Vladimir Putin warns against western intervention in Ukraine; Liz Truss says the war must be a ‘catalyst for change’; António Guterres visits Kyiv
Russia’s foreign affairs ministry has issued a stern warning to western countries over encouragement given to Ukraine to strike within Russian territory. The spokesperson Maria Zakharova said: “[F]urther provocation prompting Ukraine to strike against Russian facilities will be met with a harsh response.”
The Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak has defended Ukraine’s right to strike inside Russia, saying “Ukraine will defend itself in any way, including strikes on the warehouses and bases of the killers in Russia. The world recognises this right.”
The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has repeated the assertion that it is legitimate for Ukraine to target logistics within Russian territory, saying: “If Ukraine did choose to target logistics infrastructure for the Russian army, that would be legitimate under international law.”
Wallace also suggested the UK would be supplying Ukraine with weaponry that can strike Russian naval forces in the Black Sea. Russia’s Black Sea fleet retains the ability to strike Ukrainian and coastal targets, despite its “embarrassing losses”, Britain’s defence ministry said in its latest intelligence report.
Russia’s defence ministry said its missiles had struck four Ukrainian military targets overnight, destroying two missile and ammunition depots near the settlements of Barvinkove and Ivanivka in the east of the country.
The southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, which Russia claims to have captured, will transition to using the rouble from 1 May, according to Russian state media.
The head of Ukraine’s parliament energy committee, Andriy Herus, has tried to reassure the country that energy supplies are secure for the summer.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, is in Ukraine and has visited Borodianka to see the destruction there.
Efforts are under way to get emergency contraception into Ukrainian hospitals as quickly as possible, as reports of rape after the Russian invasion continue to rise.
More than 8,500 alleged war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine are under investigation, Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office has said.
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato, has said in Brussels “if they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be welcomed with open arms to Nato”.
The Financial Times is reporting some of Europe’s largest gas importers are preparing to acquiesce to Russian demands that energy must be paid for in roubles. It says Gas distributors in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia are planning to open rouble accounts at Gazprombank in Switzerland.
Germany’s Bundestag lower house of parliament has overwhelmingly approved a petition on support for Ukraine, backing the delivery of weapons including heavy arms to the country to help it fend off Russian attacks.
The UK government has released figures stating that about 27,100 people had arrived in the UK as refugees under the Ukraine visa schemes as of Monday. UNHCR states that 5,372,854 people have fled Ukraine for abroad since Russia’s latest invasion began on 24 February.
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