US indicates it will not block European countries exporting F-16s to Ukraine

Shift in stance could allow countries such as the Netherlands to send US-designed fighter jets to Ukraine

US officials have indicated that the White House would not block any European countries seeking to export F-16 jets to Ukraine, potentially averting a standoff over the issue at the G7 summit in Japan.

The shift in stance, first reported by the Washington Post, could eventually allow countries such as the Netherlands to export the US-designed jets once pilots and ground crews have been trained.

Continue reading...

Hungary steps up threat to block EU weapons aid for Ukraine

Foreign minister’s comments at odds with unity G7 nations want to project at summit in Hiroshima

Hungary has stepped up threats to block further EU funds for weapons to aid Ukraine, marring a show of unity from western nations at the G7 summit.

The Hungarian foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, has said his government will block a further €500m from the European peace facility, a fund used to reimburse EU member states that supply military aid to Ukraine, unless Kyiv removes Hungary’s OTP Bank from its list of war sponsors.

Continue reading...

G7 prepares new Russia sanctions as Zelenskiy to attend summit in person

Ukrainian president to take part in Hiroshima talks on Sunday as leaders target exports to Russia

The G7 has unveiled further sanctions targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine, as Volodymyr Zelenskiy prepared to attend the Hiroshima summit in person.

“Our support for Ukraine will not waver,” the G7 leaders said in a statement on Friday, vowing “to stand together against Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine”.

Continue reading...

US risks rift with European allies over hesitancy to supply F-16s to Ukraine

UK and Netherlands want to create ‘international coalition’ to procure US-made fighter jets and train Ukrainian pilots and crews

Washington risks opening a rift with European allies over its reluctance to contemplate supplying F-16 fighters to Ukraine, with the issue likely to crop up at the forthcoming G7 summit in Japan.

This week, after Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Europe, the UK and the Netherlands said they would create an “international coalition” to procure the US-made F-16s and train Ukrainian pilots and crews.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: Storm Shadow missiles used in Ukraine, says UK defence minister – as it happened

This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here

The FT today has a piece by Felicia Schwartz in Washington and Henry Foy in Tokyo casting forward to later in the year, and raising the spectre that European allies worry about the longevity of US support for Ukraine. They write:

Washington has been Ukraine’s dominant source of weaponry and US officials say sufficient preapproved funds remain to sustain Kyiv for about five more months, covering a crucial counter-offensive planned for the coming weeks.

But European allies are increasingly uncertain about whether the US will come close to matching its existing $48bn package, adopted in 2022, particularly as it requires a vote in Congress this autumn against the backdrop of more partisan debate on the war.

Continue reading...

Stark before-and-after images reveal the obliteration of Bakhmut

High-resolution satellite imaging of city in eastern Ukraine lay bare its destruction after months of bombardment

High-resolution satellite images published by Maxar provide stark insights into the destruction of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, caused by months of bombardment and fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

The images show Bakhmut from above in May 2022 and May 2023.

Continue reading...

As G7 leaders start to arrive, Japan PM prepares push in Hiroshima for nuclear weapons pledge

Ukraine and China’s Taiwan ambitions are expected to dominate summit discussions, but Fumio Kishida will have a powerful backdrop

The war in Ukraine and Chinese aggression towards Taiwan will dominate G7 discussions this week, but host Fumio Kishida is expected to carve out time to push for a pledge on nuclear weapons when leaders meet in Hiroshima, the first place on Earth targeted by an atomic bomb.

The leaders began to arrive on Thursday, ahead of an expected visit on Saturday to the city’s Peace Memorial Museum, which contains exhibits showing the scale of the tragedy that unfolded after the US dropped a nuclear bomb on the morning of 6 August 1945, killing 140,000 people by the end of the year.

Continue reading...

Russia orders arrest of Oscar-nominated film producer for criticism of war

Alexander Rodnyansky and theatre director Ivan Vyrypaev, both vocal critics of Putin and the invasion of Ukraine, have been accused of ‘spreading false information’ about the Russian army

A Moscow court has ordered the arrest of prominent film producer Alexander Rodnyansky and theatre director Ivan Vyrypaev for “spreading false information” about the Russian army.

The initial court hearings against Rodnyansky and Vyrypaev were held on 27 April, but not reported by the court until Wednesday.

Continue reading...

Ukraine tells China envoy it will not give up territory to Russia as price of peace

Li Hui, the highest-ranking Chinese diplomat to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion, is on a European tour to promote Beijing’s peace plan

Ukraine’s foreign minister has met China’s special envoy to Kyiv and insisted that the war-torn country would not accept a peace plan that relied on giving up territory after Russia’s invasion.

In the Ukrainian capital, China’s envoy Li Hui is seeking to promote Beijing-led negotiations to resolve the conflict. He is the most senior Chinese diplomat to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

Continue reading...

Kyrgyz mercenary who fought for Russia in Ukraine jailed

Court established 32-year-old man had joined forces of Moscow-led separatists in Donbas

A Kyrgyz court has handed a 10-year sentence to a man who fought for Russia in Ukraine, at a time when Moscow is trying to boost recruitment of people from ex-Soviet central Asian countries.

Dozens of nationals of these countries have been killed in Ukraine in recent months, local media say, most of them after joining the ranks of the Russian army or the private military group Wagner.

Continue reading...

Beijing tells foreign embassies to remove ‘politicised propaganda’

Request is apparently a reference to Ukrainian flags missions have put on display since Russia’s invasion

Foreign embassies in Beijing have been asked to remove “politicised propaganda” from their buildings, apparently a reference to the Ukrainian flags that many missions have displayed on their exterior since the Russian invasion.

The notice from China’s foreign ministry, sent earlier this month, said: “Do not use the building facilities’ exterior walls to display politicised propaganda to avoid inciting disputes between countries,” according to Reuters.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv tells China it will not accept any peace plan involving loss of land to Russia – as it happened

This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said the war in Ukraine may end due to the US abandoning its allies, as he said it had done before in Afghanistan.

Tass reports that in an interview with the Tsargrad TV channel, the head of Russian diplomacy recalled the US “abandoned the Afghan leadership on which they had relied during the 20-year US occupation of that country.”

At night, Russian troops launched a rocket attack on Mykolaiv: one person was injured. A shopping centre, a car showroom and an industrial facility were partially destroyed; residential buildings and shops were damaged.

In the morning, the Russian Federation shelled a hospital in Beryslav, Kherson region. There is damage, no one was hurt. Yesterday, the Russian army fired more than 400 projectiles in the Kherson region – seven people were injured.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war updates: ‘exceptionally’ intense air strikes on Kyiv overnight; European leaders meet in Iceland – live

Deputy defence minister says Ukraine have taken back territory from around the eastern city but Russian forces had advanced ‘somewhat’ in the city

There are no encouraging prospects for extending the Black Sea grain export initiative at the moment, a source familiar with the negotiations told the Russian RIA state news agency in remarks published early on Tuesday. Reuters reports:

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Monday efforts will continue in coming days to extend a deal allowing for the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain, a pact Russia has threatened to quit on 18 May over obstacles to its grain and fertilizer exports.

“Technical-level” discussions will continue, the unidentified source told RIA, but when asked about the prospects for extending the grain deal, the source said that “at the moment there are no encouraging prospects”.

Continue reading...

Ursula von der Leyen steps up calls for tribunal for Russia’s ‘crime of aggression’

Speaking before Council of Europe summit, European Commission president says ‘accountability for Russia’ will be big topic

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is stepping up calls for a special tribunal to try Russia for the crime of aggression.

Speaking ahead of a summit of European leaders in Reykjavik on Tuesday, Von der Leyen said “accountability of Russia for the crime of aggression” would be a big topic. Earlier this week, she promised to “strongly support the creation of a dedicated tribunal to bring Russia’s crime of aggression to trial”.

Continue reading...

Head of Ukraine’s supreme court held in anti-corruption investigation

Senior judge detained as part of suspected bribery scheme as Kyiv clamps down on high-level graft

Anti-corruption authorities in Ukraine have detained the head of the country’s supreme court in an investigation they cast as an important step in Kyiv’s fight against high-level graft.

Kyiv has redoubled efforts to clamp down on corruption despite Russia’s invasion as a necessary pre-condition for joining the European Union.

Continue reading...

Russia’s most potent hypersonic weapon neutralised, says Ukraine

Six out of six Kinzhal missiles launched at Kyiv during ‘intense’ night-time attack shot down, says air command

Ukraine has said it has neutralised the Kremlin’s most potent hypersonic weapon, shooting down six out of six Kinzhal missiles launched at Kyiv during a sweeping and “exceptionally intense” night-time attack.

Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s air command, said Moscow had also bombarded the capital with nine Kalibr missiles and three ballistic rockets, as well as six attack drones and three reconnaissance drones. All were shot down, he said, thwarting what he called “air terrorism”.

Continue reading...

Recreate UK’s Homes for Ukraine scheme for Sudan refugees, urges one of plan’s architects

Exclusive: Krish Kandiah wants same help given to Ukrainians offered to Sudanese families fleeing civil war

One of the architects of Britain’s Homes for Ukraine scheme is calling on the government to replicate the programme for refugees from Sudan.

Dr Krish Kandiah, the director of the Sanctuary Foundation, which was instrumental in matching many British hosts with Ukrainian refugees, said he wanted the country to show the “same generosity of spirit” to those fleeing war in Sudan as it did to Ukrainians.

Continue reading...

UK will train Ukraine pilots, Sunak tells Zelenskiy; Russia and Iran appear to be expanding cooperation, US says – as it happened

Ukraine president meets British prime minister in UK; Iran has sent more than 400 attack drones to Russia since August, US says. This live blog is closed

Ukraine’s president has announced that he will arrive in London on Monday for talks with UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak. In a tweet, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said:

Today – London. The UK is a leader when it comes to expanding our capabilities on the ground and in the air. This cooperation will continue today. I will meet my friend Rishi. We will conduct substantive negotiations face-to-face and in delegations.

Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives at Chequers to meet ‘my friend’ Rishi Sunak

Surprise visit to UK by Ukrainian president for ‘substantive negotiations’ follows announcement of further military aid

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has arrived at Chequers for “substantive negotiations” with the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak.

In an early morning message as he landed in the UK, Zelenskiy confirmed he would “meet my friend Rishi”. He tweeted:

Continue reading...