian soldiers killed yesterday, Ukraine’s defence ministry claims

12:10 , Martha Mchardy

At least 400 Russian soldiers were killed yesterday, Ukraine’s ministry of defence has claimed.

In a daily update posted on Twitter, Ukraine’s MOD claimed 206,600 Russian troops have been killed since the war in Ukraine began.

The Ukrainian defence ministry also said it destroyed three drones and three tanks yesterday.

The claims have not been independently verified. Neither Russia nor Ukraine publishes its combat death toll.

South Africa to investigate U.S. allegations of arms shipment to Russia

10:55 , Martha Mchardy

South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a panel to investigate U.S. allegations that a Russian ship had collected weapons from a naval base near Cape Town last year, the presidency said in a statement on Sunday.

The U.S. ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety said on May 11 that he was confident that a Russian ship, which docked at a naval base in Simonstown in the Western Cape in December last year, took aboard weapons from South Africa. An allegation South Africa has since denied.

The allegations have caused a diplomatic row between the U.S., South Africa and Russia and called into question South Africa’s non-aligned position on the Ukraine conflict.

South Africa says it is impartial and has abstained from voting on U.N. resolutions on the war.

“The president decided to establish the enquiry because of the seriousness of the allegations, the extent of public interest and the impact of this matter on South Africa’s international relations,” said the statement.

The three-member panel will be chaired by Phineas Mojapelo, former deputy judge president of Gauteng province. The other two members are Advocate Leah Gcabashe, who was the former evidence leader for a state corruption inquiry that ended last year, and Enver Surty, former deputy minister of basic education. It will have six weeks to conduct its investigation.

The terms of reference for the panel include establishing who was aware of the cargo ship’s arrival, the contents that were loaded and off-loaded and “whether constitutional, legal or other obligations were complied with in relation to the cargo ship’s arrival.”

The president is expected to receive a final report within two weeks of the investigation concluding.

Dnipro health clinic missile attack death toll rises to four, city’s governor says

10:50 , Martha Mchardy

The death toll after a missile attack on a health clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to four, the city’s governor has said.

Initial reports said two people had died in that attack this week, while 30 people were injured, including two children.

In a post on Telegram, Dnipro governor Serhiy Lysak said the death toll had risen to four after “body fragments” were found at the scene.

“In total, the attack took the lives of four people. Sincere condolences to the relatives,” he said.

“No forgiveness for the aggressor for his terrible crimes. The guilty will answer.”

Among the victims are a 56-year-old doctor, a 64-year-old member of staff at the clinic and a 57-year-old employee from a nearby vet clinic, the governor said.

Ukraine‘s Defence Ministry called the attack a serious war crime under the Geneva Conventions, which set out how soldiers and civilians should be treated in war.

Moscow has dismissed allegations that its soldiers have committed war crimes and denies deliberately targeting civilians although it has bombarded cities across Ukraine since invading 15 months ago.

Mercenary Prigozhin says Kremlin blanking him on state media will provoke backlash

10:42 , Martha Mchardy

Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Sunday he was convinced that senior Kremlin officials had banned reporting about him on state media, cautioning that such a misleading approach would lead to a backlash from the Russian people within months.

Asked about what appeared to be a ban on coverage of him on state media, Prigozhin used a series of Russian proverbs to poke fun at those responsible: “What is forbidden is always sweeter.”

“Wagner is not a piece of slippery soap which the bureaucrats have got used to shoving all over the place; Wagner is an awl, a stiletto that you cannot hide,” Prigozhin said. “I am absolutely convinced they have forbidden (coverage).”

“That high-level bureaucrats, those very towers of the Kremlin, are trying to shut the mouths of everyone so that they don’t speak about Wagner will only give another shove to the people.”

Such an approach, he said, would provoke a backlash from the Russian people.

“In the long term - long term is two or three months - they will receive a finger-slap from the people for trying to shut everyone’s mouths and ears,” Prigozhin said.

The Kremlin and the defence ministry have ignored Prigozhin’s outbursts, which appear to break the rules of the tightly controlled political system crafted by Putin since he won the top job in the Kremlin on the last day of 1999.

The Kremlin, which did not respond to a request for comment, says all the aims of the “special military operation” in Ukraine will be achieved despite what it says is a proxy-war being waged by the West against it.

UK's Russian ambassador warns Russia not acting 'seriously' yet in Ukraine

10:33 , Martha Mchardy

The Russian ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin has claimed that Russia has not yet started acting “seriously” in Ukraine.

In an interview on the BBC’s Kuenssberg show, Kelin said Russia is “yet to act very seriously” in Ukraine, and warned Russia has “enormous resources” to fight.

Ambassador Kelin also warned of a “new dimension” in the Russia-Ukraine war. He said: “It is a big idealistic mistake to think that Ukraine will prevail. Russia is 16 times bigger than Ukraine. We have enormous resources and we haven’t just started yet to act very seriously.

“We are just defending the lands which are under control and assisting Russian people over there. We are rebuilding the Donbas.

“It depends on the escalation of war that is taking place. Sooner or later this escalation might have a new dimension that we do not need and we do not want. We can make peace tomorrow, if Ukrainian side will be prepared to negotiate but there is no preconditions for that.

“The German defence minister said if we stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, it will stop the day after tomorrow,” he said and laughs, saying he is right.

“If supplies of weapons will be stopped, it will be stopped the day after tomorrow. Please, stop it.”

Ambassador Kelin’s claims of “enormous resources” come after reports that Russian forces on the ground are poorly equipped and without proper training.

Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin last week launched a scathing attack on Vladimir Putin’s war strategy. He said Russia could lose the war in Ukraine, warning he “hardly believes” Russia can hold on to the territory it has claimed to control.

Elsewhere in the interview, Kelin said he disagrees with Prigozhin’s claim that there is a chance of “losing Russia”.

More pictures emerge from Kyiv as Russia unleashes drone strikes on capital

09:46 , Martha Mchardy

Request made for six day work week for Russians to support war effort, MoD says

09:23 , Martha Mchardy

A request has been made by Russian state-backed media and business groups to the Kremlin for a six-day work week for Russians to support the war effort, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.

In an intelligence update posted on Twitter, the MoD said Russians are being mandated to “actively make sacrifices in support of the war effort.”

Russian state-backed media and business groups have petitioned the Economic Ministry to authorise a six-day week for workers “in the face of the economic demands of the war,” the MoD said.

The six-day work week will not include additional pay, according to the UK defence ministry.

The update pointed to leading Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan, who said citizens should work for two extra hours in munitions factories each day in addition to their regular jobs.

“The evolving tone of the conversations clearly echoes a Soviet-style sense of societal compulsion,” the MoD said.

In pictures: Russia unleashes drone strikes on Kyiv

08:00 , Namita Singh

Russia thwarts drone attack on Krasnodar oil refinery

07:00 , Namita Singh

Russia’s air defence systems destroyed several drones as they approached the Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region near the Black Sea, local officials said on Sunday.

“Several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) tried to approach the territory of the Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar Krai,” the region’s emergency officials said on the Telegram messaging channel.

“All of them were neutralized, the infrastructure of the plant was not damaged.”

The officials did not say who launched the attack. Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.

On Saturday, Moscow said that Ukraine had struck oil pipeline installations deep inside Russia. Kyiv almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia and on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

The Ilsky refinery, near the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, has a processing capacity of around 6.6 million tonnes per year. It has been attacked several times this month.

Russia unleashes 'largest' drone attack on Ukrainian capital ahead of Kyiv Day

06:53 , Namita Singh

Russia unleashed multiple waves of air strikes on Kyiv overnight in what officials said appeared to be the largest drone attack on the city since the start of the war, as the Ukrainian capital prepared to celebrate the anniversary of its founding on Sunday.

In what also appeared to be the first deadly attack on Kyiv in May and the 14th assault since the start of the month, officials said air defence systems downed at least 40 drones moving towards Kyiv with falling debris killing one person.

The pre-dawn attacks came on the last Sunday of May when the capital celebrates Kyiv Day, the anniversary of its official founding 1,541 years ago. The day is typically marked by street fairs, live concerts and special museum exhibitions - plans for which have been made this year too, but on a smaller scale.

“The history of Ukraine is a long-standing irritant for the insecure Russians,” Andriy Yermak, the head of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said on his Telegram channel.

Preliminary information indicated the air raid was the largest drone attack on Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration said. Russia used the Iranian-made Shahed drones in the attack, he added.

Reuters was not able to independently verify that information.

“Today, the enemy decided to ‘congratulate’ the people of Kyiv on Kyiv Day with the help of their deadly UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles),” Popko said on the Telegram messaging app.

“The attack was carried out in several waves, and the air alert lasted more than five hours.”

Putin orders stronger Russian border security

06:00 , Namita Singh

President Vladimir Putin on Sunday ordered stronger border security to ensure “fast” Russian military and civilian movement into Ukrainian regions now under Moscow control.

Speaking in a congratulatory message to the border service, a branch of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), on their Border Guard Day holiday, Mr Putin said their task was to “reliably cover” the lines in the vicinity of the combat zone.

Attacks inside Russia have been growing in intensity in recent weeks, chiefly with drone strikes on regions along the border but increasingly deep into the country as well, including on an oil pipeline northwest of Moscow on Saturday.

“It is necessary to ensure the fast movement of both military and civilian vehicles and cargo, including food, humanitarian aid building materials sent to the new subjects of the (Russian) Federation,” Mr Putin said in a message posted on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel.

Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk are the four regions in Ukraine that Mr Putin proclaimed annexed last September following what Kyiv said were sham referendums. Russian forces only partly control the four regions.

On Saturday, officials said three people were injured in Ukrainian shelling in Belgorod, a region that was the target of pro-Ukrainian fighters this week that sparked doubts about Russia’s defence and military capabilities.

More than 40 Russia-launched drones downed in Kyiv's airspace

05:04 , Namita Singh

More than 40 drones launched by Russia overnight were downed in Kyiv’s airspace, the capital’s military administration officials said on Sunday on its Telegram messaging channel.

Russia warns of escalation to war if UK keeps supplying weapons to Ukraine

04:32 , Namita Singh

Russia’s ambassador to the UK has warned of an escalation to the war in Ukraine as Britain and other Western allies commit more weapons to president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Andrei Kelin said the actions of Nato countries, “especially” the UK, risk lengthening and triggering a “new dimension” in the war.

He said Russia had “enormous resources” and despite the war already raging for over a year, he claimed his country had not yet started to “act very seriously”.

Mr Kelin said: “Russia is 16 times bigger than Ukraine. We have enormous resources.

“Sooner or later, of course, this escalation may get a new dimension which we do not need and we do not want. We can make peace tomorrow.”

When asked about widespread mounting evidence of Russia’s war crimes, the ambassador said Ukraine was the one committing war crimes.

He then changed tack and said the UN had no power to investigate war crimes.

Russia unleashes airstrikes on Kyiv as the capital city marks its birthday

04:18 , Namita Singh

Russia unleashed a major two-wave overnight air attack on Kyiv that killed at least one person, officials said, as the Ukrainian capital prepares to celebrate its birthday on Sunday.

Air defence systems downed at least 20 drones moving towards Kyiv, with falling debris killing a 41-year-old man and injuring a 35-year-old woman in the city, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The pre-dawn attacks came on the last Sunday of May when the capital celebrates Kyiv Day, the anniversary of its official founding 1,541 years ago. The day is typically marked by street fairs, live concerts and special museum exhibitions – plans for which have been made this year too, but on a smaller scale.

“The history of Ukraine is a long-standing irritant for the insecure Russians,” Andriy Yermak, the head of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said on his Telegram channel.

Several districts of Kyiv, by far the largest Ukrainian city with a population of around 3 million, suffered in the overnight attacks, officials said, including the historical Pecherskyi neighbourhood.

Reuters witnesses said that during the air raid alerts that started soon after midnight, many people stood on their balconies, some screaming offensives directed at Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and “Glory to air defence” slogans.

Full story: Putin ‘planning provocation’ at nuclear plant to disrupt Ukraine counteroffensive, Kyiv says

03:00 , Sam Rkaina

Russia is plotting a “large-scale provocation” at a nuclear power station it occupies in the south-east of Ukraine to disrupt an imminent counteroffensive, Kyiv’s military intelligence has claimed.

A statement from the intelligence directorate of Ukraine’s defence ministry claimed Russian forces will strike the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe.

It will then report a radioactive leak in order to trigger an international probe that would pause the hostilities and give them the respite they need to regroup.

In order to make that happen, Russia “disrupted the rotation of personnel of the permanent monitoring mission” of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that was scheduled for Saturday, the statement said. It did not offer evidence to back up any of the claims.

The IAEA said it did not have any immediate comment on the allegations and Russian officials did not immediately comment on the Ukrainian claims.

Click here for the full story,

Ukraine claims Russia is plotting 'a provocation' at nuclear plant, offers no evidence

02:00 , Joe Middleton

Ukraine’s military intelligence has claimed, without offering evidence, that Russia is plotting a “large-scale provocation” at a nuclear power plant it occupies in the southeast of the country with the aim of disrupting a looming Ukrainian counteroffensive.

A statement released Friday by the intelligence directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry claimed that Russian forces would strike the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, and then report a radioactive leak in order to trigger an international probe that would pause the hostilities and give the Russian forces the respite they need to regroup ahead of the counteroffensive.

Ukraine claims Russia is plotting 'a provocation' at nuclear plant, offers no evidence

Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine facade is crumbling – this week proves it

01:00 , Joe Middleton

From nuclear threats to raids on Russian territory, Russia’s president has plenty on his mind, writes Chris Stevenson.

Analysis: The facade Putin has built over Ukraine is crumbling – this week proves it

Ukraine soccer league set for a title-deciding game in a remarkable, war-hit season

Saturday 27 May 2023 23:59 , Joe Middleton

Two soccer teams exiled from cities in war-battered eastern Ukraine play each other Sunday in the safer western part of the country with the league title at stake.

The showdown between competition leader Shakhtar Donetsk and second-place Dnipro-1 at Arena Lviv can be decisive in a soccer season that is finishing on schedule in remarkable circumstances. The stadium was one of four in Ukraine, including Shakhtar’s home in Donetsk, secure enough in 2012 from Russian aggression to co-host that year’s European Championship with Poland.

Shakhtar leads by five points and needs just a draw this weekend to secure the title ahead of the last scheduled round on June 4.

Ukraine soccer league set for a title-deciding game in a remarkable, war-hit season

Russia offers support to Somalian army in fight against terrorist groups

Saturday 27 May 2023 22:00 , Joe Middleton

Russia is ready to supply Somalia’s army with military equipment in its war against terrorism, Russia’s foreign minister said Friday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the offer after talks with his Somali counterpart Abshir Omar Jama in Moscow.

Russia’s top diplomat said Moscow reaffirmed its readiness to meet the material needs of the Somalian army in its fight against extremists that remain on Somalian territory including al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda.”

Russia offers support to Somalian army in fight against terrorist groups

ICYMI: Water rushes over destroyed Ukrainian dam after Russian shelling

Saturday 27 May 2023 21:00 , Joe Middleton

A growing number of LGBTQ+ Russians seek refuge from war, discrimination in Argentina

Saturday 27 May 2023 20:00 , Joe Middleton

Anastasia Domini and wife Anna Domini walked hand in hand on a recent sunny day in Argentina’s capital while their four restless children played nearby.

It’s a common sight in a country where same-sex marriage has been legal for more than a decade. But the couple, who got married shortly after arriving in Buenos Aires early last year, still remember the fear they felt when they first decided to hold hands in public after leaving Russia, which explicitly outlawed same-sex marriages in 2020.

“It was really scary,” Anastasia Domini said, but “we were looking around and really, really nobody was looking.”

A growing number of LGBTQ+ Russians seek refuge from war, discrimination in Argentina

Ukraine ready to launch counter-offensive, says top official

Saturday 27 May 2023 19:00 , Joe Middleton

Ukraine is ready to launch its long-expected counter-offensive against Russian forces and could begin “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week”, according to one of the country’s top security officials.

However, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, told the BBC he would not name a date.

He said the government in Kyiv had “no right to make a mistake” on the decision because this is a “historic opportunity” that “we cannot lose”.

Russia claims its forces intercepted two British Storm Shadow missiles

Saturday 27 May 2023 18:00 , Joe Middleton

Russian forces intercepted two long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles supplied to Ukraine by Britain, the RIA news agency cited the Defence Ministry as saying on Saturday.

The ministry also said it had intercepted shorter-range U.S.-built HIMARS-launched and HARM missiles, and shot down 12 drones in the last 24 hours, RIA reported.

Iran says Ukrainian president’s drone criticism is bid for Western arms

Saturday 27 May 2023 17:11 , Joe Middleton

Tehran on Saturday accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of anti-Iranian propaganda in his call for Iran to halt the supply of drones to Russia, saying his comments were designed to attract more arms and financial aid from the West.

Zelenskiy in a video address on Wednesday called on Iranians to stop their slide into “the dark side of history” by supplying Moscow with drones.

Iran initially denied supplying Shahed drones to Russia but later said it had provided a small number before the conflict began. Ukraine says the drones have played a major role in Russia’s attacks on cities and infrastructure.

“The Ukrainian president’s repeat of delusional claims against the Islamic Republic of Iran is in line with the anti-Iranian propaganda and media war aimed at attracting as many arms and financial aid as possible from Western countries,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a statement carried by Iranian media.

Ukraine, Kanaani said, has been refusing to allow an independent investigation into these claims.

Russia has boosted its military cooperation with Iran since the launch of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It has admitted using Iranian-made drones, but it is now seeking to boost its own production.

In his Wednesday address, Zelenskiy said: “The simple question is this: what is your interest in being an accomplice to Russian terror?”

“Your Shaheds, which terrorise Ukraine every night, mean only that the people of Iran are being driven deeper and deeper into the dark side of history,” he said.

Ukraine ready to launch counter-offensive, says top official

Saturday 27 May 2023 15:55 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine is ready to launch its long-expected counter-offensive against Russian forces and could begin “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week”, according to one of the country's top security officials.

However, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, told the BBC he would not name a date.

He said the government in Kyiv had "no right to make a mistake" on the decision because this is a "historic opportunity" that "we cannot lose".

Russia ‘plotting provocation at nuclear power station to delay counteroffensive’

Saturday 27 May 2023 15:25 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine‘s military intelligence says Russia is plotting a “large-scale provocation” at a nuclear power station it occupies in the south-east of the country to disrupt a looming counteroffensive.

A statement from the intelligence directorate of Ukraine‘s Defence Ministry claimed Russian forces will strike the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, and report a radioactive leak in order to trigger an international probe that would pause the hostilities and give them the respite they need to regroup.

In order to make that happen, Russia “disrupted the rotation of personnel of the permanent monitoring mission” of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that was scheduled for Saturday, the statement said.

It did not offer evidence to back up any of the claims.

The IAEA said it did not have any immediate comment on the allegations and Russian officials did not immediately comment on the Ukrainian claims.

The claim mirrors similar statements Moscow regularly makes, alleging without evidence that Kyiv is plotting provocations involving various dangerous weapons or substances in order to then accuse Russia of war crimes.

It comes as Moscow’s military in Ukraine braces for a looming counteroffensive by Kyiv’s forces, which has not started yet but could begin “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week”, the secretary of Ukraine‘s National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, told the BBC.

The Zaporizhzhia station is one of the 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world.

It is in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region in south-eastern Ukraine.

The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months but it still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.

Fighting near it repeatedly disrupted power supplies and has fuelled fears of a potential catastrophe like the one at Chernobyl, in northern Ukraine, where a reactor exploded in 1986 and spewed deadly radiation, contaminating a vast area in the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

Ukraine ‘targets Russian oil pipeline installations with drone attacks'

Saturday 27 May 2023 15:11 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine struck oil pipeline installations deep inside Russia on Saturday with a series of drone attacks including on a station serving the vast Druzhba oil pipeline that sends Western Siberian crude to Europe, according to Russian media.

Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia have been growing in intensity in recent weeks, and the New York Times reported that US intelligence believes Ukraine was behind a drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month.

Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged launching attacks against targets inside Russia. The Ukrainian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

In the Tver region, which lies just northwest of Moscow, two drones attacked a station that serves the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, one of the world’s largest oil pipelines, the Kommersant newspaper said.

The Tver local council said that a drone had crashed near the village of Erokhino, around 500 km (310 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

The Telegram channel Baza, which has good sources among Russia’s security services, said the drones attacked a station serving the Druzhba pipeline.

Druzhba, built by the Soviet Union, has capacity to pump more than 2 million barrels per day (bpd) but has been severely under-utilised after Europe sought to reduce its dependency on Russian energy after President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine last year.

Russia’s oil pipeline operator Transneft said earlier this month that a filling point on Druzhba in a Russian region bordering Ukraine had been attacked.

In the Pskov region of Western Russia, two drones caused an explosion that damaged an oil pipeline’s administrative building, local Governor Mikhail Vedernikov said. The incident occurred near the village of Litvinovo, less than 10 km (6 miles) from Russia’s border with Belarus.

“Provisionally, the building was damaged as a result of an attack by two unmanned aerial vehicles,” Vedernikov said.

He said there were no casualties and that an operational group that would deliver final conclusions was working at the scene.

In a separate incident, a construction worker was killed near the border with Ukraine in the Kursk region due to shelling from Ukraine, the local governor said.

The reported attacks could not immediately be verified.

Germany to remove over 100 of its employees working in Russia, says source

Saturday 27 May 2023 14:31 , Tara Cobham

Germany will remove more than 100 government employees working in Russia after Moscow imposed limits on the numbers allowed to work at German diplomatic missions in the country, a source with the German foreign ministry said on Saturday.

“This limit, set by Russia for the beginning of June, requires a major cut in all areas of our presence in Russia,” the source said.

Those affected include teachers, as well as other employees of schools and the Goethe Institute, and is necessary to maintain the right balance for Germany’s diplomatic presence, said the person, who described the number affected as at least 100.

Relations between Russia and Germany, which used to be the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas, have broken down since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the West responded with sanctions and weapons supplies.

The source called the limit, announced in April, “unilateral, unjustified and incomprehensible”. The person declined to say what the limit imposed by Moscow was.

The number of German employees leaving was earlier reported by Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Russia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia claims its forces intercepted two British Storm Shadow missiles

Saturday 27 May 2023 13:54 , Tara Cobham

Russian forces intercepted two long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles supplied to Ukraine by Britain, the RIA news agency cited the Defence Ministry as saying on Saturday.

The ministry also said it had intercepted shorter-range U.S.-built HIMARS-launched and HARM missiles, and shot down 12 drones in the last 24 hours, RIA reported.

Russia accuses Japan of ‘cynical speculation’ after Tokyo's nuclear rebuke

Saturday 27 May 2023 12:41 , Tara Cobham

Russia on Saturday accused Japan of "cynical, unscrupulous speculation" over Tokyo's comments around the nuclear threat Moscow poses and promised to respond to Japan's latest round of sanctions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno on Friday said Japan would place additional sanctions on Russia after the Group of Seven (G7) summit Tokyo hosted last week agreed to step up measures to punish Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Matsuno also condemned Russia's plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying it would further inflame the situation and that Japan would never accept "Russia's nuclear menace, let alone its use".

Russia's foreign ministry said it was assessing the implementation of Japan's sanctions on its national security and economy and would not leave Tokyo's "illegitimate actions" unanswered.

The ministry also took issue with Matsuno's casting of Russia as engaging in "nuclear blackmail".

"The desire to attribute the non-evident intention to use nuclear weapons in relation to events in Ukraine to Russia is nothing more than cynical, unscrupulous speculation," the ministry said.

Russia earlier on Saturday dismissed criticism from US President Joe Biden over Moscow's plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying Washington had for decades deployed such nuclear weapons in Europe.

The foreign ministry urged Japan to show similar "concern" towards US deployments in Europe.

German diplomats and teachers to be expelled from Russia

Saturday 27 May 2023 12:10 , Tara Cobham

Russia is to start expelling German diplomats, teachers and employees of cultural institutions next month.

It is being seen as a move that will further enhance tensions between the two countries that have already had very fraught ties since Russia invaded Ukraine early last year.

The German foreign ministry criticised Russia's move, calling the upcoming expulsions a "unilateral, unjustified and incomprehensible decision".

The expulsion will affect several hundred German state employees, including teachers and staff of the Goethe Institute, which promotes German culture and language abroad, daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported.

The expulsion comes in response to the reduction of the presence of Russian intelligence services in Germany earlier this year.

"The Russian Foreign Ministry had made public in April its decision to introduce a cap on the number of staff at our missions abroad and at German intermediary organisations in Russia," a German Foreign Office spokesperson said.

The expulsions will lead to "a major cut in all areas of our presence in Russia", the spokesperson added.

Germany did not announce any concrete response to Russia's expulsions, which are expected to begin next week.

The Foreign Office said that "with regard to the upper limit on the Russian presence in Germany, the German government will ensure that there is a real balance in practice as well".

Ukraine asks Germany to provide Taurus long-range missiles - Berlin

Saturday 27 May 2023 11:41 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine has asked Germany to supply it with Taurus cruise missiles, an air-launched weapon with a range of some 500 km (310 miles), a spokesperson for the defence ministry in Berlin said on Saturday.

Germany received the request several days ago, the spokesperson said, confirming a report by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. She declined to provide further details or say how likely it was that Germany would supply the missiles to Ukraine.

If it supplies the missiles, Germany would be following in the footsteps of Britain, which earlier in May became the first country to publicly provide Kyiv with long-range cruise missiles.

The United States has so far declined to supply Ukraine with the 297-km range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles amid concerns that Ukraine could use them to strike inside Russia's internationally recognised borders.

Ukraine has been asking for months for this kind of weapons, but support from Western allies has focused on shorter-range weapons.

Taurus is built by European missile maker MBDA and has similar features to the British Storm Shadow.

It can be used to hit high-value targets, troops or fuel dumps deep behind the front lines and has the capability to destroy hardened targets such as bunkers buried deep underground.

Russia tells US to not lecture it on nuclear deployments

Saturday 27 May 2023 10:57 , Tara Cobham

Russia on Saturday dismissed criticism from US President Joe Biden over Moscow's plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying Washington had for decades deployed just such nuclear weapons in Europe.

Russia said on Thursday it was pushing ahead with the first deployment of such weapons outside its borders since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the weapons were already on the move.

Biden said on Friday he had an "extremely negative" reaction to reports that Russia has moved ahead with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The U.S. State Department denounced the Russian nuclear deployment plan.

"It is the sovereign right of Russia and Belarus to ensure their security by means we deem necessary amidst of a large-scale hybrid war unleashed by Washington against us," Russia's embassy in the United States said in a statement.

"The measures we undertake are fully consistent with our international legal obligations."

The United States has said the world faces the gravest nuclear danger since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis because of remarks by President Vladimir Putin during the Ukraine conflict, but Moscow says its position has been misinterpreted.

Putin, who has cast the Ukraine war as a battle for the survival of Russia against an aggressive West, has repeatedly warned that Russia, which has more nuclear weapons than any other country, will use all means to defend itself.

Tactical nuclear weapons are used for tactical gains on the battlefield, and are usually smaller in yield than the strategic nuclear weapons designed to destroy U.S., European or Russian cities.

The Russian Embassy called the U.S. criticism of Moscow's planned deployment hypocritical, saying that "before blaming others, Washington could use some introspection".

"The United States has been for decades maintaining a large arsenal of its nuclear weapons in Europe. Together with its NATO allies it participates in nuclear sharing arrangements and trains for scenarios of nuclear weapons use against our country."

The United States has deployed nuclear weapons in Western Europe since U.S. President Dwight D Eisenhower authorised their deployment in the Cold War as a counter to the perceived threat from the Soviet Union. The first U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe were deployed in Britain in 1954.

Much of the detail about the current U.S. deployment is classified, though the Federation of American Scientists says that the U.S. has 100 B61 tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Europe - in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Iran says Ukrainian president’s drone criticism is bid for Western arms

Saturday 27 May 2023 10:16 , Tara Cobham

Tehran on Saturday accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of anti-Iranian propaganda in his call for Iran to halt the supply of drones to Russia, saying his comments were designed to attract more arms and financial aid from the West.

Zelenskiy in a video address on Wednesday called on Iranians to stop their slide into "the dark side of history" by supplying Moscow with drones.

Iran initially denied supplying Shahed drones to Russia but later said it had provided a small number before the conflict began. Ukraine says the drones have played a major role in Russia's attacks on cities and infrastructure.

"The Ukrainian president's repeat of delusional claims against the Islamic Republic of Iran is in line with the anti-Iranian propaganda and media war aimed at attracting as many arms and financial aid as possible from Western countries," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a statement carried by Iranian media.

Ukraine, Kanaani said, has been refusing to allow an independent investigation into these claims.

Russia has boosted its military cooperation with Iran since the launch of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It has admitted using Iranian-made drones, but it is now seeking to boost its own production.

In his Wednesday address, Zelenskiy said: "The simple question is this: what is your interest in being an accomplice to Russian terror?"

"Your Shaheds, which terrorise Ukraine every night, mean only that the people of Iran are being driven deeper and deeper into the dark side of history," he said.

Poland says it will close border to freight vehicles from Belarus and Russia

Saturday 27 May 2023 10:05 , Tara Cobham

Poland will close its eastern border to freight vehicles registered in Belarus and Russia until further notice, according to a draft regulation published on Friday by the interior ministry.

The move comes as a Belarusian court upheld an earlier decision to sentence a journalist of Polish origin to eight years in prison, stoking tensions between the two countries that have been running high in part due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to the justification of the regulation, the decision was necessary to "ensure public safety".

While the regulation concerning the border did not mention the case of jailed journalist Andrzej Poczobut, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on Twitter that he would add several hundred Belarusian officials to sanctions lists as a result of the verdict, which he labelled "draconian".

Poland had previously closed some border crossings with Belarus following Poczobut's imprisonment and the expulsion of Polish diplomats by Minsk.

The Belarusian foreign ministry could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

Belarus has previously said that Polish decisions to close border crossings were irrational and dangerous, accusing Warsaw of causing long delays and failing to implement bilateral agreements.

Poland has been an important refuge for opponents of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, and Warsaw has become one of Kyiv's staunchest supporters since Belarus' main ally Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Poland also accuses Belarus of artificially creating a migrant crisis on the border by flying in people from the Middle East and Africa and attempting to push them across the frontier.

While the numbers of migrants crossing are lower than at the peak of the crisis in 2021, the Polish Border guard reports dozens of attempts to enter Poland illegally daily.

Drone attack damages Russian oil pipeline building - governor

Saturday 27 May 2023 09:36 , Tara Cobham

An attack by two drones caused an explosion in Russia's Pskov region near the border with Belarus that left an oil pipeline's administrative building damaged, local Governor Mikhail Vedernikov said on Telegram on Saturday.

Vedernikov did not point the finger at Ukraine, but Moscow has previously blamed Kyiv for similar incidents, some of which have caused damage to people and property hundreds of kilometres from its border with Ukraine.

Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged launching attacks against targets inside Russia, but senior officials in Kyiv have on occasion appeared to welcome the news of successful drone attacks on Russian soil.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on Saturday.

"Provisionally, the building was damaged as a result of an attack by two unmanned aerial vehicles," Vedernikov said.

He said there were no casualties and that an operational group that would deliver final conclusions was working at the scene.

The incident occurred near the village of Litvinovo, less than 10km (6.2 miles) from Russia's border with Belarus.

At least 974 attacks by Russia against health care in Ukraine

Saturday 27 May 2023 08:45 , Tara Cobham

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recorded at least 974 attacks against health care in Ukraine since Russia invaded, with 873 of those impacting medical facilities.

The attacks have killed at least 101 people and injured 136 since war began.

Russia’s missile strike on a medical clinic in Dnipro on Friday is not yet included in that figure because it takes time for the WHO to verify all attacks. According to the regional governor, Serhiy Lysak, two people were killed and 31 wounded in this latest attack.

Biden feels 'negative' about Russian nuclear moves in Belarus

Saturday 27 May 2023 08:31 , Tara Cobham

US President Joe Biden said on Friday he had an "extremely negative" reaction to reports that Russia has moved ahead with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Russia's defence minister announced the deal with Belarus on Thursday. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said that tactical nuclear weapons were already on the move.

A growing number of LGBT+ Russians seek refuge from war, discrimination in Argentina

Saturday 27 May 2023 07:30 , Namita Singh

Anastasia Domini and wife Anna Domini walked hand in hand on a recent sunny day in Argentina’s capital while their four restless children played nearby.

It’s a common sight in a country where same-sex marriage has been legal for more than a decade. But the couple, who got married shortly after arriving in Buenos Aires early last year, still remember the fear they felt when they first decided to hold hands in public after leaving Russia, which explicitly outlawed same-sex marriages in 2020.

“It was really scary,” Anastasia Domini said, but “we were looking around and really, really nobody was looking.”

Report:

A growing number of LGBTQ+ Russians seek refuge from war, discrimination in Argentina

Ukraine soccer league set for a title-deciding game in a remarkable, war-hit season

Saturday 27 May 2023 07:00 , Namita Singh

Two soccer teams exiled from cities in war-battered eastern Ukraine play each other Sunday in the safer western part of the country with the league title at stake.

The showdown between competition leader Shakhtar Donetsk and second-place Dnipro-1 at Arena Lviv can be decisive in a soccer season that is finishing on schedule in remarkable circumstances. The stadium was one of four in Ukraine, including Shakhtar’s home in Donetsk, secure enough in 2012 from Russian aggression to co-host that year’s European Championship with Poland.

Shakhtar leads by five points and needs just a draw this weekend to secure the title ahead of the last scheduled round on June 4.

“I think it will maybe be one of our best matches ever,” Ukrainian league chief executive Ievgen Dykyi told the Associated Press this week in a call from Kyiv. “Because the situation now is really hard and all the players understand about this.”

Report:

Ukraine soccer league set for a title-deciding game in a remarkable, war-hit season

Zelensky says one killed in Russian attack on Dnipro clinic

Saturday 27 May 2023 06:28 , Namita Singh

One person was killed and 15 wounded in a Russian missile strike on a clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Analysis: ‘Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine facade is crumbling’ – this week proves it

Saturday 27 May 2023 06:19 , Namita Singh

From nuclear threats to raids on Russian territory, Russia’s president has plenty on his mind, writes our International editor Chris Stevenson.

Analysis: The facade Putin has built over Ukraine is crumbling – this week proves it

Ukraine struck southern Russia with rocket and drone, country's officials and media say

Saturday 27 May 2023 06:18 , Namita Singh

Ukraine struck two regions in southern Russia with a rocket and a drone, though the missile was shot down by air defences, according to Russian officials and media reports.

In the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, a blast damaged a residential and office building, officials said.

They did not state what caused the blast, though Russian media said it was a drone attack. Unverified videos on social media showed a drone flying over the city.

“All emergency services are working at the scene. The cause of the incident is being investigated. Residents are asked to stay calm,” Krasnodar mayor Yevgeny Naumov wrote on Telegram.

In the neighbouring Rostov region, the local governor said a Ukrainian missile had been shot down by air defences on Thursday near Morozovsk, where there is a Russian air base.

“In the area of Morozovsk, an air defence system went off, shooting down a Ukrainian missile,” Rostov governor Vasily Golubev said. “The military is doing its job. Stay calm.”

Medvedev warns against underestimating risk of nuclear war

Saturday 27 May 2023 06:15 , Namita Singh

Russian security council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev has warned that the West is seriously underestimating the risk of a nuclear war over Ukraine, cautioning that Russia would launch a pre-emptive strike if Ukraine gets nuclear weapons.

Russia, which has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, has repeatedly accused the West of waging a proxy war with Russia over Ukraine that could mushroom into a much bigger conflict.

“There are irreversible laws of war. If it comes to nuclear weapons, there will have to be a pre-emptive strike,” Mr Medvedev said.

Allowing Ukraine nuclear weapons - a step no Western country has publicly proposed - would mean “a missile with a nuclear charge coming to them”, Mr Medvedev was quoted as saying.

“The Anglo-Saxons do not fully realise this and believe that it will not come to this. It will under certain conditions.”

Scarred by war, Ukrainian children carry on after losing parents, homes and innocence

Saturday 27 May 2023 06:11 , Namita Singh

Two children squinted to see through the thick smoke that hung in the air after a deafening blast shook their small home in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.The children, aged 9 and 10, called out for their father.

But only eerie silence followed.

Then Olha Hinkina and her brother Andrii rushed to the bomb shelter as they had been taught. When the booms stopped and the smoke cleared, they found their father on the porch — motionless and covered in blood after being struck by a Russian projectile.

“Father was killed at seven in the morning,” said Andrii, who now lives in the safer western city of Lviv, near the border with Poland.The two siblings join a generation of Ukrainian children whose lives have been upended by the war. Russia’s full-scale invasion has subjected them to constant bombardment, uprooted millions from their homes and turned many into orphans.

Report:

Scarred by war, Ukrainian children carry on after losing parents, homes and innocence

Ukraine shoots down 10 missiles, over 20 drones in Russian attacks

Saturday 27 May 2023 06:00 , Namita Singh

Ukraine shot down 10 missiles and over 20 drones launched by Russia in overnight attacks on capital Kyiv, the eastern city of Dnipro and other eastern areas, Ukrainian officials said on Friday.

Russia has intensified missile and drone attacks on Ukraine this month, mainly attacking logistics and infrastructure facilities before an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 10 missiles fired from the Caspian Sea, 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones and two reconnaissance drones.

It said a total of 17 missiles and 31 drones had been launched during the attacks, which started at around 10pm on Thursday and continued until 5am on Friday.

Several drones and several missiles hit targets in the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, officials said.

There was no immediate word of any deaths.

“It was a very difficult night. It was loud – the enemy launched a mass attack on the region with missiles and drones,” Serhiy Lysak, the Dnipropetrovsk regional governor, said on the Telegram messaging app. “Dnipro has suffered.”

Mr Lysak said several houses, cars, and private companies, including a transport company and a gas station, had been damaged.Officials in Kyiv said the roof of a shopping mall, a private house and several cars had been damaged. The governor of the Kharkiv region also reported damage to several private houses and industrial facilities.

Russia, which began its full-scale invasion 15 months ago, has launched hundreds of missile attacks since last October, seeking to destroy critical infrastructure and power facilities.

It has shifted the focus of its missile strikes to try to disrupt preparation for a Ukrainian counterattack, military officials have said.

Russia's Medvedev says pre-emptive strike needed if Ukraine receives nuclear weapons

Saturday 27 May 2023 05:56 , Namita Singh

Russia will have to launch a pre-emptive strike if the West gives Ukraine nuclear weapons, Russian news agencies quoted former Russian president and current security council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev as saying on Friday.

“There are irreversible laws of war. If it comes to nuclear weapons, there will have to be a pre-emptive strike,” he said.

Ukraine conflict may last for decades, negotiation with 'clown' Zelensky impossible, says Medvedev

Saturday 27 May 2023 05:15 , Namita Singh

A senior ally of president Vladimir Putin said the conflict in Ukraine could last for decades and that negotiations with Ukraine were impossible as long as Western-backed president Volodymyr Zelensky was in power.

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggered the deadliest European conflict since the Second World War and the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Thousands of people have been killed or seriously wounded in the conflict, whose roots date to 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine’s popular Maidan uprising. Russia also annexed the Crimea peninsula that year and Russian-backed separatists seized swathes of eastern Ukraine.

“This conflict will last for a very long time. For decades, probably. This is a new reality,” Russian security council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

He said Russia could not trust any truce with the current rulers of Kyiv as the conflict would simply erupt again and so the very nature of the current government of Ukraine would have to be destroyed.

Negotiations, he said, with “the clown Zelensky”, were impossible.

“Everything always ends in negotiations, and this is inevitable, but as long as these people are in power, the situation for Russia will not change in terms of negotiations.”

Mr Medvedev, who cast himself as a liberal moderniser when he was president from 2008-12, now presents himself as a fiercely anti-Western Kremlin hawk. Diplomats said his views give an indication of thinking at the top levels of the Kremlin elite.

Ukraine warns of Russian plan to ‘simulate accident’ at Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

Saturday 27 May 2023 04:35 , Namita Singh

Intelligence chiefs in Kyiv have issued an alert over what they claim are Russian plans to simulate an accident at the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, in an attempt to halt the Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at retaking territory.

An emergency leak of radioactive substances will be announced in the coming hours, the defence ministry claimed in an online statement on Friday evening, warning that Ukraine will “traditionally be blamed for the incident”.

“The occupiers are preparing large-scale provocations to create a centre of radiation danger,” the message read.

My colleague Jane Dalton has more:

Ukraine warns of Russian plan to ‘simulate nuclear power plant accident’

ICYMI: Russian attack on Ukrainian clinic kills two and wounds 30, Kyiv says

Saturday 27 May 2023 03:15 , Martha Mchardy

A Russian missile has hit a clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing two people and wounding 30 in an attack that President Volodymyr Zelensky called a crime against humanity.

Video footage showed a devastated building with smoke pouring out of it and rescue workers looking on. Much of the upper floor of what appeared to be a three-storey building had been badly damaged. A covered corpse lay in the road nearby.

“Another [Russian] missile attack, another crime against humanity,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter. He said a psychological clinic and a veterinary clinic had been hit, and added: “Only an evil state can fight against clinics. There can be no military purpose in this. It is pure Russian terror.”

Olena Harmash and Max Hunder report:

Russian attack on Ukrainian clinic kills two and wounds 30, Kyiv says

In pictures: Destruction in Ukrainian town of Kupiansk

Saturday 27 May 2023 02:15 , Martha Mchardy

Watch: Water rushes over destroyed Ukrainian dam after Russian shelling

Saturday 27 May 2023 01:15 , Martha Mchardy

Voices: Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine facade is crumbling – this week proves it

Saturday 27 May 2023 00:15 , Martha Mchardy

From nuclear threats to raids on Russian territory, Russia’s president has plenty on his mind, writes Chris Stevenson.

Analysis: The facade Putin has built over Ukraine is crumbling – this week proves it

Watch: Zelensky receives standing ovation after speech to Johns Hopkins University graduates

Friday 26 May 2023 23:15 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine war pensioner sweeps fields for mines to protect cows

Friday 26 May 2023 22:15 , Laura Sharman

A remarkable pensioner in Ukraine has been using a metal detector to comb her fields for mines and war detritus so she can put her cow out to pasture and plant vegetables.

Hanna Plishchynska, 67, returned several weeks ago to her home in Stepova Dolyna, southwesten Ukraine - a rural community of 150 people that emptied as fighting raged for months last year during Russia’s invasion.

The village on the edge of Kherson region found itself on the front lines and took heavy shelling from both sides. Plishchynska wanted to stick it out, but eventually fled with her cow, chickens and ducks.

The area is in ruins though the fighting moved away after Ukraine recaptured Kherson city last November.

She returned to find her house standing, albeit with smashed windows, and began scouring the area with a metal detector to check for mines and other dangers.

“What if my cow was killed by an explosion, what would I do?” she said.

Russia’s Foreign Minister thanks China for its “balanced position” on the war

Friday 26 May 2023 21:30 , Laura Sharman

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed gratitude for China’s “balanced position” and willingness to play a positive role, his ministry said.

Lavrov and Chinese special envoy Li Hui discussed prospects for resolving the war in Ukraine at a meeting in Moscow on Friday, it added.

Li, who spent 10 years as ambassador to Moscow, has been on a tour of European capitals, and last week visited Kyiv.

After those talks, China said it wanted to “form the greatest common denominator for resolving the Ukrainian crisis, and make its own efforts to stop the fighting and [establish a] ceasefire and restore peace as soon as possible”.

Black Sea grain deal slow to get moving after extension

Friday 26 May 2023 21:11 , Martha Mchardy

A deal allowing the safe wartime export of grain and fertilizer from Ukrainian Black Sea ports has not yet resumed full operations, the United Nations said on Friday, having come to a halt before Russia’s decision last week to extend it.

The pact called the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July with Russia and Ukraine to try to ease a global food crisis aggravated by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, covers three ports, but no ships have been authorized to travel to Pivdennyi (Yuzhny) port since April 29, the U.N. said.

The United Nations and Turkey “are working closely with the rest of the parties with the aim to resume full operations ... and lift all impediments that obstruct operations and limit the scope of the Initiative,” the U.N. said in a statement.

Ukraine accused Russia on Tuesday of effectively cutting Pivdennyi port out of the Black Sea deal as Russia complained that it had been unable to export ammonia via a pipeline to Pivdennyi under the agreement.

The U.N. said on Friday that the Black Sea deal also provides for the exports of fertilizer, including ammonia, but “there have been no such exports so far.”

“Russia is ready without delay, in a matter of days, to launch the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline, while Kyiv has been stalling it for almost a year, imposing new conditions,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

A Ukrainian government source told Reuters last week that Kyiv would consider allowing Russian ammonia to transit its territory for export if the Black Sea grain deal was expanded to include more Ukrainian ports and a wider range of commodities.

Under the Black Sea grain export agreement a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul - made up of officials from the Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the U.N. - authorizes ships and conducts inbound and outbound inspections of the vessels.

“According to information shared by the Ukrainian delegation with the parties at the JCC, there are 54 vessels waiting to move to Ukrainian ports. Out of these, 11 applications have been shared with the JCC for registration,” the U.N. said.

Britain’s Johnson discussed Ukraine with U.S. Trump - spokesperson

Friday 26 May 2023 21:08 , Martha Mchardy

Britain’s former prime minister, Boris Johnson, and U.S. former President Donald Trump discussed Ukraine and “the vital importance of Ukrainian victory” on Thursday, Johnson’s spokesperson said on Friday.

Since being ousted as Britain’s prime minister last year, Johnson has been keen to forge a profile as one of Ukraine’s most ardent backers in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion and has been visiting the United States this week to speak to politicians about maintaining support for Kyiv.

A spokesperson for Johnson, who was once dubbed “Britain Trump” by the former president, said Johnson met Trump on Thursday “to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the vital importance of Ukrainian victory”. There were no further details.

US and EU boost efforts to help solve Kosovo-Serbia dispute as war rages in Ukraine

Friday 26 May 2023 20:45 , Laura Sharman

The United States and the EU have stepped up efforts to help solve the Kosovo-Serbia dispute, fearing further instability in Europe as the war rages in Ukraine.

The EU has made it clear to both Serbia and Kosovo they must normalise relations to advance in their intentions to join the bloc.The conflict in Kosovo erupted in 1998 when separatist ethnic Albanians rebelled against Serbia’s rule, and Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown. About 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died.

Russia acknowledges Vatican peace initiative, says no steps yet for a mission to Moscow

Friday 26 May 2023 20:00 , Laura Sharman

Russia on Friday indicated that it views Pope Francis’ Ukraine peace initiative positively, but stressed that there are no immediate plans for a Vatican mission to Moscow.

The statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry to the state RIA Novosti agency was the first public acknowledgment by Moscow of the pope’s move. It followed the Vatican’s weekend announcement that a veteran of the Catholic Church’s peace mediation initiatives, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, had been tapped by Francis as his envoy.

“We acknowledge the Holy See’s sincere desire to promote the peace process,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, according to RIA Novosti. “At the same time, no practical steps have been taken by the Vatican side to organize the trip to Moscow.”

Russia acknowledges Vatican peace initiative, says no steps yet for a mission to Moscow

Ukraine harasses Russian border regions, Russia strikes Dnipro clinic

Friday 26 May 2023 19:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia’s southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine came under attack from Ukrainian artillery fire Friday, authorities said, hours after at least one nighttime blast rocked a Russian city in a region next to the annexed Crimea peninsula.

The Kremlin’s forces, meanwhile, struck a clinic in Dnipro, in central Ukraine, killing one person and wounding 16, including two children, Ukrainian officials said. Also, a Russian S-300 missile hit a dam in the Karlivka district of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province, placing nearby settlements under threat of severe flooding.

The Belgorod town of Graivoron, some 7 kilometers (4.5 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was under fire for several hours, with four houses, a store, a car, a gas pipeline and a power line damaged, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported.

Ukraine harasses Russian border regions, Russia strikes Dnipro clinic

Scarred by war, Ukrainian children carry on after losing parents, homes and innocence

Friday 26 May 2023 18:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The two children squinted to see through the thick smoke that hung in the air after a deafening blast shook their small home in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

The pair, ages 9 and 10, called out for their father. Only eerie silence followed.

Then Olha Hinkina and her brother, Andrii, rushed to the bomb shelter, as they had been taught. When the booms stopped and the smoke cleared, they found their father on the porch — motionless and covered in blood after being struck by a Russian projectile.

“Father was killed at seven in the morning,” said Andrii, who now lives in the safer western city of Lviv, near the border with Poland.

Scarred by war, Ukrainian children carry on after losing parents, homes and innocence

Putin: Russia is open to dialogue over Ukraine

Friday 26 May 2023 17:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a phone call with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, confirmed that Russia is open to dialogue over Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Friday.

Lula earlier tweeted that he had reiterated Brazil’s willingness to talk to both sides of the war in Ukraine.

Brazil’s Lula said spoke to Putin on war

Friday 26 May 2023 17:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday he had a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and reaffirmed his willingness to establish peace talks with both sides of the war in Ukraine.

Lula tweeted he had also thanked Putin for an invitation to attend an economic forum in Saint Petersburg, but had to decline it as he “can’t visit Russia at the moment”.

“I reiterated Brazil’s willingness, along with India, Indonesia and China, to talk to both sides of the conflict in pursuit of peace,” the leftist leader added.

Lula has pitched himself as a peace broker to end the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. His proposal, based on Brazil’s tradition of non-intervention and neutrality, calls for a group of nations not involved in the war to engage both Russia and Ukraine in talks.

Netherlands 'seriously considering' sending F-16's to Ukraine

Friday 26 May 2023 16:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Netherlands is “seriously considering” sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine but has not taken any final decision yet, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday.

Earlier this week the Netherlands said it wanted to start training Ukrainian pilots in flying F-16’s as soon as possible.

Asked if the Netherlands would send fighter jets to Ukraine, Rutte told a news conference no final decision had been taken, but added that “if you start training it’s obvious that is something you are seriously considering”.

Any decision on sending F-16s was dependent on approval from the U.S. to do so, Rutte said. He added that the Netherlands would potentially have fighter jets to pass on as it was currently phasing out its F-16’s.

According to figures from the Dutch defence ministry the Netherlands currently has 24 operational F-16’s which will be phased out by mid-2024. Another 18 of the jets are currently available for sale, of which 12 have been provisionally sold.

Last Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden endorsed training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy assured Biden that the planes would not be used to cross into Russian territory.

The West says it wants to help Ukraine defeat Russia but has repeatedly insisted it does not want to trigger a direct confrontation between the U.S.-backed NATO military alliance and Russia.

Poland says it will close border to freight vehicles from Belarus and Russia

Friday 26 May 2023 16:13 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Poland will close its eastern border to freight vehicles registered in Belarus and Russia until further notice, according to a draft regulation published on Friday by the interior ministry.

The move comes as a Belarusian court upheld an earlier decision to sentence a journalist of Polish origin to eight years in prison, stoking tensions between the two countries that have been running high in part due to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine.

According to the justification of the regulation, the decision was necessary to “ensure public safety”.

While the regulation concerning the border did not mention the case of jailed journalist Andrzej Poczobut, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on Twitter that he would add several hundred Belarusian officials to sanctions lists as a result of the verdict, which he labelled “draconian”.

Poland had previously closed some border crossings with Belarus following Poczobut’s imprisonment and the expulsion of Polish diplomats by Minsk.

The Belarusian foreign ministry could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

Belarus has previously said that Polish decisions to close border crossings were irrational and dangerous, accusing Warsaw of causing long delays and failing to implement bilateral agreements.

Poland has been an important refuge for opponents of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, and Warsaw has become one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters since Belarus’ main ally Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Poland also accuses Belarus of artificially creating a migrant crisis on the border by flying in people from the Middle East and Africa and attempting to push them across the frontier.

While the numbers of migrants crossing are lower than at the peak of the crisis in 2021, the Polish Border guard reports dozens of attempts to enter Poland illegally daily.

Lavrov, Chinese special envoy Li discuss prospects for peace in Ukraine, Russia says

Friday 26 May 2023 15:31 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese special envoy Li Hui discussed prospects for resolving the conflict in Ukraine at a meeting in Moscow on Friday, Russia‘s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Li has been on a tour of European capitals including Kyiv.

In a meeting with officials from the European Union in Brussels on Thursday, Li said China had always upheld an objective and just position on the Ukrainian issue and actively promoted peace talks.

Russian attack on Ukrainian clinic kills two and wounds 30, Kyiv says

Friday 26 May 2023 15:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A Russian missile hit a clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday, killing two people and wounding 30 in an attack that President Volodymyr Zelensky called a crime against humanity.

Video footage showed a devastated building with smoke pouring out of it and rescue workers looking on. Much of the upper floor of what appeared to be a three-storey building had been badly damaged. A covered corpse lay in the road nearby.

“Another (Russian) missile attack, another crime against humanity,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

He said a psychological clinic and a veterinary clinic had been hit, and added: “Only an evil state can fight against clinics. There can be no military purpose in this. It is pure Russian terror.”

Regional governor Serhiy Lysak said a 69-year-old man had been killed as he passed the clinic and another man’s body had been pulled from the rubble.

He said 30 people had been wounded, including two children, and contact had not yet been made with three people thought to have been in the building when it was hit.

Ukraine‘s Defence Ministry called the attack a serious war crime under the Geneva Conventions, which set out how soldiers and civilians should be treated in war.

Russia‘s Defence Ministry said it had carried out an overnight strike on Ukrainian ammunition depots.

“The target of the strike has been achieved. All designated facilities were hit,” the RIA news agency quoted it as saying.

Moscow has dismissed allegations that its soldiers have committed war crimes and denies deliberately targeting civilians although it has bombarded cities across Ukraine since invading 15 months ago.

Which companies are leaving Russia and which are staying? Here's a look

Friday 26 May 2023 14:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

More than 500 companies have suspended their business in Russia, and a similar number have withdrawn completely.

An additional 151 are “scaling back,” 175 are “buying time” and 230 are “digging in,” according to database kept by Yale University. Chinese companies figure prominently in the last category.

Here’s a look at some of the Western companies that have chosen to stay or exit Russia:

Which companies are leaving Russia and which are staying? Here's a look

Swedish foreign minister says ambition is to join NATO by July

Friday 26 May 2023 14:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Sweden still hopes to be a member of NATO by the time of the alliance’s summit in Vilnius in July, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Friday.

Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine convinced Sweden and Finland last year to ditch long-held policies of military non-alignment and seek security of NATO’s collective defence commitment.

Finland joined NATO last month, but Sweden’s membership has been held up by objections from Turkey and Hungary.

“There isn’t going to be any plan B or anything like that. Plan B is plan A - that is full membership in NATO and that is what I and the government are going to work for all the way to Vilnius,” he told reporters.

Turks vote in the second round of a tight presidential election on Sunday, with incumbent Tayyip Erdogan leading after the first ballot.

Billstrom said he hoped Turkey’s parliament would begin the ratification process after the dust has settled.

“It is time for Turkey to start its ratification process and uphold its part of the bargain,” Billstrom said.

Sweden and Finland struck a three-way deal in Madrid in June last year aimed at addressing Turkey’s security worries.

But Ankara has continued to drag its heels over Sweden, saying Stockholm harbours members of militant groups it considers to be terrorists.

Hungary has also objected to Sweden’s application citing grievances over Swedish criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s record on democracy and the rule of law.

Billstrom said it was unclear what objections Budapest had to Sweden’s membership.

“Hungary gave its support at the summit in Madrid last year for Sweden to be given invitee status without any conditions,” he said. “It is our firm opinion that they should start ratification.”

Watch: Zelensky receives standing ovation after speech to Johns Hopkins University graduates

Friday 26 May 2023 13:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia says it carried out overnight strike on Ukrainian ammo depots

Friday 26 May 2023 13:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia‘s Defence Ministry said on Friday that it carried out an overnight strike on Ukrainian ammunition depots, the RIA news agency reported.

“The target of the strike has been achieved. All designated facilities were hit,” the defence ministry was quoted as saying.

Map shows the latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine

Friday 26 May 2023 13:04 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The UK ministry of defence has published a map which shows the latest Russian attacks and troop locations in the Ukraine war.

Nato chief says Ukraine should not join alliance until Russia’s invasion is over

Friday 26 May 2023 12:39 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine will not be able to join Nato as long as Russia’s invasion continues, the head of the alliance has said.

“To become a member in the midst of a war is not on the agenda,” Jens Stoltenberg said. “The issue is what happens when the war ends.”

Last September, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky announced a bid for fast-track membership of Nato after Russia’s president Vladimir Putin proclaimed four partially-occupied regions of Ukraine as annexed Russian land as part of Moscow’s invasion.

Since then, there have been plenty of platitudes from Nato members about how Ukraine belongs in the alliance, but little concrete action, with some Western allies of Kyiv wary of moves that could push Nato towards an active war with Russia.

Our foreign editor Chris Stevenson reports:

Nato chief says Ukraine should not join alliance until Russia’s invasion is over

Blast in Russia's Krasnodar was caused by drones, governor says

Friday 26 May 2023 12:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A blast that damaged a residential and office building in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, east of Crimea, on Friday was caused by two drones, the region’s governor said.

“There is some damage to buildings, but critical infrastructure was not damaged. And most importantly, there were no casualties,” governor Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram.

The Russians out for revenge on Putin

Friday 26 May 2023 11:32 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion were formed in Ukraine in the wake of Moscow’s invasion. Now, the militias are taking the fight to the Kremlin – and aiming to topple the president. Kim Sengupta reports:

The Russians out for revenge on Putin

One killed, 15 wounded in Russian attack on Ukrainian clinic

Friday 26 May 2023 10:46 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

At least one person was killed and 15 wounded in a Russian missile strike on a clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

He denounced the attack as a crime against humanity, and the Ukrainian Defence Ministry called it a serious war crime under the Geneva Conventions, which set out how soldiers and civilians should be treated in war.

Video footage showed a devastated building with smoke pouring out of it and rescue workers looking on. Much of the upper floor of what appeared to be a three-storey building had been badly damaged, as had cars parked nearby.

“Another (Russian) missile attack, another crime against humanity,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

“The buildings of a psychological clinic and a veterinary clinic in the city of Dnipro were destroyed. As of now, one person was killed and 15 were wounded.”

Russia has denied repeated accusations that its soldiers have committed war crimes in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials said earlier on Friday that air defences had shot down 10 missiles and more than 20 drones launched by Russia in overnight attacks on the capital Kyiv, Dnipro and eastern regions.

Reuters was unable to verify the reports.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago, did not immediately comment on the reported air strikes but said Ukraine had struck two regions in southern Russia with a rocket and a drone.

One killed in Russian attack on clinic in Ukraine’s Dnipro- Zelensky

Friday 26 May 2023 10:11 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

At least one person was killed and 15 wounded in a Russian missile strike on a clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

In an online post under video footage of a badly damaged building with smoke pouring out of it, he said rescue efforts were under way.

“Russian terrorists once again confirm their status of fighters against everything humane and honest,” Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“A rocket attack on a clinic in the city of Dnipro. As of now, one person was killed and 15 were wounded. The shelling aftermath is being eliminated and the victims are being rescued.”

Ukrainian officials said earlier on Friday that air defences had shot down 10 missiles and more than 20 drones launched by Russia in overnight attacks on the capital Kyiv, Dnipro and eastern regions.

Reuters was unable to verify the reports.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago, did not immediately comment on the reported air strikes but said Ukraine had struck two regions in southern Russia with a rocket and a drone.

Hospital in Ukrainian city of Dnipro hit in Russian attack - governor

Friday 26 May 2023 09:35 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A hospital in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro was hit on Friday in a Russian missile attack, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said.

“Missile attack on Dnipro. ‘Rashist’ bastards attacked a medical facility. There are victims,” Lysak said on the Telegram messaging app, using a derogatory term for Russians.

China says it hopes Black Sea grain deal can be done in balanced, comprehensive manner

Friday 26 May 2023 09:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

China hopes the Black Sea grain deal can be implemented in a balanced and comprehensive manner, and wants to cooperate on global food security, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday.

Russia signaled on Thursday that if demands to improve its grain and fertilizer exports are not met then it will not extend the deal beyond July 17.

Russia's Medvedev warns West is underestimating risks of nuclear escalation over Ukraine

Friday 26 May 2023 08:37 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A senior ally of President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday that the West was seriously underestimating the risk of a nuclear war over Ukraine, cautioning that Russia would launch a pre-emptive strike if Ukraine gets nuclear weapons.

Russia‘s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has triggered the deadliest European conflict since World War Two and the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Russia, which has more nuclear weapons than any other state, has repeatedly said the West is engaged in a proxy war with Russia over Ukraine that could escalate into a much bigger conflict.

“There are irreversible laws of war. If it comes to nuclear weapons, there will have to be a pre-emptive strike,” Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

Allowing Ukraine nuclear weapons, a step no Western state has publicly proposed, would mean “a missile with a nuclear charge coming to them,” Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012, was quoted as saying.

“The Anglo-Saxons do not fully realise this and believe that it will not come to this,” Medvedev said. “It will under certain conditions.”

Medvedev, who once cast himself as a liberal moderniser, now presents himself as a fiercely anti-Western Kremlin hawk. Diplomats say his views give an indication of thinking at the top levels of the Kremlin elite.

The West says it wants to help Ukraine defeat Russia but U.S. President Joe Biden has cautioned that a direct confrontation between the U.S.-backed NATO military alliance and Russia would result in World War Three.

Russia says Washington would never allow Russia to arm a country bordering the United States, and the Kremlin says the West is already essentially fighting an undeclared war with Russia.

When Ukraine gained independence after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, it hosted thousands of nuclear weapons. It handed these to Russia under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in return for guarantees of its security and sovereignty from Russia, the United States and Britain.

‘Dnipro has suffered,' regional governor says

Friday 26 May 2023 08:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia attacked the city of Dnipro with missiles and drones overnight.

“It was a very difficult night. It was loud - the enemy launched a mass attack on the region with missiles and drones,” Serhiy Lysak, the Dnipropetrovsk regional governor, said on the Telegram messaging app. “Dnipro has suffered.”

Lysak said several houses, cars, and private companies, including a transport company and a gas station, had been damaged.

Officials in Kyiv said the roof of a shopping mall, a private house and several cars had been damaged. The governor of the Kharkiv region also reported damage to several private houses and industrial facilities.

Russia, which began its full-scale invasion 15 months ago, has launched hundreds of missile attacks since last October, seeking to destroy critical infrastructure and power facilities.

It has shifted the focus of its missile strikes to try to disrupt preparation for a Ukrainian counterattack, military officials have said.

Ukraine shoots down 10 missiles, over 20 drones in Russian attacks

Friday 26 May 2023 07:47 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine shot down 10 missiles and over 20 drones launched by Russia in overnight attacks on the capital Kyiv, the city of Dnipro and eastern regions, Ukrainian officials said on Friday.

Russia has intensified missile and drone attacks on Ukraine this month, mainly attacking logistics and infrastructure facilities before an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The Ukrainian air force said it had shot down 10 missiles fired from the Caspian Sea, 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones and two reconnaissance drones.

It said a total of 17 missiles and 31 drones had been launched during the attacks, which started at around 10:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Thursday and continued until 5:00 a.m. on Friday.

Several drones and several missiles hit targets in the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, officials said.

There was no immediate word of any deaths.

Russia's Medvedev says pre-emptive strike needed if Ukraine receives nuclear weapons

Friday 26 May 2023 07:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia will have to launch a pre-emptive strike if the West gives Ukraine nuclear weapons, Russian news agencies quoted Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman, former president Dmitry Medvedev, as saying on Friday.

“There are irreversible laws of war. If it comes to nuclear weapons, there will have to be a pre-emptive strike,” Medvedev said.

The Russians out for revenge on Putin: ‘We’ll begin to liberate Russia’

Friday 26 May 2023 06:45 , Arpan Rai

The fighters are exuberant after their cross-border mission, showing off a captured BRT armoured car and machine guns among their battle trophies, while vowing further attacks in a long campaign and predicting Vladimir Putin’s downfall.

They have not invaded Russia on Ukraine’s behalf, but started a war of liberation, declares Denis Kapustin, the head of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) at a camp in northeastern Ukraine. “We went back to our homeland. There were no Ukrainian soldiers with us; they will not appear in the territory of the Russian Federation. This is our internal problem,” he insists.

Kim Sengupta reports

The Russians out for revenge on Putin

Ukraine releases 106 Bakhmut soldiers from Russian captivity

Friday 26 May 2023 06:29 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky announced the return of over a hundred Ukrainian soldiers, initially considered missing in the battlefield, who fought in the grinding battle of Bakhmut last night.

“Today we have another positive result from our team working on exchanges. We have returned 106 more of our warriors from Russian captivity - they fought in the Bakhmut sector,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address.

He added: “It is very important that there was no information about many of these 106 people at all – they were considered missing. But we found them. We brought them back home. 8 officers, 98 soldiers and sergeants…”

Putin’s ally threatens ‘pre-emptive’ strike: ‘Irreversible laws of war'

Friday 26 May 2023 06:19 , Arpan Rai

Russia will need to launch a pre-emptive strike if the West gives nuclear weapons to Ukraine, one of the Russian president’s closest aides has said.

“There are irreversible laws of war. If it comes to nuclear weapons, there will have to be a pre-emptive strike,” former Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said, according to Russian state media.

As the Ukraine war spills into Russia, a dangerous new front is about to explode

Friday 26 May 2023 05:45 , Arpan Rai

At the start of this week, an unknown number of paramilitaries entered the Russian region of Belgorod from Ukraine.

The details are both unclear and contested, but what appears to have happened is essentially this: they took over a border post, attacked a few villages on the Russian side of the border north of Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, and advanced several dozen kilometres further into Russia before being beaten back by Russian troops.

Russia claims they killed 70, but there is no corroboration.

Ukraine says it was a couple of Russian volunteer groups opposed to President Putin, operating independently of the Kyiv government; Russia says it was Ukrainian saboteurs and terrorists operating with the full knowledge and support of Kyiv. But whoever was behind this raid is a secondary detail to the fact that it happened.

Read the full story here:

As the Ukraine war spills into Russia, a new front is set to explode | Mary Dejevsky

‘I thank everyone who gave this result’ - Zelensky

Friday 26 May 2023 05:00 , William Mata

Ukraine is celebrating the return of more than 100 soldiers from captivity.

“Today we have another positive result from our team working on exchanges,” Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter.

“We have returned 106 more of warriors from captivity - they fought in the Bakhmut sector. It is very important that there was no information about many of these 106 people at all - they were considered missing. But we found them.

“We brought them back home. 8 officers, 98 soldiers and sergeants... I thank everyone who gave this result.”

Wagner starts handing Bakhmut to regular Russian troops

Friday 26 May 2023 04:55 , Arpan Rai

Russia’s Wagner private army started handing over its positions in Bakhmut to regular Russian troops yesterday, five days after announcing complete capture of the devastated eastern Ukrainian city following the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.

“From today at five in the morning, May 25 until June 1, most of the (Wagner) units will rebase to camps in the rear,” Wagner chief Yevgeny Prighozin said in a video. The mercenary group’s leader was wearing battle gear and standing beside a war-damaged residential block.

However, Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said Wagner has only handed over positions on the city’s outskirts but “inside the city itself Wagner fighters remain”.

Prigozhin has said his fighting unit would be ready to return to the city if needed.

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website