Kyiv mayor orders air-raid shelters to operate around the clock; Washington says training for Ukraine on advanced US Abrams tanks has begun
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Fatigue and frayed nerves grip Kyiv as city shelters from nightly Russian raids
Strikes on the capital have caused few casualties but residents face a new ‘psychological terror’
When the air raid alarms go off at around 3am, the first things exhausted Kyvians do is reach for their mobile phones, check the news, message family and friends – and start listening to the explosions that almost certainly follow.
“You wake up, go to a safe space, maybe a shelter, holding your phone. You cannot work, you cannot read; you sit and look around and wait. In the worst case, you hear a distinctive noise, maybe like a motorcycle passing by,” said Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian MP and leader of the liberal Holos party.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: Belgorod governor says shelling continues after two killed; missiles and drones shot down over Kyiv – as it happened
Attacks said to be ongoing in Russian border region, but no new casualties; Moscow launches sixth airstrike in six days
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine, has posted some more details of Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv to his official Telegram channel. He writes:
The occupiers continue to terrorise Ukraine with attack drones and missiles.
Around 11pm the enemy attacked Kyiv with Shahed-136/131 kamikaze drones. They entered from the southern direction, using the topography of the area and the course of the Dnieper River.
The aggressor does not stop. Nikopol region came under attack again. At midnight, the Rashists shelled Nikopol. Shells from heavy artillery flew into the city. People are unharmed. Rescuers are examining the area. The enemy is insidious and does not abandon its tactics of terrorising the civilian population.
Continue reading...Pro-Ukrainian forces ‘still fighting in Russia’s Belgorod’ despite Moscow claims
Freedom of Russia Legion social media reports contradict Russian claims to have repelled the rebel incursion
Ukrainian-backed Russian rebel groups have said they are still fighting inside Russia’s Belgorod region, despite Moscow’s claims on Thursday to have repelled the incursion.
The Freedom of Russia Legion posted videos on social media of combat purportedly in the Belgorod village Novaya Tavolzhanka, between the Ukrainian-Russian border and the town of Shebekino, the legion’s stated goal.
Continue reading...Zelenskiy orders audit of Ukrainian air-raid shelters after civilian deaths
A rift widened between the president and Kyiv’s mayor after witness reports that three people were locked out on the street during Russian attack
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ordered an audit of all Ukrainian air-raid shelters as a rift widened with Kyiv’s mayor after the deaths of three people who were locked out on the street during a Russian attack.
A nine-year-old girl, her mother and another woman were killed by falling debris after rushing to a Kyiv shelter on Thursday morning and finding it was shut. Later that day, the Ukrainian president accused Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, and other city leaders of negligence. Klitschko responded by saying the responsibility for the tragedy should be shared between them.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 464 of the invasion
Kyiv mayor orders air raid shelters to be open 24 hours after death of child; Ukraine claims to have shot down 15 cruise missiles and 21 drones
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: two wounded after Belgorod strike, says governor; investigation into ‘locked’ shelter in Kyiv – as it happened
Governor of Russian border town says drone fell on road way; claims that three people killed in capital sought safety in locked shelter
Wires are also posting new photos from the Russian city of Shebekino in the Belgorod border region, which Russian officials say was shelled for the fourth time this week by Ukrainian forces.
Continue reading...Zelenskiy hails ‘powerful support’ for Ukraine at Moldova summit
Ukrainian president speaks of the importance of overturning Russia’s air supremacy with Patriot missiles and F-16s
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had received “powerful support” from allies attending a summit in Moldova as it emerged F-16 fighter jets could be made available to Ukraine within six months.
Closing the conference of 46 European leaders held at a castle 12 miles (19km) from the border with Ukraine, the country’s president spoke of the importance of overturning Russian’s supremacy in the air with a “sky shield” involving a combination of Patriot missiles and F-16s.
Continue reading...Kyiv strikes: three die in early morning attack by Russia
Girl and her mother reportedly among the dead from falling debris after short-range missiles intercepted
Three people including a child were killed and at least 11 people were injured in an early morning missile attack on Kyiv that hit apartment buildings, two schools and a children’s clinic, according to city authorities.
The attack, on what is International Children’s Day in many post-Soviet countries, reportedly involved 10 Iskander short-range missiles, and there was only a few minutes’ warning before they hit. Most of the damage appeared to be from falling debris after the incoming missiles were intercepted by the capital’s air defences.
Continue reading...Ukrainian sanctions on media tycoon Alexander Lebedev revealed
The Russian businessman is the father of Evgeny Lebedev, who was given a peerage by Boris Johnson
Ukraine has imposed sanctions on Alexander Lebedev – the former KGB intelligence officer whose son Evgeny sits in the House of Lords – in connection with Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
The national security and defence council in Kyiv imposed sanctions on Lebedev Sr last October. The decision – first reported by Tortoise media – emerged on Thursday and follows a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Continue reading...Burkina Faso is the world’s ‘most neglected crisis’ as focus remains on Ukraine
Chronic emergencies in Africa are being ignored while Ukraine dominates headlines and receives more funding, says NGO
The displacement of 2 million people in Burkina Faso has been named the world’s most neglected crisis, while the world’s attention and aid has been focused on Ukraine, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
Burkina Faso has endured five years of conflict with militias – who have attacked water sources and forced school closures – now controlling up to 40% of the country’s territory.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 463 of the invasion
Macron says negotiated peace might take priority over Putin war crimes trial; US announces $300m arms package but ‘don’t use on Russian soil’
Continue reading...US announces $300m arms package for Ukraine – with a caveat
The shipment comes with a warning that the weaponry should not be used to attack within Russia
The United States has announced a new $300m arms package for Ukraine, including air defense systems and tens of millions of rounds of ammunition – but warned Kyiv that US weaponry should not be used to attack within Russia.
“We have been very clear with the Ukrainians privately – we’ve certainly been clear publicly – that we do not support attacks inside Russia. We do not enable and we do not encourage attacks inside Russia,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Continue reading...Moldova to press for accelerated EU membership process at leaders’ summit
Meeting in Chișinău is opportunity to show country is ‘fit for EU membership’, foreign minister says
Moldova wants to start formal talks on becoming a EU member state and will use the a summit of all 50 EU and non-member European leaders in its capital, Chișinău, on Thursday to underline its desire to accelerate the accession process, the country’s foreign minister said.
Along with Ukraine, Moldova has official accession candidate status since last year but believes, like its larger neighbour, it can accelerate the years-long process to get a seat in Brussels in the face of continuing threats from Russia.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: only 500 of 70,000 residents left in Bakhmut, mayor says – as it happened
This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here
The drone attacks targeting Moscow early on Tuesday, which have been blamed on Kyiv, were by far the largest wave launched against Russia since the start of its war against Ukraine.
There has been speculation that at least one of the drones involved was a UJ-22 produced by the Ukrainian Ukrjet company, which Russia claims has been involved in at least one previous attack. Some other experts disagree, suggesting it is another model of drone, citing differences in appearance.
Continue reading...Treasury’s sanctions police ‘reviewing’ finances of Everton FC owner, Guardian understands
Farhad Moshiri reportedly a ‘person of interest’ at special unit over links to sanctioned oligarch Alisher Usman
The Treasury’s sanctions police have been reviewing the finances of the Everton Football Club owner, Farhad Moshiri, the Guardian understands.
Moshiri appears to have become a person of interest to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) because of his links to Alisher Usmanov, the Russian-Uzbek billionaire who was sanctioned by the UK, the EU and the US after last year’s invasion of Ukraine.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 462 of the invasion
Drones strike at oil refineries within Russia; Medvedev calls UK an ‘eternal enemy’ which is de facto at war with Russia
Continue reading...Macron to call for European ‘strategic awakening’ after Ukraine invasion
In speech in Bratislava, French president will warn of steady erosion of European strategic stability
Emmanuel Macron is to make a diplomatic push to reassure central and eastern European countries that France understands that the continent’s security environment has been permanently changed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Macron has often been viewed with suspicion across eastern Europe, especially in Poland, as someone who sees Russia as ultimately part of Europe’s security architecture and wants to use the war in Ukraine to boost European defence autonomy in a way that loosens Europe’s security ties to the US.
Continue reading...Ukrainian woman trying to reach godson detained in Russia and deported to Belarus
Olga Guruli was heading to occupied Kherson province to arrange repatriation of boy and his brother
A Ukrainian woman who travelled to Russia hoping to arrange the repatriation of her godson and his brother from Russian-occupied Kherson province was arrested, interrogated for two days and threatened with being sent to a penal colony before being deported to Belarus.
The detention of Olga Guruli was initially reported by Russian media outlets who wrongly suggested she was an employee of Save Ukraine, an NGO that has been helping relatives recover children illegally deported by Russia.
Continue reading...One person dies in third wave of strikes on Kyiv in 24 hours
‘Massive’ strikes early on Tuesday morning, with falling debris setting an apartment building on fire
At least one person has died in Kyiv and three were injured when falling debris reportedly from a destroyed Russian drone hit a high-rise apartment building early on Tuesday and started a fire, officials in the Ukrainian capital said.
The attack on Kyiv was the third in 24 hours and came after a rare daytime attack on Monday that sent people running for shelter.
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