Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv receives Patriot missile systems from US and Germany – as it happened

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

Ukraine’s agriculture minister, Mykola Solsky, confirmed on Wednesday that the transit of Ukrainian grain and food products will resume through Poland after an agreement reached in talks with Warsaw.

But Reuters reports he again raised concerns about the status of an agreement with Moscow on the safe passage of ships carrying grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, saying it was impossible to predict how many vessels Moscow would allow through.

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Banging saucepans will not move France forward, says Macron

President tours rural France in attempt to calm tensions over his unpopular pensions changes

Emmanuel Macron has said that banging saucepans at him will not move France forward, as about 100 protesters bashing pots were pushed back by police when the French president visited a factory in Alsace in an attempt to contain anger over raising the pension age from 62 to 64.

Members of the CGT and CFDT trade unions had gathered in front of the mayor’s office in the village of Muttersholtz on Wednesday, where Macron began a series of visits to rural France to try to calm tensions over his unpopular pensions changes.

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UK will sign deal paying in to EU budget within 15 years, says Ryanair boss

Michael O’Leary says Brexit is ‘unbelievably messy’ and a ‘net negative’ on the British economy

The boss of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has launched a fresh attack on Brexit, describing it as “unbelievably messy” and predicting the UK would end up signing a Norway-style deal with the EU in the next 10 to 15 years under which it would pay into the bloc’s budget.

The outspoken chief executive of the Irish budget airline said over the next three to five years, the UK’s departure from the EU would be “net negative on the UK economy, no question about it”.

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Russian spy network operating in North Sea, investigation claims

Moscow using spy ships disguised as fishing vessels to monitor potential sabotage targets, say broadcasters

A joint investigation by the public broadcasters of several Nordic countries alleges that Russia has established a state-run programme using spy ships disguised as fishing vessels aimed at giving it the capability to attack windfarms and communications cables in the North Sea.

The investigation quotes a Danish counter-intelligence officer who claims the sabotage strategy is designed to be implemented in the event that Russia and the west enter a full-blown conflict.

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German president asks for forgiveness on Warsaw Ghetto Uprising anniversary

Frank-Walter Steinmeier becomes his country’s first head of state to speak at Warsaw commemorations

Germany’s president has asked for forgiveness for the crimes his country committed in the second world war, on the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the first German president to speak at the commemorations in Poland’s capital, joined his Polish and Israeli counterparts to mark 80 years since Jewish insurgents’ doomed uprising against Nazi occupiers.

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French trade minister to visit UK after post-Brexit ‘hiccup’

Olivier Becht says two countries have moved on since tensions with government of Boris Johnson

France’s overseas trade minister will visit London on Wednesday in what is being hailed in Paris as a return to business as usual between the two countries after Brexit and the cross-Channel “tensions” of Boris Johnson’s leadership.

It will be Olivier Becht’s first official visit to the UK since his appointment last year and comes after a warmer relationship was signalled with the meeting of Britain’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris last month.

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Russian hackers want to ‘disrupt or destroy’ UK infrastructure, minister warns

Cabinet Office secretary, Oliver Dowden, to issue national alert and urge companies to boost cybersecurity

Russian hackers organised along the lines of the paramilitary Wagner group are seeking “to disrupt or destroy” parts of the UK’s critical national infrastructure, a cabinet minister will warn at a cyber conference in Belfast on Wednesday.

Oliver Dowden, the Cabinet Office minister, will issue a national alert to key businesses amid growing international concern that as Russia struggles in Ukraine, an under-pressure Kremlin is searching for new ways to threaten the west.

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Caught short at 35,000ft: plane forced to turn back after toilets malfunction

Five of eight toilets broke down on Austrian Airlines flight carrying 300 people from Vienna to New York

An Austrian Airlines plane had to return two hours into a flight from Vienna to New York after five of its eight toilets broke down.

About 300 people were onboard Monday’s eight-hour, Boeing 777 flight. The crew decided to turn around after finding a technical problem was preventing the toilets from flushing properly, a spokesperson for the airline told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday.

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Absolut vodka exports to Russia discontinued after outcry in Sweden

Firm’s owner, Pernod Ricard, faced calls for boycott and political pressure after resuming some exports in April

The maker of Sweden’s Absolut vodka has said it is ceasing all exports to Russia after calls to boycott the brand flared up in Sweden and on social media.

The Absolut Company said it had “decided to stop the export of its brand to Russia”.

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India and Russia in ‘advanced talks’ over free trade agreement

Deal would build closer economic ties as most western states push to isolate Moscow over Ukraine

India and Russia have entered “advanced negotiations” over a free trade agreement that aims to build closer economic ties as most western governments push to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

In a development likely to add to tensions in Washington, London and EU capitals, Russia and India’s trade ministers said on Monday the two countries were in talks to strike a free trade deal.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin and Zelenskiy visit troops near frontline

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

You may have seen that we are testing a new feature across some of the Guardian’s live blogs, including the Ukraine live blog, which allows you to contact some of our live bloggers directly. This is for people who want to message us, they are not public comments.

If you have something you’ve seen you think I’ve missed, or you have questions or comments about the war or our coverage, or have spotted one of my regular typos or transliteration errors, please do drop me a line.

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Putin visits troops in Russian-controlled Ukraine

Kremlin says president visited occupied territories where he discussed conflict with military officials

Vladimir Putin has visited military headquarters in Russian-controlled Ukraine, the Kremlin has said, where he discussed the war with a general from Russia’s airborne troops who has reportedly taken up a powerful role in the invasion.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched on 24 February 2022, has triggered the deadliest European conflict since the second world war.

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High stakes for Ukraine as clampdown on corruption comes under scrutiny

Critics argue some cases have highlighted serious issues with the way officials are targeting people

A fierce debate has broken out in Ukraine over allegations that a clampdown on corruption is being used to frame high profile business advocates of state reform, raising wider doubts about Ukraine’s internal political trajectory – and its ability to absorb billions in European reconstruction funds once the war ends.

The concerns have been expressed to the US Department of State and UK Foreign Office, and are shared in part by Ukrainian anti-corruption campaigners.

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West prepares for Putin to use ‘whatever tools he’s got left’ in Ukraine

Officials ready for nuclear threats and cyber-attacks as part of Russian response to predicted counter-offensive

Western leaders are preparing for Vladimir Putin to use “whatever tools he’s got left” including nuclear threats and cyber-attacks in response to an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russia.

British officials at the G7 foreign ministers’ summit in Japan said they were expecting Russia to retaliate and “must be prepared” for extreme tactics as it attempted to hold on to Ukrainian territory.

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Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 419 of the invasion

West condemns sentencing of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison; US ambassador makes first visit to jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich

The UK has condemned the sentencing of Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was jailed for 25 years for opposing the war in Ukraine. UK foreign secretary James Cleverly summoned the Russian ambassador, Andrei Kelin, for an explanation. Kara-Murza holds dual Russian-British citizenship.

Kara-Murza’s wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, told British broadcaster LBC that she was “baffled” by the UK government’s “weak” response. “Introducing sanctions against his perpetrators would actually be a very practical step that I would very much like to see,” she said.

The UN’s human rights head, Volker Türk, urged Russia to release him, while Baltic neighbour Latvia sanctioned 10 Russian officials and lawyers involved in the case.

US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said she had made her first visit to jailed Wall Street reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia two weeks ago on charges of spying. “He feels well and is holding up. We reiterate our call for Evan’s immediate release,” Tracy said.

The United States and more than 40 other countries said in a joint statement that they were deeply concerned over Russia’s detainment of a Wall Street Journal reporter and protested Moscow’s “efforts to limit and intimidate the media.” The statement read further: “We urge Russian Federation authorities to release those they hold on political grounds, and to end the draconian crackdown on freedom of expression, including against members of the media.”

Two Russian fighter jets and a spy plane flying close to Nato airspace have been intercepted by the UK and German air forces. Eurofighter typhoons from the RAF and the German air force’s 71 Richtofen Wing were scrambled to intercept the jets as they flew over the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland.

The US has blasted Brazil’s approach to the war in Ukraine and accused it of parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda after president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on a trip to China that the US “needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace”. The US’s national security council spokesperson John Kirby said: “In this case, Brazil is parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without at all looking at the facts.”

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov thanked “our Brazilian friends for their clear understanding of the genesis of the situation (in Ukraine)“ after meeting his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira in Brasília at the start of a Latin American tour. He was later due to meet Lula.

The Pentagon said it expected findings within 45 days from a review into how the US military handles classified information after last week’s arrest of an airman over the leak a trove of highly classified documents online.

Russia said it had repelled an “illegal” Ukrainian attempt to infiltrate Russian territory in the southern border region of Bryansk, 11 days after reporting a similar incident. “The intruder stepped on a mined protection line,” said regional governor Alexander Bogomaz on Telegram.

The Kremlin has said prospects for a renewal of the Black Sea grain initiative, in which Russia allows Ukraine to ship agricultural exports from its Black Sea ports via Turkey, were “not so bright”. Russia has repeatedly complained that western economic sanctions are preventing it from exporting agricultural products, and that these need to be lifted in order for it to agree to any extension.

Slovakia will temporarily halt imports of grains and other selected products from Ukraine to protect its farmers, joining Poland and Hungary in the move, a government spokesperson said on Monday. Ukraine and Poland meanwhile began talks aimed at reaching an agreement on imports.

Slovakia has handed over all 13 MiG-29 fighter jets it had pledged to Ukraine, the Slovak defence ministry.

Almost 500 children have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, according to a report by the Ukrainian prosecutor general. As of Monday, 470 children had been killed and 948 injured, it said, adding that the department believes that the number of injured children is higher.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

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EU faces legal action after including gas and nuclear in ‘green’ investments guide

European Commission accused of acting unlawfully in two separate cases bought by environment groups

The European Commission is being sued by environmental campaigners over a decision to include gas and nuclear in an EU guide to “green” investments.

Two separate legal challenges are being lodged on Tuesday at the European Union’s general court in Luxembourg – one by Greenpeace and another by a coalition including Client Earth and WWF – after the classification of fuels in the so-called taxonomy, a guide for investors intended to channel billions into green technologies.

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Australians face 50% hike in air fares to fly to Europe this year, data suggests

Thirst for ‘revenge’ travel after the Covid pandemic is driving return prices to almost $3,000 to some European cities, booking site says

Australians looking to escape winter and fly to Europe for a summer holiday are facing fares almost 50% higher than the same period last year, as airlines keep prices high despite the supply of available seats and fuel prices improving in recent months.

The average price for a return economy air fare from Australian cities to European destinations such as London, Paris and Milan for travel between the beginning of June and end of September has grown to $2,571, according to data compiled by booking site Kayak.com.au from searches made since early January up to last week.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: UN human rights head tells Putin to release Kremlin critic Kara-Murza

UN condemns 25-year prison sentence for Vladimir Kara-Murza for criticising the war in Ukraine

Ukraine’s agriculture minister said Kyiv would aim to secure the reopening of food and grain transit via Poland as a “first step” at talks in Warsaw on Monday, after Poland and Hungary announced bans on some imports from Ukraine.

Agriculture minister Mykola Solsky also said there would be additional talks this week in Romania on Wednesday, and in Slovakia on Thursday. Reuters reports the minister’s comments were published on the Telegram messaging app by the agriculture ministry.

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Cannes defends decision to pick Johnny Depp film as festival opener

Prestige slot for Jeanne de Barry, featuring Depp as Louis XV, has drawn criticism but general delegate Thierry Frémaux says it is not ‘a controversial choice’

Cannes film festival general delegate Thierry Frémaux has defended the decision to hand the prestigious opening slot to Jeanne du Barry, in which Depp stars as Louis XV.

Directed by and starring Maïwenn, Jeanne du Barry is a biopic of the famous 18th-century maîtresse-en-titre, who was executed in 1793 during the French revolution. Speaking to Variety, Frémaux said it was not “a controversial choice”, adding: “If Johnny Depp had been banned from working it would have been different, but that’s not the case. We only know one thing, it’s the justice system and I think he won the legal case.”

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