A Russian attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast early on Saturday has left 6 dead and at least 10 injured.
The attack, which began at midnight, destroyed several buildings and dormitories, private vehicles, as well as local businesses, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing the city’s mayor Ihor Terekhov.
Meanwhile, Ukraine says its drones have destroyed at least six military aircraft and badly damaged eight others, in what would be one of the country’s most successful cross-border strikes in the war.
The assault, in Russia’s southern city of Rostov-on-Don, came as Kyiv’s forces stepped up their assaults on Russian soil.Officials said about 20 airfield staff were killed or injured.
But Russian defence officials claimed they intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones and that only a power substation was damaged.
Morozovsk airfield was used by Russian bombers that have been launching guided aerial bombs at Ukraine’s cities and frontline positions, they said.
Key Points
Drone strikes hit southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don
Moscow-Nato relations at direct confrontation level, Kremlin says
Ukraine and Russia blame each other for Zaporizhia attacks
Russian drone attack kills at least four in Ukraine’s Kharkiv
Russian defence minister warns French counterpart in rare call
Six killed and 10 injured in latest Russian attack on Kharkiv
05:40 , Vishwam Sankaran
Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast earlier today has left 6 dead and at least 10 injured, according to the city’s mayor Ihor Terekhov.
The attack began at midnight, destroying several buildings and dormitories, private vehicles, as well as local businesses, Kyiv Independent reported.
The city has been under a constant near-daily barrage of missile attacks from Russian troops since the invasion began in February 2022.
Government estimates suggest over 20,000 buildings have been destroyed in Kharkiv since Russia’s invasion began.
In pictures: Attack on Zaporizhia
05:30 , Jane Dalton
Special tribunal may be formed to hold Russia accountable, says EU’s top justice official
05:00 , Vishwam Sankaran
A special international tribunal may be set up by the end of the year to hold Russia accountable for war crimes in its invasion of Ukraine, European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said.
“We are discussing this tribunal with various international actors,” Mr Reynders told Deutsche Welle in the Netherlands.
A political declaration by the Restoring Justice for Ukraine conference on 2 April, signed by 44 countries, condemns Russia’s actions in Ukraine and calls for setting up a special tribunal to address Russian crimes in Ukraine.
“Two main options are now being considered — an international tribunal based on a multilateral agreement or a simplified solution based on a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe,” Mr Reynders said on the sidelines of the conference.
“The next step is a matter of political will. Now is just the beginning of the year, and by the end of the year, this should become possible,” he said.
India to receive Russian warships despite sanctions – report
04:30 , Vishwam Sankaran
India will reportedly receive two Russia-made warships despite US sanctions.
One of the ships will be delivered to India in September and the other expected next year, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed Indian officials.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, India has positioned itself as a neutral country, while maintaining closer economic ties with Moscow.
The ships are part of an agreement signed between India and Russia in 2018.
Russia continues to be India’s largest supplier of military equipment, contributing more than a third of the country’s arms imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Russia keeps trying to link Moscow concert attack to Ukraine
04:00 , Jane Dalton
Russian authorities have again tried to link the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall to Ukraine, saying one of the detained suspects had photos on his phone depicting troops in camouflage uniforms with the Ukrainian flag:
Russian officials again try to link the Moscow concert attack with Ukraine despite Kyiv’s denials
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed as Russia launches double drone attack on Kharkiv – recap
02:45 , Jane Dalton
Resistance by Kharkiv’s vastly outnumbered defenders has infuriated Vladimir Putin, as Askold Krushelnycky reports:
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed in Russian ‘double tap’ drone attack on Kharkiv
Russia bombards Kharkiv
01:15 , Jane Dalton
Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, near the Russian border, came under intense air attack on Friday afternoon, according to local media and regional officials.
There were no immediate reports of casualties but Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian grid infrastructure in recent weeks, aiming to disrupt the country’s power and energy network.
Three killed in Russian missile strikes in Zaporizhia
Friday 5 April 2024 23:59 , Jane Dalton
Russia fired five missiles on Ukraine’s southern city of Zaporizhia on Friday, killing at least three people and damaging homes and an industrial facility, the regional governor said.
“What marks today’s strikes: first, there were two missile strikes, and then, about 40 minutes later, there were other strikes at the same place – just as rescuers and police started working,” Ivan Fedorov said.
Thirteen people were wounded, including a nine-year old boy, and four were taken to hospital in a serious condition. Two journalists were among the wounded in the city, which is near the front line in the war.
At least three apartment blocks, 10 private houses, shops and an unidentified industrial facility were damaged, he added.
Ukraine’s air force issued a ballistic missile raid alert for the region, part of which is occupied by Russia. Moscow has recently stepped up usage of ballistic missiles that are harder to intercept.
Ukrainian man who helped Russia stage missile strike on pizzeria jailed for life
Friday 5 April 2024 22:59 , Jane Dalton
A Ukrainian man has been jailed for life for helping Russia target a missile strike on a pizzeria in the eastern city of Kramatorsk last year:
Ukrainian man who helped Russia target missile strike on pizzeria jailed for life
Russians expelled from Nato HQ in recent years, alliance says
Friday 5 April 2024 22:00 , Jane Dalton
Comments by Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg about expulsions of Russians from Nato headquarters referred to incidents from recent years, not recent months, as originally reported by German daily Bild, the alliance said on Friday.
Bild also issued a correction to its report, clarifying that Stoltenberg had not mentioned a timeframe when talking about the expulsions in an interview with the German outlet.
In the interview, Stoltenberg said: “We have seen that Russian intelligence services have operated across European countries for many years. We’re also seeing attempts to step up their activities but of course, Nato allies are monitoring, following this very closely.”
Cameron to press US Republicans to back military aid
Friday 5 April 2024 21:00 , Jane Dalton
Foreign secretary David Cameron will travel to the United States next week to urge politicians to approve a package of military aid for Ukraine.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has held up a bill for months that would supply $60 billion in military and financial aid.
Lord Cameron said he would meet Mr Johnson to urge him to pass the aid package.
“Speaker Johnson can make it happen in Congress. I am going to go see him next week and say we need that money, Ukraine needs that money,” he posted.
In February, Cameron urged Republican lawmakers not to “show the weakness displayed against Hitler” in the 1930s.
Ukraine claims it destroyed Russian warplanes in one of its biggest drone attacks of the war
Friday 5 April 2024 20:00 , Jane Dalton
Ukrainian officials claimed Friday they used a barrage of drones to destroy at least six military aircraft and badly damage eight others at an airfield in Russia’s Rostov region, while Russian defense officials claimed they intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones and that only a power substation was damaged in the attack.
The assault appeared to be one of Kyiv‘s biggest air attacks in the war, coming as its forces step up their assaults on Russian soil. The Associated Press could not independently verify either side’s claims.
Ukraine claims it destroyed Russian warplanes in one of its biggest drone attacks of the war
Russian minister casts prospective Ukraine peace talks as Western plot to win hesitant Global South
Friday 5 April 2024 19:00 , Tom Watling
Russia’s top diplomat warned Thursday that prospective negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine could be successful only if they take Moscow‘s interests into account, dismissing a planned round of peace talks as a Western ruse to rally broader international support for Kyiv.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov charged that Ukraine’s Western allies are currently involved in a massive diplomatic blitz to persuade as many countries of the Global South as possible to join a meeting in Switzerland to discuss a potential peace plan.
Russian minister casts prospective Ukraine peace talks as Western plot to win hesitant Global South
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed as Russia launches ‘double tap’ drone attack on Kharkiv
Friday 5 April 2024 18:00 , Tom Watling
Resistance by Kharkiv’s vastly outnumbered defenders has infuriated Vladimir Putin, as Askold Krushelnycky discovers at the scene of a cruel attack on brave Ukrainian rescue workers
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed in Russian ‘double tap’ drone attack on Kharkiv
Ukraine and Russia blame each other for Zaporizhia attacks
Friday 5 April 2024 16:58 , Jane Dalton
A Russian air attack on Ukraine’s southern city of Zaporizhia, home to Europe’s largest nuclear plant, killed two people and injured six more, the regional governor said.
A nine-year old boy was among the injured, Ivan Fedorov added on the Telegram messenger. It was unclear what was hit but an image posted by the governor showed a cafe with shattered windows.
Separately, the Russian state-run RIA news agency quoted the press service of the Russian-controlled facility as saying that Ukrainian military drones attacked the nuclear power plant. However, it caused no damage to its critical infrastructure, it said.
A series of blasts were reported in the city of Zaporizhia on Friday afternoon.
Scandals blight Denmark’s buildup of its armed forces as it eyes possible threats from Russia
Friday 5 April 2024 16:00 , Tom Watling
A series of scandals has blighted Denmark’s Armed Forces at a time when the Scandinavian country and member of the NATO alliance is building up its defenses, chiefly as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The events have so far led to the dismissal this week of Denmark’s top military chief, Gen. Flemming Lentfer, who failed to inform the defense minister about an incident on the frigate HDMS Iver Huitfeldt last month while deployed to the Red Sea, where it was part of a U.S.-led operation to defend commercial shipping against Houthi militants.
Scandals blight Denmark’s buildup of its armed forces as it eyes possible threats from Russia
Several Russian spies uncovered in Nato HQ
Friday 5 April 2024 15:40 , Jane Dalton
Several Russian personnel have been expelled from Nato headquarters amid espionage claims, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg told Germany’s Bild tabloid in an interview released on Friday.
“We realised that they were carrying out activities that were not actually diplomatic work, but intelligence work,” Stoltenberg was quoted as saying by Bild.
There was no immediate comment from Nato.
In rare call, Russian defense minister warns French counterpart against sending troops to Ukraine
Friday 5 April 2024 15:10 , Tom Watling
Russia’s defense minister warned his French counterpart against deploying troops to Ukraine in a rare phone call Wednesday and noted that Moscow is ready to take part in talks to end the conflict.
Sergei Shoigu told French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu that if Paris follows up on its statements about the possibility of sending a French military contingent to Ukraine, “it will create problems for France itself,” according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry. It didn’t elaborate.
The conversation followed French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments in February, in which he said that the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine could not be ruled out.
In rare call, Russian defense minister warns French counterpart against sending troops to Ukraine
Russian bomb destroys Medics Without Borders office in eastern Ukraine
Friday 5 April 2024 14:40 , Tom Watling
A Russian bomb has destroyed a Medics Without Borders (MSF) office in Pokrovsk near the frontline in eastern Ukraine, the organisation has reported.
“Today, April 5th at around 3am, our MSF office in Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region, in Ukraine was bombed and completely destroyed,” a statement read. “All our staff are safe. Five civilians who were close to the office were injured.”
Ukraine’s prosecutor general said a 14-year-old boy was among those injured in the attack.
The small city in Donetsk Oblast has been regularly hit by Russian forces, who are just over 30 miles away in the recently-occupied city of Avdiivka.
Today, April 5th at around 3:00am, our @MSF office in Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region, in Ukraine was bombed and completely destroyed. All our staff are safe. Five civilians who were close to the office were injured. #WarInUkraine pic.twitter.com/SnHC0CusUC
— MSF Ukraine (@MSF_Ukraine) April 5, 2024
Here are some of the latest photos from Ukraine
Friday 5 April 2024 14:10 , Jane Dalton
Below are some of the latest photos from Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia each intercept drones
Friday 5 April 2024 13:40 , Jane Dalton
In a conflicting version of events, Russia’s defence ministry said 44 drones were intercepted and destroyed in the Morozovsky district, more than 60 miles from the border.
Rostov governor Vasily Golubev said eight people near the airfield targeted by Ukraine were injured.
Russian military bloggers confirmed an attempted attack by Ukrainian drones on a military air base in Morozovsk but said there were no casualties at the base and no damage to warplanes.
The Russian defence ministry said nine more drones were intercepted over the border regions of Kursk, Belgorod, Krasnodar and the nearby Saratov region, bringing the total of attack drones deployed by Ukraine overnight to 53.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 13 Russian drones launched overnight at the southern regions of Odesa, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk, but five missiles got through. Authorities did not report any casualties.
Russian military planes destroyed in Ukrainian attack, say officials
Friday 5 April 2024 13:30 , Jane Dalton
Ukrainian officials say they have used a barrage of drones to destroy at least six military aircraft and badly damage eight others at an airfield in Russia’s Rostov region.
Russian defence officials, however, claim they intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones and that only a power substation was damaged.
The assault appears to be one of Kyiv’s biggest air attacks in the war, coming as its forces step up their assaults on Russian soil.
The overnight attack, which officials said was conducted by Ukraine’s Security Service in co-operation with the army and Ukrainian intelligence, targeted a military airfield near Morozovsk in Russia.
They said about 20 airfield staff were killed or injured.
Morozovsk airfield is used by Russian bombers that have been launching guided aerial bombs at Ukraine’s cities and frontline positions, the officials say.
If true, the attack would be among Ukraine’s most successful cross-border strikes.
Germany says Russia very likely responsible for Baltic GPS disruptions
Friday 5 April 2024 13:00 , Tom Watling
Russia is very likely to have been behind a series of disturbances affecting GPS navigation in the Baltic region, the German Defence Ministry said on Thursday, pointing to the Kaliningrad exclave as a source of the problem.
“The persistent disruptions to the global navigation satellite system are very likely of Russian origin and are based on disruptions in the electromagnetic spectrum, including those originating in the Kaliningrad Oblast,” a spokesperson for the ministry told Reuters, confirming a report by news website t-online.
The spokesperson declined to give details on how Berlin made its assessment or the exact nature of the disruptions, citing “reasons of military security”.
Kaliningrad is Russian territory wedged between Lithuania and Poland on the coast of the Baltic Sea.
The Russian embassy in Berlin declined to comment on the matter.
Last month, a government source told Reuters that Russia was believed to have jammed the satellite signal on an aircraft used by British defence minister Grant Shapps when it flew close to Kaliningrad.
The aviation industry has voiced concern over a surge in GPS interference linked to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The jamming of GPS signals can be disruptive to commercial airliners but they can usually navigate by other means.
Ukrainian man who helped Russia target missile strike on pizzeria jailed for life
Friday 5 April 2024 12:30 , Tom Watling
A Ukrainian man has been jailed for life for helping Russia target a missile strike on a pizzeria in the eastern city of Kramatorsk last year.
“A local resident was sentenced to life imprisonment for guiding the occupiers’ missile attack on the pizzeria in Kramatorsk,” the office of the war-torn country’s prosecutor general said on Wednesday.
The 27 June attack on Ria Pizza killed 13 people, including novelist Victoria Amelina, and wounded 61. The attack also destroyed several nearby structures.
Ukrainian man who helped Russia target missile strike on pizzeria jailed for life
NATO weighs a plan to provide long-term military help to Ukraine as Russian troops assert control
Friday 5 April 2024 12:00 , Tom Watling
NATO is debating a plan to provide more predictable military support to Ukraine in coming years as better armed Russian troops assert control on the battlefield, the organization’s top civilian official said Wednesday.
“We strongly believe that support to Ukraine should be less dependent on short-term, voluntary offers and more dependent on long-term NATO commitments,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said before chairing a meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers in Brussels.
NATO weighs a plan to provide long-term military help to Ukraine as Russian troops assert control
Dialogue must remain open with Russia, Italy defence minister says
Friday 5 April 2024 11:30 , Tom Watling
Communications with Russia must remain open despite its attack on Ukraine, Italy’s defence minister said on Friday, commenting on recent talks between his French and Russian counterparts.
On Wednesday, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu had a phone conversation with Russia’s Sergei Shoigu – the first since October 2022 – during the course of which France condemned Russia’s “war of aggression” in Ukraine.
France later denied Russian claims that it expressed willingness to hold dialogue on Ukraine or discuss possible peace negotiations when the two countries’ defence ministers spoke on Wednesday.
“Although the Russian Federation has invaded a sovereign country, and for this reason Italy and France always support and will support Ukraine, it is important (…) that channels of confrontation and dialogue are also kept open,” Italy’s Guido Crosetto said in a statement.
Crosetto, who spoke to Lecornu on Thursday, added that “tough and critical” communication, is essential to achieve the goal of stopping the Russian attacks and to be able to “create the conditions for a just peace”.
At 75, is timid, hesitant Nato now showing its age?
Friday 5 April 2024 11:00 , Tom Watling
On the alliance’s landmark anniversary, historian Sten Rynning says the future of European security may depend on whether it can convince three steadfastly neutral countries to sign up
At 75, is timid, hesitant Nato now showing its age?
Russian minister casts prospective Ukraine peace talks as Western plot to win hesitant Global South
Friday 5 April 2024 10:30 , Tom Watling
Russia’s top diplomat warned Thursday that prospective negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine could be successful only if they take Moscow‘s interests into account, dismissing a planned round of peace talks as a Western ruse to rally broader international support for Kyiv.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov charged that Ukraine’s Western allies are currently involved in a massive diplomatic blitz to persuade as many countries of the Global South as possible to join a meeting in Switzerland to discuss a potential peace plan.
Russian minister casts prospective Ukraine peace talks as Western plot to win hesitant Global South
Ukraine staged major attack on Russia’s Morozovsk military air base, Kyiv source says
Friday 5 April 2024 09:56 , Tom Watling
Ukraine attacked Russia’s Morozovsk military air base in the Rostov region, destroying six Russian warplanes in a joint operation conducted by the SBU security service and military, a Kyiv intelligence source told Reuters on Friday.
Reuters could not independently verify the claim. The source did not say how the attack was conducted but that eight more warplanes had also been damaged.
Russia’s RIA news agency cited the Russian defence ministry earlier as saying Russian air defences had downed 53 Ukrainian drones overnight, most of them over the Rostov region.
The source said the Morozovsk air base was used by Russian tactical bombers like the Sukhoi Su-24 and Su-24M that Moscow’s air force uses to fire guided bombs at the Ukrainian military and frontline towns and cities.
The source described the operation as an important one.
Ukraine has significantly stepped up its drone attacks on targets in Russia in recent weeks, focusing on oil refineries in an effort to reduce Russian oil revenue.
Unable to rapidly produce long-range missiles and with limited access to those made by Western allies, Kyiv has focused on developing long-range uncrewed vehicles to strike back at Russia, which has used a sprawling arsenal of missiles and drones to bomb Ukraine.
Germany’s defense minister overhauls the military command as he seeks ‘war-capable’ armed forces
Friday 5 April 2024 09:30 , Tom Watling
Germany‘s defense minister on Thursday announced a plan to streamline and reorganize the country’s military command as part of efforts to make the armed forces of NATO’s most populous European member “war-capable.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz set in motion a big increase in military spending shortly after Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, which he described as a “turning point.” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius last year took on the job of overhauling the military, the Bundeswehr, after years of neglect and in November called for a review of its structure.
Germany’s defense minister overhauls the military command as he seeks ‘war-capable’ armed forces
The true toll of the war in Ukraine is measured in bodies. This man brings them home, one at a time
Friday 5 April 2024 09:00 , Tom Watling
The smell in the car is sick and sweet, the overpowering scent of corpses that have lain too long in muck and ruin, the ones the dogs didn’t devour. Oleksii Yukov, a 38-year-old martial arts instructor who leads a team of volunteer body collectors in Ukraine, doesn’t notice.
He is on the phone with one of the mothers. She heard her son was injured in battle and left behind, but she’s not sure where.
“He was left to die and now they are telling me that ‘he died as a hero!?’” she says, choking out words between sobs.
The true toll of the war in Ukraine is measured in bodies. This man brings them home, one at a time
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed as Russia launches ‘double tap’ drone attack on Kharkiv
Friday 5 April 2024 08:30 , Tom Watling
Resistance by Kharkiv’s vastly outnumbered defenders has infuriated Vladimir Putin, as Askold Krushelnycky discovers at the scene of a cruel attack on brave Ukrainian rescue workers
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed in Russian ‘double tap’ drone attack on Kharkiv
Ukraine says it downed 13 drones launched by Russia overnight
Friday 5 April 2024 08:00 , Tom Watling
Ukraine‘s air force shot down all 13 drones used in Russia’s overnight attack on southern regions, the Ukrainian military said on Friday.
Shahed drones were destroyed over the Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Russia also used two S-300/S-400 missiles and three Iskander-M ballistic missiles in the attack.
One of the attacks targeted energy infrastructure in the Odesa region but air defences repelled all four drones, Ukraine‘s southern group of forces said on the Telegram messaging app. The debris damaged several private residences and farm buildings in Zaporizhzhia, the statement said.
Local officials also reported explosions in an attack in the eastern city of Kharkiv, a regular target of Russian attacks, late on Thursday. The region’s governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said the attack damaged four cars and a five-storey building with no casualties reported as of Friday morning. Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian grid infrastructure in recent weeks, aiming to disrupt the country’s power and energy network.
Russia calls Swedish plans for NATO base in Baltic a provocation – RIA
Friday 5 April 2024 07:45 , Tom Watling
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Friday Sweden’s plans to set up a NATO military base on the Gotland island in the Baltic Sea were a provocation that would turn the sea into an area of geopolitical confrontation, the RIA news agency reported.
The ministry said this would increase risks for shipping in the Baltic.
Russian governor of Rostov-on-don region: air defence destroys more than 40 airborne targets
Friday 5 April 2024 07:30 , Tom Watling
The governor of Russia’s Rostov-on-Don region said early on Friday that air defence units had destroyed more than 40 airborne targets, though an electricity substation was damaged.
Vasily Golubev, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the drone attacks had focused on Morozovsk district, northeast of Rostov-on-Don, which lies on Ukraine‘s eastern border. Golubev said work was under way to restore power supplies in affected areas.
The attack may have been targeting a military airfield in Morozovsk, Rostov Oblast, where bombers Su-24, Su-24M, and Su-34 are based.
Ukraine has for months launched drone attacks on several Russian regions on its borders.
Drones have attacked a military airfield in Morozovsk, Rostov Oblast, Russia, where bombers Su-24, Su-24M, and Su-34 are based.
Russian authorities report 44 drones destroyed and an electrical substation damaged. No mention of airfield damage. pic.twitter.com/dKgyjCofqc
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) April 5, 2024
Russia says it downed 53 Ukrainian drones overnight, RIA reports
Friday 5 April 2024 07:16 , Tom Watling
Russian air defences downed 53 Ukrainian drones overnight, most of them over the Rostov region, the RIA news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying on Friday.
One drone was downed in the Saratov region where an airbase for Russian strategic bombers is located. Drones were also downed over the Kursk, Belgorod and Krasnodar regions, the ministry said.
Nato members agree to look for more air defence systems for Kyiv
Friday 5 April 2024 07:00 , Jane Dalton
Nato alliance members agreed on Thursday to scour their arsenals for more air defence systems to protect Ukraine from Russian ballistic missile attacks, as the alliance marked a 75th anniversary overshadowed by the war on its borders.
“Allies understand the urgency,” Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said after Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba met counterparts and appealed for new additional air defence systems, especially US-made Patriot missiles.
“Allies will now go back and look into their inventories, look into if there are any ways they can provide more systems, in particular Patriots, but also of course ensure that the systems which are already there have the ammunition but also the spare parts (they need),” Mr Stoltenberg said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “I believe based on what I heard today that everyone, including the United States, is going to double back, and if necessary double down, on finding the resources that Ukraine continues to need.”
Neither official spelled out any specific pledge or aid target.
Earlier, as a ceremony with birthday cake and marching bands could not mask the sombre mood in Brussels, Mr Kuleba said: “I didn’t want to spoil the birthday party for Nato, but I felt compelled to deliver a very sobering message on behalf of Ukrainians about the state of Russian air attacks on my country.”
In pictures: Shelling in occupied Donetsk
Friday 5 April 2024 06:00 , Jane Dalton
Russia says Swedish plans for Nato base in Baltic a provocation
Friday 5 April 2024 05:59 , Arpan Rai
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has called Sweden’s plans to set up a Nato military base on the Gotland island in the Baltic Sea a provocation that would turn the sea into an area of geopolitical confrontation, the Russian state agency RIA news reported.
The ministry said the move would increase risks for shipping in the Baltic.
Russian forces ‘enter Ukrainian suburb’
Friday 5 April 2024 05:49 , Arpan Rai
Russian forces have entered a suburb of the city of Chasiv Yar in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, an adviser to the Russian-appointed regional head said.
Chasiv Yar, located about 10km (6m) west of Bakhmut, has served as an important staging point for Ukrainian troops in the area.
Ukrainian officials have not commented on Russian claims of entering Donetsk city.
The Russian advance was confirmed by the US-based think-tank the Institute for the Study of War, which cited geolocated footage and said Ukrainian forces halted their advance, and Russian state news RIA agency.“
Russian forces conducted a roughly reinforced company-sized mechanised assault towards Chasiv Yar (west of Bakhmut) on 4 April and advanced up to the eastern outskirts of the settlement.
Geolocated footage published on 4 April shows Russian forces conducting a roughly reinforced company-sized mechanised assault against Chasiv Yar.
“The footage indicates that the Russian mechanised column advanced along a section of the T-0506 (Khromove-Chasiv Yar) highway to the eastern outskirts of the Kanal micro-district (the easternmost part of Chasiv Yar) before Ukrainian forces prevented Russian forces from making further advances into Chasiv Yar.
“A Ukrainian soldier stated that Ukrainian forces destroyed 11 out of the 25 Russian armoured vehicles that participated in the mechanised assault, although Ukrainian officials have yet to provide more details on the assault,” it said.
Ukraine jails man who helped Russia bomb a pizzeria last year
Friday 5 April 2024 05:13 , Arpan Rai
A Ukrainian resident has been jailed for life for helping Russia target a missile strike on a pizzeria last year, prosecutors said.
“A local resident was sentenced to life imprisonment for guiding the occupiers’ missile attack on the pizzeria in Kramatorsk,” the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general said yesterday.
The attack claimed the lives of 13 people including novelist Victoria Amelina after a Russian ballistic missile ripped through the popular “Ria Pizza” restaurant on 27 June.
Officials said the man was recruited to carry out the task by an intelligence official in the Russian-controlled part of the eastern Donetsk region and was asked to gather information about the restaurant.
“The convict agreed to the offer. In the city centre, he noticed cars with military licence plates in the car park and military themselves in the restaurant,” the prosecutor general’s office said.
It added that the convicted man also covertly recorded two videos of the site, which he immediately sent to his handler via Telegram before covering up evidence of his actions.
The man has been jailed for life over charges of “confiscation of property for high treason”, officials said.
Zelensky frightened by prospect of second Trump presidency
Friday 5 April 2024 04:30 , Jane Dalton
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in January invited former US president Donald Trump to visit Ukraine, but only on condition that he deliver on his words to “stop the war in 24 hours”:
Zelensky says he is frightened by prospect of second Trump presidency
Russian governor says air defence destroys more than 40 airborne targets
Friday 5 April 2024 04:29 , Arpan Rai
The governor of Russia’s southern Rostov-on-Don region said air defence units had destroyed more than 40 airborne targets in an early morning attack.
An electricity substation was damaged in the attack, he said.
The drone attacks had focused on Morozovsk district, northeast of Rostov-on-Don, which lies on Ukraine’s eastern border, said Vasily Golubev.
He added that work was under way to restore power supplies in affected areas.
Russian minister casts prospective Ukraine peace talks as Western plot
Friday 5 April 2024 04:14 , Arpan Rai
Russia’s top diplomat has claimed that prospective negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine could be successful only if they take Moscow’s interests into account, dismissing a planned round of peace talks as a Western ruse to rally broader international support for Kyiv.
Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov charged that Ukraine’s Western allies are currently involved in a massive diplomatic blitz to persuade as many countries of the Global South as possible to join a meeting in Switzerland to discuss a potential peace plan.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with about 70 foreign ambassadors to Moscow, Mr Lavrov argued that the West is seeking to boost attendance at the planned round of negotiations in Switzerland by claiming that its participants would be free to discuss only certain aspects of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace plan, such as ways to ensure global food security.
Russian minister casts prospective Ukraine peace talks as Western plot to win hesitant Global South
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed as Russia launches ‘double tap’ drone attack on Kharkiv
Friday 5 April 2024 04:05 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s second-largest city has been rocked by a “double tap” drone strike in which a first wave of missiles fired at residential buildings was followed by another attack timed to hit rescuers.
An Iranian-made Shahed drone slammed into a street yards from a building that had been hit an hour previously, exploding near firefighters and ambulance crews who were helping the injured and searching for survivors still under rubble.
Three firefighters were killed in the attack early on Thursday – two instantly and a third while being transported to hospital. A woman living in one of the targeted buildings was killed, and a dozen more were injured.
The death of one of the firefighters was witnessed by his son, who was in the same crew. He was seen falling to his knees and crying while other rescue workers tried to console him.
Askold Krushelnycky reports from the scene:
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed in Russian ‘double tap’ drone attack on Kharkiv
Russia downs Ukrainian drone, sparking fire
Friday 5 April 2024 03:00 , Jane Dalton
A fire broke out near a central market in the southern Russian city of Kursk on Thursday after air defence units downed a drone, one of four intercepted over the region, governor Roman Starovoit said.
Writing on the Telegram messaging app, Mr Starovoit said emergency services had been dispatched to the scene. He said one drone had struck a private home and two fires had broken out linked to that. He reported no casualties.
Ukraine’s military has repeatedly fired drones at three Russian border regions – Belgorod, Kursk and Voronezh. Its forces have also shelled border areas, particularly in Belgorod region.
More aid for Kyiv urgently needed, says Blinken
Friday 5 April 2024 01:40 , Jane Dalton
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said more aid was urgently needed for Ukraine following a Nato meeting of foreign ministers.
He added that the message from allies in Brussels was clear that the US Congress vote on the aid cannot happen soon enough.
Mr Blinken, in Brussels, said support for Ukraine was especially important as countries such as China, North Korea and Iran were helping Russia build up its defence industrial base.
He also asserted that Ukraine would eventually join Nato, as support for the country remained “rock solid” among member states.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said he briefed Mr Blinken on Russia’s increased air terror against Ukrainian cities and communities, including the use of ballistic missiles, and urged America to find ways to provide additional “Patriot” air defence systems as soon as possible.
I was pleased to meet with @SecBlinken in Brussels to express my gratitude to the United States for all of its assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression.
I briefed Secretary Blinken on Russia’s increased air terror against Ukrainian cities and… pic.twitter.com/8WcdgBwF1D
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) April 4, 2024
It feels like 1939 again in Europe, says Polish PM – recap
Friday 5 April 2024 01:00 , Jane Dalton
Europe is in a “pre-war era” reminiscent of 1939 and nobody will feel safe if Ukraine is defeated by Russia, Donald Tusk has warned:
It feels like 1939 again in Europe, says Poland’s Donald Tusk
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed as Russia launches double drone attack on Kharkiv
Friday 5 April 2024 00:05 , Jane Dalton
In recent weeks, Kharkiv has faced relentless Russian attacks, which appear to be driven by revenge rather than military strategy, writes Askold Krushelnycky:
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed in Russian ‘double tap’ drone attack on Kharkiv
‘It’s as though it happened yesterday’: The suburb where the war’s worst atrocities took place
Thursday 4 April 2024 22:55 , Jane Dalton
Two years on from the massacre in the suburbs, Bucha is evolving – but for those who suffered the worst of Russian atrocities, time has not dulled the pain of loss:
Life has returned to Ukraine’s Bucha. But 2 years after the killings, some families can’t move on
Ukraine strikes may have hit 15% of Russian refinery capacity, says Nato official
Thursday 4 April 2024 21:55 , Jane Dalton
Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries may have disrupted more than 15% of Russian capacity, a Nato official has said.
They added that the alliance believed Moscow still lacked sufficient munitions and manpower to launch a successful offensive.
Some Ukrainian strikes have gone as far as 1,000km into Russian territory.
“In terms of damage, the strikes have probably disrupted more than 10% of Russia’s refinery capacity, maybe more than 15%. Depending on the extent of the damage, repairs could take considerable time,” the official said.
“I think what we see here are fewer and fewer of these types of Russian energy, critical infrastructure that are safe from potential strikes and a greater and greater impact, I think, on the Russian economy.”
According to Reuters calculations, around 14% of Russia’s refining capacity has been shut down by drone attacks.
Damaged Russian refineries will get back to normal operations by early June, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing Russian energy minister Nikolai Shulginov.
Finland keeps Russian border closed
Thursday 4 April 2024 20:55 , Jane Dalton
Finland will extend the closure of its border crossing points with Russia beyond the current April 14 deadline “until further notice” due to a high risk of organized migration orchestrated by Moscow, the Finnish government says:
Finland to keep border with Russia closed until further notice
Russia and West join forces to tackle trade in ‘blood diamonds’
Thursday 4 April 2024 19:55 , Jane Dalton
In case you missed it: The United States and its allies are feuding with Russia over its diamond production, but they have joined forces to crack down on the trade in “blood diamonds” that helped fuel devastating conflicts in Africa:
Russia and West join forces to tackle trade in ‘blood diamonds’ despite feud over Moscow’s diamonds
Russia likely to have been behind GPS disruption, says Germany
Thursday 4 April 2024 19:00 , Jane Dalton
Russia is “very likely” to have been behind a series of disturbances affecting GPS navigation in the Baltic region, the German defence ministry has said, pointing to the Russian Kaliningrad exclave as a source of the problem.
“The persistent disruptions to the global navigation satellite system are very likely of Russian origin and are based on disruptions in the electromagnetic spectrum, including those originating in the Kaliningrad Oblast,” a spokesperson for the ministry told Reuters, confirming a report by news website t-online.
The spokesperson declined to give details on how Berlin made its assessment or the exact nature of the disruptions, citing military security.
Kaliningrad, sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland on the coast of the Baltic Sea, was cut off from Moscow when Lithuania became independent during the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 but still houses the Russian Baltic Fleet.
Russian minister dismisses peace talks as Western plot
Thursday 4 April 2024 18:00 , Jane Dalton
Russian minister casts prospective Ukraine peace talks as Western plot to win hesitant Global South
Six civilians killed in Ukrainian attacks, Russia claims
Thursday 4 April 2024 16:50 , Jane Dalton
Officials in Russian-controlled parts of southern and eastern Ukraine say six civilians have been killed in Ukrainian attacks.
A Russian official in Kherson region, Andrey Alekseenko, said two people died in a village where one drone struck a car and a second drone was fired at a passenger who had managed to crawl away.
He said a separate attack killed two members of a repair crew working to restore mobile communications. Another person was in hospital in critical condition.
Russian-installed officials in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine said two people had been killed there by Ukrainian shelling, and nine others were wounded.
Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission said in February that more than 10,000 civilians had been killed in Ukraine and nearly 20,000 wounded.
Nato to send us extra air defences, says Ukrainian foreign minister
Thursday 4 April 2024 15:35 , Jane Dalton
Nato allies have agreed to identify and find air defence systems in their arsenals to send to Ukraine to defend itself, foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.
“Allies will undertake an exercise of allocating or finding this – identifying these additional air defence systems in order to bring them to Ukraine, to provide them to Ukraine and help defend our skies,” he said in Brussels where he attended a Nato summit.
United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Ukraine would eventually join Nato as support for the country remained “rock solid” among member states.
“Ukraine will become a member of Nato. Our purpose at the summit is to help build a bridge to that membership,” Mr Blinken said.
Attack despicable and cynical, says Zelensky
Thursday 4 April 2024 14:58 , Jane Dalton
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called the strikes that killed first responders in Kharkiv a “despicable and cynical attack” and renewed his plea for more air defence systems from the West.
“Strengthening Ukraine’s air defence capabilities directly translates into saving lives,” he posted.
Other first responders have also been victims of the fighting. The World Health Organisation said ambulance workers and other health transport staff face a high risk of injury or death.
“Many emergency teams come under fire either on the way to a call or at their bases,” WHO said in a report.
“This is a horrifying pattern,” Dr Emanuele Bruni, WHO’s incident manager in Ukraine, said.
“These attacks threaten their safety and further devastate communities that have been living under constant shelling for more than two years.”
A strike on Kharkiv, just an ordinary apartment building. With three Shaheds. A despicable and cynical attack, when the rescuers arrived at the scene of the strike, the terrorists attacked again.
As a result of the attack, 4 people were killed. Among them were our rescuers:… pic.twitter.com/SgIKCdxG0U
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 4, 2024
In pictures: Kharkiv attack
Thursday 4 April 2024 14:35 , Jane Dalton
German defence minister wary of doubling structures on Ukraine Nato fund
Thursday 4 April 2024 13:00 , Tom Watling
A proposal by Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to create a €100 billion (£86bn) fund for Ukraine is worth considering, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday, but he added that it was important to prevent the doubling up of structures.
Such a fund would also have to take into consideration the national contributions already made by Nato countries, Mr Pistorius told a press conference in Berlin.
Macron says he has no doubt Russia will target Paris Olympics
Thursday 4 April 2024 12:45 , Tom Watling
French President Emmanuel Macron has said that he has no doubt Russia will malevolently target the Paris Olympics this summer.
“I have no doubt whatsoever, including in terms of information,” Mr Macron said in response to a reporter’s question about whether he thought that Russia would try to target the Olympics.
The French leader’s comments, delivered at an event in Paris for the inauguration of the new Olympics aquatic centre, represent his most explicit acknowledgment to date of foreign threats to the security or smooth running of the games.
The Games will take places amid a complex global backdrop, with Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza complicating efforts to safeguard the Olympics.
Mr Macron has in past months adopted a tougher stance against Russia, vowing that Moscow must be defeated, and has not ruled out that European troops may one day go to Ukraine, although he has made clear that France has no intention of instigating hostilities against Russia.
His government has also adopted a tougher line against alleged Russian disinformation efforts across Europe.
Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said France will propose EU-wide level sanctions on those behind spreading disinformation amid what Paris sees as growing efforts by Russia to destabilise the bloc.
Russia launches drone attack on Kharkiv that kills 4 people and wounds 12
Thursday 4 April 2024 12:30 , Tom Watling
Russian troops launched waves of Shahed drones against the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight, killing four people and wounding 12, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Thursday.
Russia attacked Ukraine’s second-biggest city with at least 15 drones, some of which were shot down by air defense.
Three rescuers were killed when Russia struck a multistory building damaged in an earlier strike. Six people were wounded at that location. Another 14-story building was hit by a drone, killing a 69-year-old woman.
Russia launches drone attack on Kharkiv that kills 4 people and wounds 12
Russia says backup power line to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has gone down
Thursday 4 April 2024 12:00 , Tom Watling
A backup power line supplying the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has gone down, the Russian-controlled management of the plant said on Thursday.
Ukraine‘s state-run nuclear power company, Energoatom, said the main 750 kilovolt (kV) power line, recently restored by Ukrainian engineers, was still running.
The six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia plant, held by Russia and located close to the front line of the war in Ukraine, are not in operation but it relies on external power to keep its nuclear material cool and prevent a catastrophic accident.
The Russian management said on Telegram that the reasons for the outage, which had not caused any change in the radiation level, were being investigated.
It said the problem was with the 330 kV “Ferosplavnaya” power line. This is a backup which, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was restored in the middle of last month after an outage of more than three weeks.
The main 750 kV “Dniprovska” power line went down for almost five hours on 22 March, highlighting what the IAEA said were “ever present dangers to nuclear safety and security” from the Russia-Ukraine war.
At 75, is timid, hesitant Nato now showing its age?
Thursday 4 April 2024 11:30 , Tom Watling
On the alliance’s landmark anniversary, historian Sten Rynning says the future of European security may depend on whether it can convince three steadfastly neutral countries to sign up
At 75, is timid, hesitant Nato now showing its age?
Czechs to give tens of millions of euros for Ukraine ammunition plan, PM says
Thursday 4 April 2024 11:00 , Tom Watling
The Czech Republic will donate tens of millions of euros to an initiative it is leading to buy hundreds of thousands of artillery ammunition rounds for Ukraine, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
Two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the most pressing need for Ukraine is artillery ammunition as the sides use heavy cannon fire to hold largely static, entrenched positions along the 1,000-km (620-mile) front line.
The Czech-led donation effort has won over about 18 countries, with Germany pledging the highest contribution so far, 576 million euros for 180,000 artillery rounds.
Fiala said on CNN Prima News television on Wednesday night that the Czech contribution would be in the higher hundreds of millions of crowns, which equals low tens of millions of euros.
“This roughly corresponds to the share that a country of our size and prosperity should put in,” Fiala said.
The Czechs, through a team of government officials and private companies, have sought at least 800,000 large-calibre ammunition rounds from countries around the world, with first deliveries to Ukraine expected by June.
But Czech officials have said the number is not final, and there was more ammunition available globally if more funding is secured.
Zelensky deplores ‘despicable and cynical’ Kharkiv attack
Thursday 4 April 2024 10:30 , Tom Watling
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of committing a “despicable and cynical” attack on Kharkiv overnight, which killed at least four people and injured a dozen more.
A strike on Kharkiv, just an ordinary apartment building. With three Shaheds. A despicable and cynical attack, when the rescuers arrived at the scene of the strike, the terrorists attacked again.
As a result of the attack, 4 people were killed. Among them were our rescuers:… pic.twitter.com/SgIKCdxG0U
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 4, 2024
Russia-Nato relations at level of direct confrontation, Kremlin says
Thursday 4 April 2024 10:23 , Tom Watling
Relations between Russia and Nato have slid to the level of direct confrontation as the US-led military bloc is already involved in the conflict in Ukraine and continues to expand towards Russia’s borders, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
Zelensky finally calls for younger soldiers in bid to plug shortfall in troops
Thursday 4 April 2024 10:00 , Tom Watling
Ukraine has annnounced it will lower the military conscription age in an effort to replenish its depleted ranks after more than two years of war.
The new mobilization law, from 27 to 25 , came into force a day after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed it. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed it last year.
It was not immediately clear why Zelenskyy took so long to sign the measure into law. He didn’t make any public comment about it, and officials did not say how many new soldiers the country expected to gain or for which units.
Zelensky finally calls for younger soldiers in bid to plug shortfall in troops
Here are some of the latest photos from the Kharkiv attack
Thursday 4 April 2024 09:25 , Tom Watling
Below are some of the latest photos from the overnight Russian attack on Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine
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