Ukraine is struggling to cope with Vladimir Putin’s increasing reliance on glide bombs, which Volodymyr Zelensky said have become “practically the main instrument of Russian terror”.
“There can be no alternative. Ukraine needs systems and tactics that will allow us to protect our positions, our cities and our communities from these bombs,” he said.
Putin’s forces used more than 3,200 guided bombs against Ukrainian targets throughout April, along with more than 300 missiles and about 300 Shahed-type drones, Mr Zelensky said, adding that his forces are a long way from effectively countering these munitions.
Russia has used glide bombs – Soviet-era bombs fitting with small wings that allow them to be guided towards targets – to strike schools, museums, universities, hospitals and maternity wards where no soldiers were present, killing thousands of civilians since its February 2022 invasion.
Mr Zelensky’s comments came as Ukrainian forces said they had downed yet another Russian warplane in Donetsk’s Pokrovsk front, the fifth Russian Su-25 jet Ukraine claims to have shot down this month.
Key Points
Ukraine needs system to defend against Russia’s glide bombs, says Zelensky
Ukraine says it has downed another Russian warplane in Donetsk
What we know about Russia’s 1,500kg ‘building destroyer’ glide bomb
Putin orders drills to simulate launch of tactical nuclear weapons
Russia begins nuclear drills in response to ‘provocative statements’
06:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia’s Defense Ministry has said it began a round of drills involving tactical nuclear weapons.
The exercises were announced by Russian authorities this month in response to remarks by senior Western officials about the possibility of deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine.
It was the first time Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, although its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises.
Russia begins nuclear drills in response to ‘provocative statements’
Glide bombs, missiles and drones: The aerial bombardment raining down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
05:47 , Arpan Rai
Missiles, glide bombs – with attached wings or GPS – rockets and drones. This is the aerial bombardment raining down on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, launched by Vladimir Putin’s forces from inside Russia.
It has been backed by a ground assault, as thousands of Moscow’s soldiers have poured across the border and tried to push towards the city of Kharkiv itself. The fiercest battles have focused on the town of Vovchansk, close to the border and around 40 miles from Kharkiv.
Russian forces initially overcame weak Ukrainian fortifications, penetrating a few miles and capturing two pockets with a total area of about 50 square miles.
They took a string of villages before Ukrainian reinforcements stemmed their advance.
On a visit by The Independent to the area, a Ukrainian army vehicle, with only three wheels, clattered to a halt on the road. As one of his comrades pulled out tools and started work repairing the vehicle, a soldier codenamed “American” explained what had happened to the wheel: “A Russian drone with a bomb spotted us on the road. We were racing as fast as possible but couldn’t outrun it. It dropped its bomb but luckily, it hit the asphalt, not us. But it still destroyed our wheel.”
Read more from Askold Krushelnycky’s ground report:
Glide bombs, missiles and drones rain down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
Blasts hit Russia’s Belgorod after missile attack warning
05:27 , Arpan Rai
A series of blasts could be heard in the Russian city of Belgorod after a missile attack warning this morning, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.
Belgorod, a frontline Russian city, has been under a series of Ukrainian attacks for months now and has seen heavy casualties.
Ukraine has launched frequent drone and shelling attacks on Belgorod and other Russian regions on its border.
Ukraine says it has downed another Russian warplane in Donetsk
05:08 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian forces have managed to down another Russian warplane in Donetsk’s Pokrovsk front, senior military officials said yesterday.
This is the fifth Russian Su-25 jet Ukraine claims to have shot down this month.
“According to the information available, Ukrainian troops destroyed a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft,” Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said, refering to aerial combat between Russian forces and Ukraine’s air defence unit on the Pokrovsk front in the country’s east.
It added: “The number of attacks on the Pokrovsk front has risen to 25. In particular, the enemy is trying to break into our combat formations using assault groups and equipment. The situation remains tense, with nine combat clashes still ongoing.”
Ten wounded as Russia strikes cafe in Kharkiv
05:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Russian airstrike on Ukraine‘s northeastern city of Kharkiv on Wednesday destroyed a cafe, damaged a nearby residential building and set a petrol station ablaze, and local officials said ten people were wounded, at least one severely.
“I’ve been left with nothing,” owner Vahe Ohandzhanian told Reuters in the ruins of his cafe, which had a large chunk torn out of it by the blast, scattering corrugated iron roof panels and bricks dozens of metres away.
A 12-storey high rise across the road had nearly all its windows blown out. About 50 metres away, a green trolleybus also had all its windows blown out and its rear side covered in a vast spatter of blood that pooled in a puddle on the asphalt.
Regional prosecutors said the trolleybus driver had both legs amputated. Russia had used a UMPB D-30 guided bomb launched from bordering Belgorod region, prosecutors added on Telegram.
Three more people were hospitalized, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Kharkiv, Ukraine‘s second largest city, and the surrounding region have been targeted by Russian attacks since the start of the full-scale war in 2022.
What we know about Russia’s 1,500kg ‘building destroyer’ glide bomb
04:39 , Arpan Rai
One year into its war on Ukraine, Russia started using a deadly new weapon that has since proved devastating for Ukrainian defensive positions on or near the frontline.
A conflict video from Krasnohorivka shows its effectiveness: a winged bomb that is seen hurtling towards a multi-storey building in this Ukrainian stronghold less than 20 miles from the eastern city of Donetsk.
The 1,500-kilogram explosive hits the structure, erupting into a fireball before engulfing the whole building in a plume of grey and black smoke.
The camera, filming from several hundred metres away, shakes as the ground beneath it rocks from the aftereffects of the explosion.
When the smoke subsides, the building has been completely destroyed.
Here’s all you need to know about the glide bombs:
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
Ukraine needs system to defend against Russia’s glide bombs, says Zelensky
04:08 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine now needs to protect itself from Russia’s glide bombs, “ the main instrument” of Vladimir Putin’s aerial attacks, president Volodymyr Zelensky said last night as he issued a fresh plea seeking top-tier defence systems.
Ukraine is a long way from effectively countering these Russian bombs, Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address, even as he praised his country’s progress in developing electronic weaponry.
“There can be no alternative. Ukraine needs systems and tactics that will allow us to protect our positions, our cities and our communities from these bombs,” he said.
“This is now practically the main instrument of Russian terror and in the occupiers’ advances,” he said.
Mr Zelensky has long called for improved air defences as Russia intensifies its assaults on energy and other infrastructure.
Russia has hit schools, museums, universities, hospitals, maternity wards where no soldiers were present, killing thousands of civilians since its February 2022 invasion.
Earlier this month, Mr Zelensky said Russia had used more than 3,200 glide bombs against Ukrainian targets throughout April, along with more than 300 missiles and about 300 Shahed-type drones.
These bombs help Russia in bombarding Ukrainian cities, including those away from the war’s frontline, as they have a great destructive potential and pose fewer risks to air crews delivering them.
As Russia’s forces edge ever closer, Kharkiv’s mayor has a defiant message for Putin
04:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Exclusive: Mayor of Kharkiv Igor Terekhov tells The Independent that Russian forces are trying to ‘destroy’ his city, home to some 1.4 million civilians.
Tom Watling has more here:
As Russia’s forces edge ever closer, Kharkiv’s mayor has a defiant message for Putin
Pentagon vows to keep weapons moving to Ukraine as Kyiv faces a renewed assault by Russia
03:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin committed Monday to keeping U.S. weapons moving to Ukraine as Kyiv faces one of its toughest moments against a renewed assault by Russia.
Austin and as many as 50 defense leaders from Europe and around the world were meeting Monday to coordinate more military aid to Ukraine, as Kyiv tries to hold off a Russian offensive in the northeast while launching its own massive assault on the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula.
“We’re meeting in a moment of challenge,” Austin said, noting that Russia’s new onslaught of Kharkiv showed why the continued commitment by the countries was vital to keep coming. Austin vowed to keep U.S. weapons moving “week after week.”
Pentagon vows to keep weapons moving to Ukraine as Kyiv faces a renewed assault by Russia
Poland arrests sabotage suspects and warns of potential hostile acts by Russia
02:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that three people were recently arrested on suspicion of links to foreign-sponsored sabotage, adding to nine others already under arrest.
Tusk was speaking at a weekly news conference about what steps his government was taking to protect Poland against hostile activity, including incidents with suspected links to Russian intelligence services.
“Another three people were arrested” on Monday night, Tusk said, as he praised the efficiency of Poland’s national security services.
Poland arrests sabotage suspects and warns of potential hostile acts by Russia
Russian attacks on Ukraine power grid touch Kyiv with blackouts ahead of peak demand
01:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Sustained Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid in recent weeks have forced leaders of the war-ravaged country to institute nationwide rolling blackouts. Without adequate air defenses to counter assaults and allow for repairs, though, the shortages could still worsen as need spikes in late summer and the bitter-cold winter.
The Russian airstrikes targeting the grid since March have meant blackouts have even returned to the capital, Kyiv, which hadn’t experienced them since the first year of the war. Among the strikes were an April barrage that damaged Kyiv’s largest thermal power plant and a massive attack on May 8 that targeted power generation and transmission facilities in several regions.
In all, half of Ukraine’s energy system was damaged, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
Russian attacks on Ukraine power grid touch Kyiv with blackouts ahead of peak demand
G7 needs to stand united on Chinese overcapacity, French minister says
Thursday 23 May 2024 00:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Group of Seven economic powers need to stand united in the face of China’s overcapacity in key industries such as electric car batteries, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with his G7 counterparts.
Le Maire told journalists that the G7 also needed to forge a joint position on frozen Russian financial assets and that France was prepared to work on a U.S. proposal to use them to back a loan to Ukraine.
With the economic divergence between Europe and the United States growing, Le Maire also said that Europe needed to “awaken from its economic lethargy” and double its growth rate in the coming years.
UN Security Council rejects Russia-backed resolution on banning weapons in space
Wednesday 22 May 2024 23:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The United States said Monday that Russia last week launched a satellite that could be part of weaponizing space, a possible future global trend that members of the United Nations Security Council condemned even as they failed to pass a measure against it.
The Security Council resolution drafted by Russia rivaled one backed by the U.S. and Japan that failed last month. The rival drafts focused on different types of weapons, with the U.S. and Japan specifying weapons of mass destruction. The Russian draft discussed all types of weapons.
The U.S. and its allies said the language that the 15-member council debated on Monday was simply meant to distract the world from Russia’s true intention: weaponizing space.
UN Security Council rejects Russia-backed resolution on banning weapons in space
Shapps warns lethal equipment being flown from China to Russia into Ukraine
Wednesday 22 May 2024 22:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
China is providing Russia with lethal aid for use in its war against Ukraine, Grant Shapps has warned.
The defence secretary suggested that British and US intelligence contradicts Beijing’s previous attempts to present itself as a moderating influence on Moscow and President Xi’s government is instead helping to arm Russia.
Mr Shapps used a speech at the London Defence Conference to reveal China’s collaboration as he argued Nato needs to “wake up” and bolster defence spending alliance-wide.
Shapps warns lethal equipment being flown from China to Russia into Ukraine
Russia is waging a shadow war on the West that needs a collective response, Estonian leader says
Wednesday 22 May 2024 21:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Perched on the open ramp at the rear of a British Chinook helicopter, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas flew home from the annual Spring Storm military exercises, pleased to see NATO allies cooperating. But she later said that other types of warfare were on her mind.
Her nation, which borders Russia, has seen a rise in sabotage, electronic warfare and spying — all blamed on Moscow.
As the war in Ukraine turns in Russia’s favor, defenses are being bolstered in the front-line nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as in Finland and Poland.
Russia is waging a shadow war on the West that needs a collective response, Estonian leader says
Glide bombs, missiles and drones: The aerial bombardment raining down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
Wednesday 22 May 2024 20:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Missiles, glide bombs – with attached wings or GPS – rockets and drones. This is the aerial bombardment raining down on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, launched by Vladimir Putin’s forces from inside Russia.
It has been backed by a ground assault, as thousands of Moscow’s soldiers have poured across the border and tried to push towards the city of Kharkiv itself. The fiercest battles have focused on the town of Vovchansk, close to the border and around 40 miles from Kharkiv. Russian forces initially overcame weak Ukrainian fortifications, penetrating a few miles and capturing two pockets with a total area of about 50 square miles.
Askold Krushelnycky speaks to a soldier relocated from another part of the front line to hold back an attack by Russia – and local residents being forced to evacuate because of the brutal fighting:
Glide bombs, missiles and drones rain down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
Wednesday 22 May 2024 19:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A convoy of 20 vehicles donated to Ukraine through London’s Ulez scrappage scheme arrived on Tuesday.
More than 100 vehicles have been donated to the war-torn country through the Ulez programme since it began from 15 March – with around half being taken to the eastern European country.
British-Ukrainian Aid (BUAID), which is operating the scheme with Transport for London (TfL), said the vehicles will be used for humanitarian and medical purposes during Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. BUAID said a further 13 vehicles are en route to Ukraine.
Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
Germany’s foreign minister visits Kyiv as Ukraine battles to hold off a Russian offensive
Wednesday 22 May 2024 18:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Germany’s foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in the latest public display of support for Ukraine by its Western partners, although deliveries of promised weapons and ammunition from NATO countries like Germany have been slow and have left Ukraine vulnerable to a recent Russian push along parts of the front line.
Annalena Baerbock renewed Berlin’s calls for partners to send more air defense systems, as Russia pounds Ukraine with missiles, glide bombs and rockets. Germany is the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States.
Ukraine’s depleted troops are trying to hold off a fierce Russian offensive along the eastern border in one of the most critical phases of the war, which is stretching into its third year.
Germany’s foreign minister visits Kyiv as Ukraine battles to hold off a Russian offensive
Zelensky says Western allies making decisions over Ukraine military aid ‘a year late’
Wednesday 22 May 2024 18:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that decisions on military aid from Western allies are late “by around a year” as his nation’s troops fight off an assault by Russian forces in the northeast region of Kharkiv.
Mr Zelensky was speaking as fresh US support is starting to arrive after a $61bn (£48bn) package was finally signed off by president Joe Biden in April after months of delay in the US Congress, with Kyiv’s forces severely outgunned.
He described the delivery of military aid, in particular of air defences like the Patriot systems Ukraine relies on heavily to fight off Russia’s invasion, as “one big step forward but, before that, two steps back”.
Zelensky says allies making decisions over Ukraine military aid ‘a year late’
Russia is using more Iranian drones to bomb Ukrainian civilians, says US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
Wednesday 22 May 2024 17:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said that the Russian army is intensifying its use of Iranian drones to target civilian areas.
“The Kremlin continues to intensify its bombardment of Ukraine, using Russian missiles and Iranian drones to strike more civilian targets across Ukraine’s territory and to put more innocent civilians — Ukrainians in the crosshairs,” Mr Austin said at the Pentagon during his opening remarks at the 22nd meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
This comes after the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in a helicopter crash in a rural part of the country as they returned from a meeting on the border with Azerbaijan.
Russia bombing Ukrainian civilians with Iranian drones, says US
Kremlin says EU plan to take revenue from frozen Russian assets is still theft
Wednesday 22 May 2024 17:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia would regard the seizure of revenue from its frozen assets in the European Union as a violation of all norms of the global economic system, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
EU countries have formally adopted a plan to use windfall profits from Russian central bank assets frozen in the EU for Ukraine‘s defence, the Belgian government said this week.
The Group of Seven countries (G7) froze around $300 billion worth of Russian financial assets soon after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022. The EU expects the assets to yield about 15-20 billion euros ($16.30-$21.70 billion) in profits by 2027.
“…We can see they are being careful, they understand the potential danger of such decisions and the potential consequences for themselves which are inevitable. That is why they have gone for the smaller option (versus confiscating all assets),” Peskov told a news briefing.
“But even the smaller option is to us nothing less than expropriation.”
Peskov said that Moscow was still working on its response to such a move and would closely monitor its implementation.
Baltic Sea nations react warily to a reported Russian proposal to revise its maritime border
Wednesday 22 May 2024 16:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Leaders around the Baltic Sea reacted warily Wednesday to reports that Russia could revise the borders of its territorial waters in the region, with Lithuania‘s foreign minister calling it an “obvious escalation” that must be met with an “appropriately firm response.”
In a draft proposal reported by some Russian media, Russia’s Defense Ministry suggests updating the coordinates used to measure the strip of territorial waters off its mainland coast and that of its islands in the Baltic Sea. The existing coordinates were approved in 1985, the ministry says; adding they were “based on small-scale nautical navigation maps” and don’t correspond to the “modern geographical situation.”
It wasn’t immediately clear from the draft whether the proposed changes would shift the border or merely clarify it.
Baltic Sea nations react warily to a reported Russian proposal to revise its maritime border
Poland arrests sabotage suspects and warns of potential hostile acts by Russia
Wednesday 22 May 2024 16:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that three people were recently arrested on suspicion of links to foreign-sponsored sabotage, adding to nine others already under arrest.
Tusk was speaking at a weekly news conference about what steps his government was taking to protect Poland against hostile activity, including incidents with suspected links to Russian intelligence services.
“Another three people were arrested” on Monday night, Tusk said, as he praised the efficiency of Poland’s national security services. That brings the number of those under arrest to 12.
Poland arrests sabotage suspects and warns of potential hostile acts by Russia
Russia begins nuclear drills in response to ‘provocative statements’
Wednesday 22 May 2024 15:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it began a round of drills involving tactical nuclear weapons.
The exercises were announced by Russian authorities this month in response to remarks by senior Western officials about the possibility of deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine.
It was the first time Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, although its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises.
Russia begins nuclear drills in response to ‘provocative statements’
In pictures: Russia strikes Kharkiv
Wednesday 22 May 2024 15:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Here are some of the latest photos which show the aftermath of a Russian airstrike in Kharkiv, which destroyed a cafe, damaged a nearby residential building and set a petrol station ablaze.
Ten wounded as Russia strikes cafe in Kharkiv
Wednesday 22 May 2024 15:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Russian airstrike on Ukraine‘s northeastern city of Kharkiv on Wednesday destroyed a cafe, damaged a nearby residential building and set a petrol station ablaze, and local officials said ten people were wounded, at least one severely.
“I’ve been left with nothing,” owner Vahe Ohandzhanian told Reuters in the ruins of his cafe, which had a large chunk torn out of it by the blast, scattering corrugated iron roof panels and bricks dozens of metres away.
A 12-storey high rise across the road had nearly all its windows blown out. About 50 metres away, a green trolleybus also had all its windows blown out and its rear side covered in a vast spatter of blood that pooled in a puddle on the asphalt.
Regional prosecutors said the trolleybus driver had both legs amputated. Russia had used a UMPB D-30 guided bomb launched from bordering Belgorod region, prosecutors added on Telegram.
Three more people were hospitalized, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Kharkiv, Ukraine‘s second largest city, and the surrounding region have been targeted by Russian attacks since the start of the full-scale war in 2022.
Russian attacks on Ukraine power grid touch Kyiv with blackouts ahead of peak demand
Wednesday 22 May 2024 14:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Sustained Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid in recent weeks have forced leaders of the war-ravaged country to institute nationwide rolling blackouts. Without adequate air defenses to counter assaults and allow for repairs, though, the shortages could still worsen as need spikes in late summer and the bitter-cold winter.
The Russian airstrikes targeting the grid since March have meant blackouts have even returned to the capital, Kyiv, which hadn’t experienced them since the first year of the war. Among the strikes were an April barrage that damaged Kyiv’s largest thermal power plant and a massive attack on May 8 that targeted power generation and transmission facilities in several regions.
In all, half of Ukraine’s energy system was damaged, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
Russian attacks on Ukraine power grid touch Kyiv with blackouts ahead of peak demand
G7 needs to stand united on Chinese overcapacity, French minister says
Wednesday 22 May 2024 14:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Group of Seven economic powers need to stand united in the face of China’s overcapacity in key industries such as electric car batteries, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with his G7 counterparts.
Le Maire told journalists that the G7 also needed to forge a joint position on frozen Russian financial assets and that France was prepared to work on a U.S. proposal to use them to back a loan to Ukraine.
With the economic divergence between Europe and the United States growing, Le Maire also said that Europe needed to “awaken from its economic lethargy” and double its growth rate in the coming years.
Russia is waging a shadow war on the West that needs a collective response, Estonian leader says
Wednesday 22 May 2024 14:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Perched on the open ramp at the rear of a British Chinook helicopter, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas flew home from the annual Spring Storm military exercises, pleased to see NATO allies cooperating. But she later said that other types of warfare were on her mind.
Her nation, which borders Russia, has seen a rise in sabotage, electronic warfare and spying — all blamed on Moscow.
As the war in Ukraine turns in Russia’s favor, defenses are being bolstered in the front-line nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as in Finland and Poland.
Russia is waging a shadow war on the West that needs a collective response, Estonian leader says
Russia says Ukraine attacked minor facility at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Wednesday 22 May 2024 13:49 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Ukrainian drone attacked a non-nuclear facility at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Wednesday, causing no critical damage, the plant’s Russian-installed management said.
Russian guided bombs hit residential area in Kharkiv injured nine
Wednesday 22 May 2024 13:26 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Russian air attack on Ukraine‘s northeastern city of Kharkiv on Wednesday injured at least nine people, at least one severely, and set fire to a residential building, local officials said.
“One of the guided aerial bombs, according to preliminary data, hit a cafe. It is very close to a multi-storey residential building,” Serhii Bolvinov, head of the investigative department of the regional police, told national TV.
Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said a petrol station caught fire as a result of the attack as well.
Kharkiv, Ukraine‘s second largest city, and the surrounding region have been targeted by Russian attacks since the start of the war in 2022. Strikes have become far more intense in recent months, hitting civilian and energy infrastructure, and Russian forces have opened a new front north of the regional capital in recent weeks.
Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians but thousands have been killed and injured in its 27-months-old invasion of Ukraine.
Zelensky says Western allies making decisions over Ukraine military aid ‘a year late’
Wednesday 22 May 2024 13:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that decisions on military aid from Western allies are late “by around a year” as his nation’s troops fight off an assault by Russian forces in the northeast region of Kharkiv.
Mr Zelensky was speaking as fresh US support is starting to arrive after a $61bn (£48bn) package was finally signed off by president Joe Biden in April after months of delay in the US Congress, with Kyiv’s forces severely outgunned.
He described the delivery of military aid, in particular of air defences like the Patriot systems Ukraine relies on heavily to fight off Russia’s invasion, as “one big step forward but, before that, two steps back”.
Read more here:
Zelensky says allies making decisions over Ukraine military aid ‘a year late’
Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
Wednesday 22 May 2024 12:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A convoy of 20 vehicles donated to Ukraine through London’s Ulez scrappage scheme arrived on Tuesday.
More than 100 vehicles have been donated to the war-torn country through the Ulez programme since it began from 15 March – with around half being taken to the eastern European country.
British-Ukrainian Aid (BUAID), which is operating the scheme with Transport for London (TfL), said the vehicles will be used for humanitarian and medical purposes during Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. BUAID said a further 13 vehicles are en route to Ukraine.
Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
Russian forces seize Klishchiivka in east Ukraine, Russian media say
Wednesday 22 May 2024 12:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian forces have taken over the village of Klishchiivka in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region, close to the city of Bakhmut, Russian news agencies cited Russia‘s defence ministry as saying on Wednesday.
Ukraine‘s military reported earlier on Wednesday that it was repelling Russian attacks near the village, saying the situation was under control.
Kremlin says the West needs to engage in talks to defuse rising nuclear tensions
Wednesday 22 May 2024 12:02 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that “in-depth dialogue” was the way to reduce rising tensions between Russia and the West, including in the nuclear sphere, but that “the collective West” was refusing to engage despite the potential dangers.
Russia‘s war in Ukraine has seen East-West ties hit their most dangerous moment since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis and Russia‘s defence ministry said on Tuesday that its forces had started the first stage of exercises ordered by President Vladimir Putin to simulate preparation for the launch of tactical nuclear weapons.
Nuclear analysts say the exercises by Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear power, are designed as a warning signal by Putin to deter the West from wading more deeply into the war in Ukraine. Western countries have provided weapons and intelligence to Kyiv but have refrained from sending troops.
Responding on Wednesday to a question about the risk of a nuclear conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said escalating tensions in Europe and active conflicts in various global regions were undermining stability and predictability.
“The further escalation of these tensions is potentially dangerous, including in the nuclear sphere,” Peskov told a news briefing.
“The situation requires in-depth dialogue in order to use political and diplomatic methods to seek ways out of this tense situation. But in-depth dialogue among the main players is rejected by the countries of the so-called collective West,” he said.
Kremlin says EU plan to take revenue from frozen Russian assets is still theft
Wednesday 22 May 2024 11:41 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia would regard the seizure of revenue from its frozen assets in the European Union as a violation of all norms of the global economic system, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
EU countries have formally adopted a plan to use windfall profits from Russian central bank assets frozen in the EU for Ukraine‘s defence, the Belgian government said this week.
The Group of Seven countries (G7) froze around $300 billion worth of Russian financial assets soon after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022. The EU expects the assets to yield about 15-20 billion euros ($16.30-$21.70 billion) in profits by 2027.
“…We can see they are being careful, they understand the potential danger of such decisions and the potential consequences for themselves which are inevitable. That is why they have gone for the smaller option (versus confiscating all assets),” Peskov told a news briefing.
“But even the smaller option is to us nothing less than expropriation.”
Peskov said that Moscow was still working on its response to such a move and would closely monitor its implementation.
Lethal equipmnt flown from China to Russia and into Ukraine, Shapps reveals
Wednesday 22 May 2024 11:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Lethal equipment is being flown from China to Russia and into Ukraine, defence secretary Grant Shapps has said.
Speaking at the London Defence Conference, Mr Shapps said: “US and British defence intelligence can reveal that lethal aid is now flying from China to Russia and into Ukraine.
“I think it is a significant development and we should be concerned about that because in the earlier days of Putin’s war, China would like to present itself as acting as a moderating influence on Putin.
“That recent visit we saw, the I think 64% increase in trade that we’ve seen between the two countries, reveals that there is actually a much deeper relationship there.
“And this is new intelligence which leads me to be able to declassify and reveal this fact today. I think it’s quite significant.”
Mr Shapps renewed calls for an increase in Nato spending, saying the UK will “lead by example and do everything that we can to ensure our wake-up call is heard loud and clear”.
Russia hands six children over to Ukraine in deal brokered by Qatar, TASS says
Wednesday 22 May 2024 10:53 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia handed six children over to Ukraine on Wednesday in a deal brokered by Qatar, Russia‘s TASS news agency reported.
The children, aged between 6 and 17, reunited with their families in Qatar’s embassy in Moscow, TASS said.
Glide bombs, missiles and drones: The aerial bombardment raining down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
Wednesday 22 May 2024 10:28 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Missiles, glide bombs – with attached wings or GPS – rockets and drones. This is the aerial bombardment raining down on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, launched by Vladimir Putin’s forces from inside Russia.
It has been backed by a ground assault, as thousands of Moscow’s soldiers have poured across the border and tried to push towards the city of Kharkiv itself. The fiercest battles have focused on the town of Vovchansk, close to the border and around 40 miles from Kharkiv. Russian forces initially overcame weak Ukrainian fortifications, penetrating a few miles and capturing two pockets with a total area of about 50 square miles.
Askold Krushelnycky speaks to a soldier relocated from another part of the front line to hold back an attack by Russia – and local residents being forced to evacuate because of the brutal fighting:
Glide bombs, missiles and drones rain down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
At least seven wounded in Russian attack on Ukraine’s Chuhuiv, governor says
Wednesday 22 May 2024 09:53 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Russian attack on the northeastern town of Chuhuiv in Ukraine‘s Kharkiv region wounded at least seven people on Wednesday morning, the governor said.
Russian forces attacked Chuhuiv with S-400 missiles, damaging a kindergarten and a private residence, according to preliminary information reported by the Kharkiv region’s police via the Telegram messaging app.
No children were hurt, and at least five of those wounded have received medical help, according to the governor’s statement.
Russian forces have intensified strikes on the northeastern region, targeting its energy and transport infrastructure with drones and missiles.
Germany’s foreign minister visits Kyiv as Ukraine battles to hold off a Russian offensive
Wednesday 22 May 2024 09:33 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Germany’s foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in the latest public display of support for Ukraine by its Western partners, although deliveries of promised weapons and ammunition from NATO countries like Germany have been slow and have left Ukraine vulnerable to a recent Russian push along parts of the front line.
Annalena Baerbock renewed Berlin’s calls for partners to send more air defense systems, as Russia pounds Ukraine with missiles, glide bombs and rockets. Germany is the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States.
Ukraine’s depleted troops are trying to hold off a fierce Russian offensive along the eastern border in one of the most critical phases of the war, which is stretching into its third year.
Germany’s foreign minister visits Kyiv as Ukraine battles to hold off a Russian offensive
Russian attack in Ukraine’s Sumy cut power to more than 500,000, energy ministry says
Wednesday 22 May 2024 09:16 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Russian attack on energy facilities in Ukraine‘s Sumy region overnight severed power to more than 500,000 consumers, the energy ministry said on Wednesday.
Ukraine‘s air force shot down seven drones used in the attack, according to the regional authorities. The power supply has been restored for most consumers as of Wednesday morning, the ministry said.
The attack also impacted power supplies to consumers in the Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions, which has since been restored, according to the ministry.
Russian patriotic bloggers express anger at arrest of former commander- part two
Wednesday 22 May 2024 08:52 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The support for Popov was widespread among pro-Russian military bloggers, who dismissed the allegations against him and cast Popov as a patriot who was being punished for speaking truth to power.
Popov was known for making a report in 2023 to Russia‘s top general, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, which laid out the problems Russia faced on the front including lack of equipment, poor reconnaissance and infrequent rotation of troops.
According to military bloggers, Gerasimov – who preserved his position in a reshuffle earlier this month – was outraged at the bluntness of the report and accused Popov of spreading alarmist disinformation. The defence ministry did not comment.
Yuri Podolyaka, a popular pro-Russian military blogger, said he was in shock over the arrest.
“Commander Ivan Popov, in the summer of 2023, having built an excellent multi-lane line of defense in the band of his army (unlike many of his allies), in fact, saved our army from defeat and the country from shame.”
He added: “General Popov had the courage to speak to the very face of his superiors about those things which others, shyly lowering their eyes, preferred to keep silent.”
Russian patriotic bloggers express anger at arrest of former commander
Wednesday 22 May 2024 08:38 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian patriotic bloggers expressed anger on Wednesday over the arrest of the former commander of Russia‘s 58th army, who was detained for fraud, and cast him as a talented general who had the courage to speak the truth to incompetent superiors.
Russia‘s state news agency TASS reported on Tuesday that Major General Ivan Popov had been arrested on suspicion of “large-scale fraud”.
It was not possible to contact Popov directly, who Russian media said stood accused of stealing 100 million roubles ($1.1 million) of metal.
Following a June 2023 mutiny by Wagner mercenaries against Russia‘s defence establishment, Popov said he had been dismissed after telling the top brass about the dire situation at the front in Ukraine.
Popov, whose military call sign was “Spartacus” and who was popular with the troops, said at the time that Russian soldiers had been stabbed in the back because of the failings of their senior commanders.
“I know one thing: Ivan was at the head of the forces that repelled the enemy’s counteroffensive,” Alexander Sladkov, a war correspondent for Russian state television, said on Telegram.
“Stupid people are forgiven for lies and losses so others, I think, can be forgiven for the ruthless truth,” he said. “General Ivan Popov is not a thief. He is a soldier. However… we also forgive thieves.”
Here are some of the latest photos from Ukraine
Wednesday 22 May 2024 08:20 , Tom Watling
Good morning.
Below are some of the latest photos coming from Ukraine.
Russia is waging a shadow war on the West that needs a collective response, Estonian leader says
Wednesday 22 May 2024 08:14 , Tom Watling
Russia is waging a shadow war on the West that needs a collective response, Estonian leader says
Ukraine says it destroys Russian missile ship in Crimea strike
Wednesday 22 May 2024 07:18 , Arpan Rai
The Ukrainian military says it has destroyed the last Russian warship armed with cruise missiles that was stationed on the Moscow-occupied peninsula of Crimea during an operation over the weekend.
Ukraine’s military reported conducting a long-range attack that destroyed a Russian minesweeping navy vessel over the weekend and said it needed more time to confirm what else had been damaged.
“According to updated information, the Ukrainian defence forces hit a Russian project 22800 Tsiklon missile ship in Sevastopol, on the night of May 19,” the General Staff said yesterday.
The Ukrainian Navy later said in a statement on X that the vessel had been “destroyed”.
The Russian defence ministry said on Sunday that its forces had shot down nine US ATACMS missiles over Crimea. Russian-installed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said no one was injured in the attack but that some residential buildings had been damaged.
Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said the Tsiklon was Russia’s “last cruise missile carrier” based on the peninsula, which Moscow seized and occupied in 2014.
ICYMI: EU seals a deal on using profits from frozen Russian assets to help arm Ukraine
Wednesday 22 May 2024 07:00 , Matt Mathers
European Union countries announced on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement to use the profits earned from frozen Russian assets to provide military support to Ukraine and help rebuild the war-torn country.
The 27-nation EU is holding around 210 billion euros ($225 billion) in Russian central bank assets, most of it frozen in Belgium, in retaliation for Moscow’s war against Ukraine. It estimates that the interest on that money could provide around 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) each year.
Ukraine is desperate to obtain weapons and ammunition as Russia presses its military advantage.
EU headquarters said that 90 per cent of the money would be put into a special fund known as the European Peace Facility that many EU countries already use to get reimbursed for arms and ammunition they send to Ukraine.
The other 10 per cent would be put into the EU budget. The programs that this money funds would help to bolster Ukraine’s defense industry or to help with reconstruction, should some countries object to their share being used for military purposes.
A small group of member states, notably Hungary, refuse to supply weapons to Ukraine.
Officials have said that a first tranche of the funds could be available in July.
Russian attacks strike Ukraine power grid ahead of peak demand
Wednesday 22 May 2024 06:08 , Arpan Rai
Sustained Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid in recent weeks have forced leaders of the war-ravaged country to institute nationwide rolling blackouts. Without adequate air defences to counter assaults and allow for repairs, though, the shortages could still worsen as need spikes in late summer and the bitter-cold winter.
The Russian airstrikes targeting the grid since March have meant blackouts have even returned to the capital, Kyiv, which hadn’t experienced them since the first year of the war. Among the strikes were an April barrage that damaged Kyiv’s largest thermal power plant and a massive attack on 8 May that targeted power generation and transmission facilities in several regions.
In all, half of Ukraine’s energy system was damaged, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
Russian attacks on Ukraine power grid touch Kyiv with blackouts ahead of peak demand
ICYMI: Russian court rejects appeal by dissident Kara-Murza to investigate poisonings
Wednesday 22 May 2024 06:00 , Matt Mathers
A Moscow court ruled on Tuesday that Russia’s Investigative Committee is not obliged to investigate two attempts on the life of jailed dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, independent news outlet Mediazona reported.
Moscow-born Kara-Murza, who has both Russian and British passports, was jailed last April for 25 years on treason charges after he repeatedly condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine and lobbied for Western sanctions against Moscow. His appeal against the sentence was rejected this month.
The 42-year-old politician and former journalist has survived two poisoning attempts. He became ill and was hospitalised in Moscow in 2015, a few months after his colleague, opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, was gunned down while walking across a bridge near the Kremlin walls.
In 2017, Kara-Murza was placed in a medically induced coma and put on life support after the onset of similar symptoms.
A joint investigation led by the Bellingcat outlet subsequently found that Kara-Murza was trailed by the same unit of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) that allegedly poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2020. Navalny died in an Arctic prison in February.
Kara-Murza’s wife Evgenia says the poison attempts have left him with a nerve disorder and she fears for his life in prison
Putin orders drills to simulate launch of tactical nuclear weapons
Wednesday 22 May 2024 05:07 , Arpan Rai
Russian forces have started the first stage of exercises ordered by Vladimir Putin to simulate the launch of tactical nuclear weapons, its defence ministry said.
Ukraine and its Western allies say Putin has repeatedly dangled the threat of nuclear war in Europe since he invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Kremlin argues it is responding to security threats against Russia, such as Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to rule out deploying French soldiers to Ukraine.
The Russian defence ministry said the first stage of the exercise involved Iskander and Kinzhal missiles.
It is aimed at ensuring that units and equipment are ready for “the combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons to respond and unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state in response to provocative statements and threats of individual Western officials against the Russian Federation”, the ministry said.
The drills involve missile forces in Russia’s Southern Military District, which lies adjacent to Ukraine and also includes parts of Ukraine that Russia now controls.
Belarus, where Russia said last year it was deploying tactical nuclear weapons, will also be involved, the two countries have said.
Nuclear analysts say the exercises are designed as a warning signal by Mr Putin to deter the West from wading more deeply into the war in Ukraine. Western countries have provided weapons and intelligence to Kyiv but have so far refrained from sending troops on the ground.
ICYMI: Yellen warns German banks to boost compliance with US sanctions on Russia
Wednesday 22 May 2024 05:00 , Matt Mathers
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen urged German bank executives on Tuesday to step up efforts to comply with sanctions against Russia and shut down efforts to circumvent them to avoid potential penalties themselves that would cut off dollar access.
Yellen said at the start of a meeting with bankers that the Treasury’s new authority to hit banks with secondary sanctions if they aid Russian military-related transactions had helped to frustrate Russia’s efforts to procure goods needed for its war in Ukraine, but more work was needed.
“Russia continues to procure sensitive goods and to expand its ability to domestically manufacture these goods. We must remain vigilant and be more ambitious,” Yellen said.
“I urge all institutions here to take heightened compliance measures and to increase your focus on Russian evasion attempts,” Yellen said in prepared remarks for the meeting in Frankfurt.
Russian drones hit energy targets, knock out power in Sumy region
Wednesday 22 May 2024 04:25 , Arpan Rai
Russian drones struck energy sites in the early hours today and knocked out power to some parts of Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, regional officials said.
The drones hit targets in the cities of Shostka and Konotop, northeast of Kyiv and near the Russian border, Sumy’s regional authority, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
Emergency services were working to restore electricity supplies.
Ukrainian officials have warned about a buildup of troops and a possible push into adjacent Sumy region, not far from Kharkiv where an offensive is underway.
Ukrainian troops finally get shells to stop Russians near Kharkiv
Wednesday 22 May 2024 04:16 , Arpan Rai
Finally having sufficient ammunition in their stockpiles, Ukrainian servicemen operating a howitzer in Kharkiv region near the Russian border are relieved and working around the clock to stop an incursion by Russian troops.
“It’s 24/7, their infantry keeps coming, we keep fighting their attacks. At least we are trying to. Whenever possible, we take them down,” said Pavlo, a gunner of Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Assault brigade operating a howitzer.
“We see them walking down the road, 5km away all the way from Shebekino,” said Vitalii, commander of the brigade’s artillery unit, referring to a town on the Russian side of the border.
“We see them walking on foot to their positions. As they move, we of course try to hit them , to inflict maximum casualties.”
Officers pore over drone footage of Vovchansk, with smoke rising over different districts, to assess the situation below. Monitors are checked, calculations made.
Two men are tasked with ensuring the howitzer is well camouflaged – with tree boughs.
Mr Vitalii is confident that the shells will keep coming as everyone is aware of the importance of holding their line. “Yes, we will be getting ammunition because we are up against a large and serious enemy group,” he said.
Kharkiv has witnessed an increase in fighting in the recent weeks as Russian forces are trying to capture the second largest Ukrainian city but have not been able to break through Kyiv’s line of defences around the region.
Those in the northern districts of Kharkiv region say the fighting is more intense than their previous assignment in Bakhmut, the town in eastern Ukraine seized by Russia last year and reduced to rubble by months of fighting.
Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
Wednesday 22 May 2024 04:00 , Matt Mathers
A convoy of 20 vehicles donated to Ukraine through London’s Ulez scrappage scheme arrived.
More than 100 vehicles have been donated to the war-torn country through the Ulez programme since it began from 15 March – with around half being taken to the eastern European country.
Full report:
Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
Poland forms Russian influence commission as spy fears grow
Wednesday 22 May 2024 03:00 , Matt Mathers
Poland’s prime minister announced on Tuesday the re-establishment of a commission to look into undue Russian influence, as Warsaw grapples with what it says is an intense campaign by Moscow to destabilise the country.
While Poland has long said that its position as a key distribution hub for supplies to Ukraine makes it a major target for Moscow’s spies, the defection of a judge to Russian ally Belarus this month put Poland on high alert.
“I issued an order on the establishment of a commission to investigate Russian and Belarusian influence on the internal security and interests of the Republic of Poland in the years 2004-2024,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a news conference.
He named the head of the Military Counterintelligence Service, general Jaroslaw Strozyk, as head of the commission.
ICYMI: Ukraine hits Russian missile ship in Crimea, Kyiv military says
Wednesday 22 May 2024 02:00 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine’s military hit the Russian missile ship Tsiklon in Moscow-occupied Crimea on Sunday, the Ukrainian general staff said on Tuesday.
It provided no further details on the matter.
Russia arrests ex-commander of 58th army on suspicion of fraud, TASS says
Wednesday 22 May 2024 01:00 , Matt Mathers
The former commander of Russia’s 58th army, Ivan Popov, has been arrested on suspicion of “large scale fraud”, state-run TASS agency reported on Tuesday.
TASS said a military court had ordered the detention of major general Popov for two months.
Popov’s lawyer Sergei Buynovsky was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying he had already appealed against his custody.
Last year, Popov said he had been dismissed after telling the military leadership
the truth about the then dire situation for Russia on the frontlines in Ukraine.
Russia has since regained the initiative, advancing gradually since February in the east of the country.
Popov, whose military call sign was “Spartacus” and who commanded Russian units in southern Ukraine, explicitly raised the deaths of Russian soldiers from Ukrainian artillery and said they lacked proper weapons systems and reconnaissance to counter it.
ICYMI: Zelensky says Western allies making decisions over Ukraine military aid ‘a year late’
Wednesday 22 May 2024 00:01 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that decisions on military aid from Western allies are late “by around a year” as his nation’s troops fight off an assault by Russian forces in the northeast region of Kharkiv.
Mr Zelensky was speaking as fresh US support is starting to arrive after a $61bn (£48bn) package was finally signed off by president Joe Biden in April after months of delay in the US Congress, with Kyiv’s forces severely outgunned.
Full report:
Zelensky says allies making decisions over Ukraine military aid ‘a year late’
India’s Russian oil imports rise to 9-month high
Tuesday 21 May 2024 23:00 , Matt Mathers
India’s Russian oil imports rose to a nine-month high in April after shipments on non-sanctioned tankers operated by Russia’s largest shipping company Sovcomflot resumed, tanker data obtained from shipping and trade sources showed.
Refiners in India briefly stopped importing Russian oil in tankers belonging to Sovcomflot after the company’s ships, along with its 14 tankers, were designated by Washington in February as being in breach of Western sanctions.
The West has imposed the sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine in 2022 and has enacted price caps on oil and oil products loaded at Russian ports aimed at cutting Moscow’s oil revenue that funds the war.
India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, is the top client for Russian seaborne oil.
In April, the first month of the fiscal year 2024/25, Indian refiners shipped in nearly 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil, up about 8.2 per cent over the previous month, expanding Russia’s share in India to about 38 per cent from 32 per cent in the previous month, the data showed.
Yellen sees ‘possibility’ of $50bn Ukraine loan from seized Russian assets – Sky News
Tuesday 21 May 2024 22:00 , Matt Mathers
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said there was a possibility G7 nations would support Ukraine by as much as $50 billion using loans linked to seized Russian assets, Sky News reported on Tuesday.
“I believe it’s important for the G7 to work together to show a united front and to show that we can generate meaningful resources to support Ukraine over the next several years,” she told Sky News.
“While America stands behind Ukraine and I expect Congress, if necessary, will pass future packages, Ukraine has substantial needs and being able to marshal significant resources to help Ukraine is important.”
Sky’s story on its website did not provide the full quote saying a loan was a possibility.
ICYMI: Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
Tuesday 21 May 2024 21:00 , Matt Mathers
A convoy of 20 vehicles donated to Ukraine through London’s Ulez scrappage scheme arrived.
More than 100 vehicles have been donated to the war-torn country through the Ulez programme since it began from 15 March – with around half being taken to the eastern European country.
Full report:
Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
ICYMI: As Russia’s forces edge ever closer, Kharkiv’s mayor has a defiant message for Putin
Tuesday 21 May 2024 20:00 , Matt Mathers
The three Russian glide bombs pound into the residential tower block, ripping apart several floors. At least 10 are injured in a strike that is part of what has become a near-daily aerial assault on Ukraine’s second-largest city.
In his office a few streets away is Kharkiv’s mayor Igor Terekhov, who is quickly rushed into a meeting as our interview is put on hold. Images then start to flood social media showing the destruction wrought upon the civilian-populated area near the Peremoha metro station in the city centre.
Full report:
As Russia’s forces edge ever closer, Kharkiv’s mayor has a defiant message for Putin
Russian theater director and playwright go on trial over a play authorities say justifies terrorism
Tuesday 21 May 2024 19:00 , Matt Mathers
A Russian court on Monday opened the trial of a theater director and a playwright accused of advocating terrorism in a play, the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached new heights since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have been jailed for over a year. Authorities claim their play “Finist, the Brave Falcon” justifies terrorism, which is a criminal offense in Russia punishable by up to seven years in prison. Berkovich and Petriychuk have both repeatedly rejected the accusations against them.
Full report:
Russian theater director and playwright go on trial over a play authorities say justifies terrorism
Moldova signs security and defence partnership with EU
Tuesday 21 May 2024 18:00 , Matt Mathers
Moldova has signed a security and defence partnership with the European Union, the first country to agree such a deal with the bloc, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday.
Led by pro-European president Maia Sandu, Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and NATO and EU member Romania, hopes to join the European Union by 2030. It has strongly condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
“This partnership will enhance the country’s resilience. It will allow (us) to jointly address common security challenges, make our engagement more effective and explore new areas of cooperation,” Borrell wrote on X.
Moldova is the first country to sign a Security & Defence Partnership with the EU.
This partnership will enhance the country’s resilience.
It will allow to jointly address common security challenges, make our engagement more effective and explore new areas of cooperation. pic.twitter.com/LXFurbs6oa
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) May 21, 2024
Slovak coalition backs Fico’s policies as lawmakers return after shooting
Tuesday 21 May 2024 17:00 , Matt Mathers
Slovakia’s parliament returned to work on Tuesday after adjourning in the wake of an assassination attempt on prime minister Robert Fico, with the government coalition signalling its contested policy agenda remained on track.
Fico is recovering and no longer in immediate danger after being hit by four bullets last week, in the first major assassination attempt on a European political leader for more than 20 years.
The incident highlighted the deep polarisation of politics in the central European country of 5.4 million people where Fico has been a dominant force for nearly two decades. Since winning back the prime minister’s job last September, Fico and his coalition have shifted policy, including ending state military aid to Ukraine, scrapping a special prosecutor’s office fighting corruption, and planning an overhaul of public broadcaster RTVS after it accused it of bias.
The government has faced opposition-led protests in the past six months against reforms of the criminal code and over fears for media freedom if the public broadcaster’s remit is changed.
The proposal on the broadcaster was under debate in parliament when it was adjourned last week, and lawmakers are due to pick it up again in this restart.
“We are united, and sending a clear signal of our determination to continue in the (policy) tempo and direction set by Robert Fico,” deputy prime minister Robert Kalinak said in a news conference of Fico’s ruling SMER party on Tuesday.
Poland forms Russian influence commission as spy fears grow
Tuesday 21 May 2024 16:00 , Matt Mathers
Poland’s prime minister announced on Tuesday the re-establishment of a commission to look into undue Russian influence, as Warsaw grapples with what it says is an intense campaign by Moscow to destabilise the country.
While Poland has long said that its position as a key distribution hub for supplies to Ukraine makes it a major target for Moscow’s spies, the defection of a judge to Russian ally Belarus this month put Poland on high alert.
“I issued an order on the establishment of a commission to investigate Russian and Belarusian influence on the internal security and interests of the Republic of Poland in the years 2004-2024,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a news conference.
He named the head of the Military Counterintelligence Service, general Jaroslaw Strozyk, as head of the commission.
Ukraine hits Russian missile ship in Crimea, Kyiv military says
Tuesday 21 May 2024 15:08 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine’s military hit the Russian missile ship Tsiklon in Moscow-occupied Crimea on Sunday, the Ukrainian general staff said on Tuesday.
It provided no further details on the matter.
Russian court rejects appeal by dissident Kara-Murza to investigate poisonings
Tuesday 21 May 2024 14:31 , Matt Mathers
A Moscow court ruled on Tuesday that Russia’s Investigative Committee is not obliged to investigate two attempts on the life of jailed dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, independent news outlet Mediazona reported.
Moscow-born Kara-Murza, who has both Russian and British passports, was jailed last April for 25 years on treason charges after he repeatedly condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine and lobbied for Western sanctions against Moscow. His appeal against the sentence was rejected this month.
The 42-year-old politician and former journalist has survived two poisoning attempts. He became ill and was hospitalised in Moscow in 2015, a few months after his colleague, opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, was gunned down while walking across a bridge near the Kremlin walls.
In 2017, Kara-Murza was placed in a medically induced coma and put on life support after the onset of similar symptoms.
A joint investigation led by the Bellingcat outlet subsequently found that Kara-Murza was trailed by the same unit of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) that allegedly poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2020. Navalny died in an Arctic prison in February.
Kara-Murza’s wife Evgenia says the poison attempts have left him with a nerve disorder and she fears for his life in prison.
EU seals a deal on using profits from frozen Russian assets to help arm Ukraine
Tuesday 21 May 2024 13:50 , Matt Mathers
European Union countries announced on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement to use the profits earned from frozen Russian assets to provide military support to Ukraine and help rebuild the war-torn country.
The 27-nation EU is holding around 210 billion euros ($225 billion) in Russian central bank assets, most of it frozen in Belgium, in retaliation for Moscow’s war against Ukraine. It estimates that the interest on that money could provide around 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) each year.
Ukraine is desperate to obtain weapons and ammunition as Russia presses its military advantage.
EU headquarters said that 90 per cent of the money would be put into a special fund known as the European Peace Facility that many EU countries already use to get reimbursed for arms and ammunition they send to Ukraine.
The other 10 per cent would be put into the EU budget. The programs that this money funds would help to bolster Ukraine’s defense industry or to help with reconstruction, should some countries object to their share being used for military purposes.
A small group of member states, notably Hungary, refuse to supply weapons to Ukraine.
Officials have said that a first tranche of the funds could be available in July.
Yellen warns German banks to boost compliance with US sanctions on Russia
Tuesday 21 May 2024 13:30 , Matt Mathers
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen urged German bank executives on Tuesday to step up efforts to comply with sanctions against Russia and shut down efforts to circumvent them to avoid potential penalties themselves that would cut off dollar access.
Yellen said at the start of a meeting with bankers that the Treasury’s new authority to hit banks with secondary sanctions if they aid Russian military-related transactions had helped to frustrate Russia’s efforts to procure goods needed for its war in Ukraine, but more work was needed.
“Russia continues to procure sensitive goods and to expand its ability to domestically manufacture these goods. We must remain vigilant and be more ambitious,” Yellen said.
“I urge all institutions here to take heightened compliance measures and to increase your focus on Russian evasion attempts,” Yellen said in prepared remarks for the meeting in Frankfurt.
ICYMI: Russia is using more Iranian drones to bomb Ukrainian civilians, says US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
Tuesday 21 May 2024 13:10 , Matt Mathers
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has said that the Russian army is intensifying its use of Iranian drones to target civilian areas.
“The Kremlin continues to intensify its bombardment of Ukraine, using Russian missiles and Iranian drones to strike more civilian targets across Ukraine’s territory and to put more innocent civilians — Ukrainians in the crosshairs,” Mr Austin said at the Pentagon during his opening remarks at the 22nd meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
Full report:
Russia bombing Ukrainian civilians with Iranian drones, says US
Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
Tuesday 21 May 2024 12:45 , Matt Mathers
A convoy of 20 vehicles donated to Ukraine through London’s Ulez scrappage scheme arrived.
More than 100 vehicles have been donated to the war-torn country through the Ulez programme since it began from 15 March – with around half being taken to the eastern European country.
Full report:
Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
Germany would need more budget funds to up aid to Ukraine, minister says
Tuesday 21 May 2024 12:15 , Matt Mathers
Germany has contracted military aid for Ukraine this year with a total volume of about 7 billion euros ($7.61 billion), defence minister Boris Pistorius said during a visit to Lielvarde air base in Latvia.
“If we want to do more, we need more money,” Pistorius said.
ICYMI: Zelensky says Western allies making decisions over Ukraine military aid ‘a year late’
Tuesday 21 May 2024 11:30 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that decisions on military aid from Western allies are late “by around a year” as his nation’s troops fight off an assault by Russian forces in the northeast region of Kharkiv.
Mr Zelensky was speaking as fresh US support is starting to arrive after a $61bn (£48bn) package was finally signed off by president Joe Biden in April after months of delay in the US Congress, with Kyiv’s forces severely outgunned.
Full report:
Zelensky says allies making decisions over Ukraine military aid ‘a year late’
Germany ready to back US plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine aid
Tuesday 21 May 2024 11:06 , Matt Mathers
Germany is ready to back a US plan to use frozen Russian assets to send $50bn in aid to Ukraine.
Sources told Bloomberg that US and EU momentum behind the deal was building.
Talks about the deal are likely to dominate talks between finance ministers at next week’s G7 meeting in Italy.
Germany’s foreign minister visits Kyiv as Ukraine battles to hold off a Russian offensive
Tuesday 21 May 2024 10:38 , Matt Mathers
Germany’s foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in the latest public display of support for Ukraine by its Western partners, although deliveries of promised weapons and ammunition from Nato countries like Germany have been slow and have left Ukraine vulnerable to a recent Russian push along parts of the front line.
Annalena Baerbock renewed Berlin’s calls for partners to send more air defense systems, as Russia pounds Ukraine with missiles, glide bombs and rockets. Germany is the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States.
Germany recently pledged a third US-made Patriot battery for Ukraine, but Kyiv officials say they are still facing an alarming shortfall of air defenses against the Russian onslaught.
The Kremlin’s forces have used their advantage in the skies to debilitate Ukraine’s power grid, hoping to sap Ukrainian morale and disrupt its defense industry.
Ms Baerbock, accompanied by Ukrainian energy minister Herman Halushchenko, toured a thermal power plant in central Ukraine that was heavily damaged on 11 April. In the plant’s scorched interior, workers of Centrenergo, a state company that operates the plant, were still scooping up rubble several weeks after it was hit.
Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
Tuesday 21 May 2024 09:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A convoy of 20 vehicles donated to Ukraine through London’s Ulez scrappage scheme arrived.
More than 100 vehicles have been donated to the war-torn country through the Ulez programme since it began from 15 March – with around half being taken to the eastern European country.
British-Ukrainian Aid (BUAID), which is operating the scheme with Transport for London (TfL), said the vehicles will be used for humanitarian and medical purposes during Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. BUAID said a further 13 vehicles are en route to Ukraine.
Convoy of Ulez scrappage scheme vehicles arrives in Ukraine from London
In pictures: Russian drone attack destroys house in Kharkiv
Tuesday 21 May 2024 09:24 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Pictures show firefighters putting out a fire in a private house after a Russian drone attack in the suburbs of Kharkiv.
Tuesday 21 May 2024 09:02 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Here are the indicative estimates of Russia’s combat losses as of 21 May, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
These are the indicative estimates of Russia’s combat losses as of May 21, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/3vQMOngXod
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 21, 2024
US Treasury Secretary urges European banks to boost compliance with US sanctions on Russia
Tuesday 21 May 2024 08:42 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged European bank executives on Tuesday to step up their efforts to comply with moves to shut down Russia‘s evasion of sanctions.
Yellen said at the start of a meeting with bankers that the secondary sanctions authority, implemented last December, has frustrated Russia‘s efforts to procure goods needed for its war in Ukraine, but more work was needed.
“I urge all institutions here to take heightened compliance measures and to increase your focus on Russian evasion attempts,” Yellen said in prepared remarks.
“I ask that you ensure that your global sanctions compliance policies are stringently applied by your branches and subsidiaries abroad.”
Zelensky says Western allies making decisions over Ukraine military aid ‘a year late’
Tuesday 21 May 2024 08:22 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that decisions on military aid from Western allies are late “by around a year” as his nation’s troops fight off an assault by Russian forces in the northeast region of Kharkiv.
Mr Zelensky was speaking as fresh US support is starting to arrive after a $61bn (£48bn) package was finally signed off by president Joe Biden in April after months of delay in the US Congress, with Kyiv’s forces severely outgunned.
He described the delivery of military aid, in particular of air defences like the Patriot systems Ukraine relies on heavily to fight off Russia’s invasion, as “one big step forward but, before that, two steps back”.
Zelensky says allies making decisions over Ukraine military aid ‘a year late’
Russia is using more Iranian drones to bomb Ukrainian civilians, says US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
Tuesday 21 May 2024 08:04 , Matt Mathers
US defence secretqry Lloyd Austin has said that the Russian army is intensifying its use of Iranian drones to target civilian areas.
“The Kremlin continues to intensify its bombardment of Ukraine, using Russian missiles and Iranian drones to strike more civilian targets across Ukraine’s territory and to put more innocent civilians — Ukrainians in the crosshairs,” Mr Austin said at the Pentagon during his opening remarks at the 22nd meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
Full report:
Russia bombing Ukrainian civilians with Iranian drones, says US
Poland arrests nine on charges of Russian-ordered sabotage
Tuesday 21 May 2024 07:50 , Matt Mathers
Poland has arrested nine people in connection with acts of sabotage committed in the country on the orders of Russian services, prime minister Donald Tusk said late on Monday.
Warsaw says its position as a hub for supplies to Ukraine has made it a key target for Russian intelligence services, and accuses Moscow of trying to destabilise the country.
“We currently have nine suspects arrested and charged with engaging in acts of sabotage in Poland directly on behalf of the Russian services,” Tusk told private broadcaster TVN24.
“This includes beatings, arson and attempted arson.”
He said Poland was collaborating with its allies on the issue and that the plots also affected Lithuania, Latvia and possibly also Sweden.
Tusk said earlier this month Poland would allocate an additional 100 million zlotys ($25.53 million) to its intelligence services due to the threat from Russia.
In April, two people were detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Leonid Volkov, an exiled top aide to late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Ukraine says it downs 28 out of 29 drones launched by Russia overnight
Tuesday 21 May 2024 07:35 , Matt Mathers
Ukrainian forces shot down 28 out of 29 drones used by Russian forces in an overnight attack on seven regions, Ukraine’s air force said in a statement on Tuesday.
The drone attack damaged four private residences, 25 trucks and buses in Kharkiv, injuring five people, according to the region’s governor Oleh Syniehubov and Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry’s statements on the Telegram messaging app.
A missile attack later in the morning targeted transport infrastructure and injured two more people in the city, the governor added.
Two drones shot down in Dnipropetrovsk region damaged outbuildings, with no casualties reported by the region’s governor.
Three Shahed-type drones were shot down over the Kherson region, with 14 more shot down over the Odesa region, according to the Ukrainian military.
The rest of the drones targeted the Mykolaiv, Cherkasy and Kirovohrad regions.
Reuters could not independently verify the information on damages.
One person killed in Ukrainian drone attack on Russia
Tuesday 21 May 2024 07:20 , Namita Singh
One person was killed and three wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on the village of Oktyabrsky in Russia’s Belgorod region, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said this morning on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine aims to corner Russia during international peace talks in Switzerland
Tuesday 21 May 2024 07:10 , Namita Singh
Ukraine is gearing up for international talks in Switzerland next month that will exclude Russia and are aimed at trying to unify and harden opinion against Moscow.Volodymyr Zelensky said it was crucial to get as many countries around the table as possible. “And then Russia will have to answer to the majority of the world, not Ukraine. …
No one says that tomorrow Russia will agree, but it is important that we have the initiative.”
Beijing has yet to say whether it will participate, although Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin met last week in China and pledged a “new era” of partnership between the two most powerful rivals of the United States.
“It is very important that they (China) are there,” said Mr Zelensky. “Because in principle, after this summit, it becomes clear who wants to end the war, and who wants to remain in strong relations with the Russian Federation.”
On US politics, he sought to dampen concerns that any win for Republican candidate Donald Trump in November elections could spell trouble for Ukraine. Trump is a Ukraine aid sceptic who has stressed “America First” policies.
“I don’t believe that Republicans are against support for Ukraine, but some messages that are coming from their side raise concerns.”
It’s horrifying what’s happened to Ukrainians with disabilities during Russia’s war – we cannot abandon them
Tuesday 21 May 2024 07:00 , Alexander Butler
Comment: Reporting on the kidnapping and abuse of the most vulnerable in Ukrainian society makes one thing clear, writes Bel Trew: in war people with disabilities are the last to be remembered and the first to be left behind:
Used as human shields, starved or deprived of medicines, tortured, abducted, disappeared. These are the potential crimes that have been committed against people with disabilities since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, according to a new 18-month investigation by The Independent.
We cannot abandon Ukrainians with disabilities suffering during war
Tory MP claims it is ‘extremely unlikely’ Ukraine will win against Russia
Tuesday 21 May 2024 06:30 , Namita Singh
A Conservative former minister has claimed it is “extremely unlikely” that Ukraine will succeed against Russia, as he urged MPs to be realistic.
During a debate on Ukraine, Sir Edward Leigh argued that “America could’ve won this war by now” if it had armed Ukraine sufficiently.
Sir Edward said current resources are not enough for Ukraine to win, before revealing he is prepared to send UK troops to fight and put the UK’s economy on a war footing.
The Gainsborough MP said: “It is extremely unlikely, sadly, that Ukraine can win this war.”
Report:
Tory MP claims it is ‘extremely unlikely’ Ukraine will win against Russia
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