Fate of Ukrainian soldiers unclear after evacuation from Mariupol; peace talks stall between Russia and Ukraine

• Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

The fate of more than 260 Ukrainian soldiers who have ended weeks of resistance at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol remains unclear, after the fighters surrendered and were transferred to Russian-controlled territory. Ukraine’s deputy defence minister said they would be swapped in a prisoner exchange, but some Russian officials said they could be tried or even executed.

Eight people died and 12 were wounded after Russia launched a missile strike on the village of Desna in the northern Ukrainian region of Chernihiv, according to Ukraine’s state emergency service. The regional governor, Viacheslav Chaus, said Russia launched four missiles at about 5am local time on Tuesday. Two of the missiles hit buildings in the village, he said.

Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have stalled, according to both sides. The Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said negotiations with Russia had been suspended, blaming Moscow’s “stereotypical mindset”. Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Andrei Rudenko, said that virtually no peace talks were going on at the moment and blamed Ukraine for having “practically withdrawn” from the process.

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, promised his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that French arms deliveries to Kyiv would intensify in the coming days, the Élysée said. Zelenskiy said he had had a “long and meaningful” conversation with Macron.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Russian forces may have sustained “impressive losses” since their invasion of Ukraine. He said: “If it is true that Russia has lost 15% of their troops since the beginning of the war, this is a world record of the losses of an army invading a country.” Borrell also said all EU member states would support Finland and Sweden in their applications to join Nato.

Finland’s parliament has overwhelmingly approved a government proposal to join Nato, a day after Sweden confirmed its intention to join the alliance. The Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, said he was sure both countries would overcome Turkish opposition to their membership bids.

Niinistö and Sweden’s prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, will meet Joe Biden on Thursday, the White House said. The leaders are expected to discuss Finland and Sweden’s Nato applications, European security and support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, it said.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said Finland and Sweden joining Nato would probably make “not much difference”. The two Nordic countries “have been participating in Nato military exercises for many years”, Lavrov said.

Vladimir Putin has said that by abandoning Russian energy supplies, Europe risks paying the most expensive energy prices in the world. Speaking at a meeting with domestic oil managers and government officials, Putin said it was impossible for some European countries to quickly ditch Russian oil.

Sweden follows Finland in application to join Nato; Nato pledges open-ended military support to Ukraine; British intelligence estimates Russia has lost a third of invasion force

Sweden has indicated it will follow Finland in applying for Nato membership. The two countries’ move abandons decades of military non-alignment triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and would redraw the security map of Europe.

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would look to provide both countries with interim security guarantees while the applications are processed, including possibly by increasing troops in the region.

In apparent retaliation, the Kremlin has pulled the plug on electricity supplies to Finland, with which it shares a 1,300km (800 mile) border.

Nato pledged open-ended military support for Ukraine on Sunday. At a meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Berlin, Germany’s Annalena Baerbock said it would provide military assistance “for as long as Ukraine needs this support for the self-defence of its country”.

British intelligence revealed that Russia may have lost as much as a third of the invasion force, as more than 400 Russian soldiers were estimated to have been killed or wounded last week trying to cross the Donets river. UK defence chiefs said Russia’s offensive in the eastern Donbas region had “lost momentum” and that Moscow’s battle plan was “significantly behind schedule”.

Ukraine’s president Volodymr Zelensky has warned that the military situation in Ukraine’s south-eastern Donbas region is “very difficult” as analysts say Russian president Vladimir Putin has his sights on annexing southern and eastern Ukraine in the months ahead.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had carried out “high-precision” missile strikes on four artillery munitions depots in the Donetsk area in the east of Ukraine. The ministry also claimed airstrikes had destroyed two missile-launching systems and radar, and 15 Ukrainian drones around Donetsk and Lugansk.

As Russian forces struggle in Ukraine, Ukrainian forces made inroads. The first Ukrainian battalion reached the Russian border in the Kharkhiv region today.

Ukrainian authorities are conducting at least 10 active rape investigations involving Russian troops, and are calling for other victims to come forward.

Kalush Orchestra, the band that won Eurovision last night for Ukraine, is auctioning off the statuette to raise funds for the Ukrainian army and Ukraine. The win has lifted spirits around Ukraine.

Zelenskiy has warned that the war in his country risks triggering global food shortages and has urged international intervention to prevent global famine. Before the invasion, Ukraine supplied 12% of the planet’s wheat, 15% of its corn and half of its sunflower oil.

A cyberattack on the Lviv city council website resulted in stolen data that ended up published in Telegram channels linked to Russia. This happened the same weekend Italian police thwarted hacker attacks by pro-Russian groups on the Eurovision song contest.

Finland and Sweden confirm intention to join Nato, prompted by Russian invasion of Ukraine

• Russia likely to have lost third of its invasion force, says UK
• Finland formally confirms intention to join Nato
• Zelenskiy hails Eurovision win and plans to ‘one day’ host in Mariupol

Croatia’s foreign minister has said talks between Turkey and Finland and Sweden over its concerns regarding the latter two nations’ wish to join Nato were on the right track after all three met, Reuters reports.

Gordan Grlić-Radman said:

Discussions are on a good track and we hope we will have a good outcome today to show solidarity and speak with one voice.

Shot after shot pounded into the Russian missile battery hidden by the lighthouse on Snake Island, a Black Sea rock 22 miles (35km) from the Ukrainian coast. The edited video, released by the Ukrainian military, showed the strike and its aftermath – all taken from a Turkish-designed Bayraktar TB2 drone.

Until then, evidence of the TB2 – a remotely piloted killer drone with a range of up to 190 miles – had largely disappeared from the conflict. The assumption was that the two dozen or so that Ukraine had bought from Turkey had been shot down and Ankara, not wanting to upset Russia, had declined to supply more.

Head of military intelligence for Ukraine says August will be turning point in conflict; Republican senators travel to Kyiv to show support for Ukraine

• Russian forces are withdrawing from Kharkiv, Ukraine says
• Russia suffers ‘worst aviation losses in decades’, says Zelenskiy
• Refugees staying with UK hosts not cleared by criminal record checks
• Putin warns Finland that joining Nato would harm Russia relations
• Senior US senators visit Zelenskiy in Kyiv

In case you’d missed it, Italy is set to host the Grand Final of the Eurovision song contest later on Saturday – and Ukraine is the favourite to win.

Kalush Orchestra, a band that blends traditional folk and hip-hop, is competing in the event with the song Stefania, which has become an anthem at home, the Guardian’s Rome correspondent Angela Giuffrida reported earlier this week.