The United States and the rest of the “Group of Seven” major economies are on Friday set to unveil new sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine. The sanctions will aim to disrupt Moscow’s ability to get the materials it needs for the battlefield and close loopholes to evade sanctions. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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01:30am: UK to ban Russian diamonds at G7 in fresh round of sanctions
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to announce a ban on Russian diamonds and imports of metals from Russia including copper, aluminium and nickel in support for Ukraine, his government said in a statement.
Britain is also targeting an additional 86 people and companies from Russian President Vladimir Putin's military industrial complex, in addition those involved in energy, metals and shipping industries.
They include those supporting the Kremlin to actively undermine the impact of existing sanctions, as Britain continues to work with G7 partners to tackle all forms of sanctions circumvention, the government said.
10:20pm: US, G7 to unveil new sanctions targeting Russia over Ukraine
The United States and the rest of the “Group of Seven” major economies will unveil new sanctions and export controls targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine, a US official said ahead of a G7 summit in Japan.
The official, speaking to reporters ahead of the gathering, said the G7’s latest efforts were aimed at disrupting Russia’s ability to get materials it needs for the battlefield, close loopholes used to evade sanctions, further reduce international reliance on Russian energy, and narrow Moscow’s access to the international financial system.
“Our commitment to continue tightening the screws on Russia remains as strong as it was last year,” the official said.
The latest US sanctions package will include “extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield” as well as preventing some 70 entities from Russia and third countries from receiving US exports by adding them to the US Commerce Department’s blacklist
8:52pm: Pentagon overvalued Ukraine weapons aid by $3 billion, sources say
The Pentagon overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by around $3 billion, a Senate aide and a defence official said on Thursday, an error that may lead the way for more weapons being sent to Kyiv for its defence against Russian forces.
The error was the result of assigning a higher than warranted value on weaponry that was taken from US stocks and then shipped to Ukraine, the two officials told Reuters on the condition of anonymity.
“We’ve discovered inconsistencies in how we value the equipment that we’ve given” to Ukraine, one of them said.
In its accounting, the Pentagon used replacement cost to value the weapons aid, instead of the weaponry’s value when it was purchased and depreciated, they said.
While it is uncertain how Congress will react to the news, changing the valuation of the equipment could delay the Biden administrations’ need to ask Congress to authorise more funds for Ukraine.
6:39pm: Russian-annexed Crimea will return to Ukraine ‘for certain', Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky set up a reintegration council on Thursday to advise on the restoration of Ukrainian rule over Crimea, saying liberation of the peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014, will “happen for certain”.
Zelensky said that more and more countries realised it would be impossible “to return peace to international relations and the full force of international law” without first returning Crimea.
“We continue our work in order to liberate the Crimea. It will happen for certain – its full-fledged return to Ukraine’s state system,” he said
4:51pm: Russian forces in retreat near Bakhmut, Ukraine and Wagner Group say
The Ukrainian military and Russia’s Wagner private army both reported further Russian retreats on the outskirts of Bakhmut on Thursday, as Kyiv pressed on with its biggest advance for six months ahead of a planned counteroffensive.
“Now, for the most part, as we have started to advance, they are shelling all the routes to front positions, so our armoured vehicles can’t deliver more infantry, ammunition and other things,” said Petro Podaru, commander of a Ukrainian artillery unit. Ukraine’s military said its troops had advanced in places by more than a mile.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces inside Bakhmut itself are still advancing, but accused commanders of Russia’s regular forces of abandoning vital ground on the flanks north and south of the city, raising the risk of troops inside being encircled.
“Unfortunately, units of the Russian Defence Ministry have withdrawn up to 570 metres to the north of Bakhmut, exposing our flanks,” he said
2:21pm: Russia claims all targets ‘destroyed’ in overnight Ukraine strikes
Russia fired 30 cruise missiles against different targets in Ukraine early on Thursday, later announcing that “all assigned targets had been destroyed” in the overnight strikes.
Ukrainian sources said earlier that its air defenses had shot down 29 of the 30 missiles.
The Russian defence ministry also said its forces had hit “a significant stock of weapons and ammunition of the Ukrainian armed forces”.
12:44pm: Russia's Lavrov says Moscow renewed grain deal despite seeing no progress on its aims
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow had agreed to renew the Black Sea grain deal for two months even though it did not see results when it came to implementing the parts of it which apply to Russia.
Speaking at a press conference with his Ugandan counterpart, Lavrov said the deal was aimed at bolstering the food security of the world's poorest people.
Lavrov denied that Russia's renewal of the part Turkish-brokered deal was related to presidential elections in Turkey.
11:55am: Russian grain exports to hit 50-55 million tonnes in 2024, says agriculture minister
Russian Agricultural Minister Dmitry Patrushev on Thursday said that Russia's grain exports would be between 50 million and 55 million tonnes in the 2023-2024 season.
Speaking at a televised government meeting, Patrushev said that Russia's 2023 wheat crop was seen at 78 million tonnes, and that 93% of winter grains had made it through the winter in normal condition.
11:27am: Russia says freezing of Finland's bank accounts in Russia was forced retaliatory step
The Kremlin said on Thursday that a decision to freeze the bank accounts of Finnish embassies and consulates in Russia was a response to what it called the unfriendly acts of "the collective West", including Finland.
Officials from Finland and Denmark said on Wednesday that the diplomatic bank accounts of both countries in Russia had been frozen, prompting their embassies to make payments in cash.
11:23am: Kremlin says a 'qualified result' for Russia allowed Black Sea grain deal renewal
The Kremlin on Thursday confirmed that it had renewed the Black Sea grain deal, saying a deal had been reached after what it call "a qualified result" for Russia in negotiations over easing restrictions on Russian agricultural exports.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that different scenarios were being worked out regarding easing restrictions on Russia's state agricultural bank, a key demand of Moscow in the renewal talks.
11:19am: Sierra Leone leader urges end to Ukraine war for 'sake of humanity'
Sierra Leone's president expressed hope that a new African mediation mission would help end Russia's war in Ukraine which has hit hard among the "poorest of the poor" around the world.
Julius Maada Bio told AFP the war had wreaked havoc in his country and other places. "We are all suffering as a result of the war in Ukraine... For the sake of humanity, for what is happening, let's end the war," he said on Wednesday.
The leaders of Egypt, the Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia will next month visit Moscow and Kyiv to try and broker peace.
Africa, the world's poorest continent, has been hit hard by higher prices of food and basic goods as a result of the war's impact on supply chains. Last August, riots erupted in Sierra Leone over the rising cost of living, killing 27 civilians and six police officers.
"We have a vested interest in seeing to it that war comes to an end as quickly as possible... especially as a country that has gone through war before -- but also (because of) the impact on us," Bio said.
10:03am: G7 to discuss sanctions on Russian diamonds, says EU official
G7 leaders meeting in Japan will discuss sanctioning Russia's billion-dollar trade in diamonds, an EU official said Thursday, hoping to further starve Moscow of funds for its war in Ukraine.
"We believe we need to limit exports from Russian trade in this sector," the official said, adding that the G7 was unlikely to reach a final agreement in Japan.
9:46am: Ukraine says it downed 29 of 30 Russian missiles overnight
Ukraine said Thursday its air defence forces had shot down 29 out of 30 Russian cruise missiles fired overnight, in an attack that targeted Kyiv and other regions.
"The Russian occupiers launched several waves of missile attacks from different directions. A total of 30 sea, air and land-based cruise missiles were launched," the military said, adding that Ukrainian air defence systems had "destroyed 29 cruise missiles."
9:27am: Moldova no longer using Russian natural gas, says PM
Moldova is no longer using Russian natural gas or electricity after cutting its dependence since war started in Ukraine, Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Thursday.
"If at the start of the war 100% of energy consumed in Moldova originated in... Russia, today Moldova can exist with absolutely no natural gas or electricity from Russia," he told a security conference in Bucharest.
"Moldova no longer consumes Russian gas, it is integrated in the European energy network both technically and commercially."
9:01am: Moldova wants to join EU 'as soon as possible' given Russia threat, says president
Moldova wants EU membership "as soon as possible" as protection against the threat from Russia and hopes for a decision to start negotiations "in the next months," President Maia Sandu told AFP in an interview.
The small nation of 2.6 million people, nestled between EU neighbour Romania and war-ravaged Ukraine, will on June 1 hold its first major summit of wider Europe, bringing leaders of all 27 EU countries with 20 neighbours of the bloc.
9:00am: Train carrying grain derails in Crimea, no victims, official says
A train carrying grain has derailed in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula in what Moscow-installed officials on Thursday called a deliberate act.
"Train carriages loaded with grain derailed in the Simferopol region," said Crimea governor Sergei Aksyonov. The railway operator said the incident was caused by "the intervention of third parties".
7:29am: China envoy says 'no panacea' to end war in Ukraine
China's special envoy Li Hui told Ukraine "there is no panacea to resolve the crisis" as he repeated calls for Kyiv and Moscow to engage in talks to end the war, Beijing said on Thursday.
Li visited Ukraine on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he held talks with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and other officials. Li is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 invasion.
"There is no panacea to resolve the crisis, and all parties need to start from themselves, build mutual trust and create conditions to stop the war and talk," said Li, China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs, according to a statement by Beijing's foreign ministry.
6:20am: 'Unprecedented' strikes on Kyiv, at least one killed in Odesa
Ukraine said "unprecedented" air attacks had rocked its capital and other areas early Thursday, a day after it reached an agreement with Russia to extend a deal allowing grain exports across the Black Sea.
"A series of air attacks on Kyiv, unprecedented in their power, intensity and variety, continues," said Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv's civil and military administration, adding that no casualties had been reported in the capital.
FRANCE 24's Emmanuelle Chaze reports from Kyiv on the early-morning air strikes.
At least one person was killed by a Russian missile strike on an industrial facility in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa in the early hours of Thursday. Two more people were wounded in the attack, military administration spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk wrote on Telegram.
6:15am: China says it will continue aiding Ukraine 'in its own way'
China and Ukraine agreed they should work together to continue their mutual respect and keep their mutually beneficial cooperation moving forward, the Chinese foreign ministry said in statement on Thursday.
The statement comes after China's Special Envoy of Eurasian Affairs Li Hui met with the president of Ukraine.
"China has always played a constructive role in alleviating the humanitarian situation in Ukraine in its own way and will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine within its capacity," the foreign ministry said.
6:00am: G7 to press Russia, weigh risk of China's 'economic coercion'
As leaders of the G7 are set to meet in Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday, war in Ukraine is set to dominate the summit.
"There will be discussions about the state of play on the battlefield," said US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Sullivan said leaders would focus on further deterring Russia off the battlefield and tightening a sanctions regime that, according to official statistics, caused Russia's economy to contract a further 1.9 percent last quarter.
The G7 has already adopted price caps on Russian petroleum products, plunging revenues by about 43 percent, according to International Energy Agency figures.
But Sullivan indicated leaders may look to close loopholes that help President Vladimir Putin fund his struggling war effort.
5:06am: Loud explosions heard in Kyiv, debris causes fires
Loud explosions were heard in Kyiv early Thursday morning, and the city’s Military Administration said falling debris caused a fire in a non-residential building.
Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, writing on Telegram, said one fire had broken out in a garage facility in the Darnitsya region of the capital. He said there were no casualties.
The head of Kyiv's military administration, Serhiy Popko, said on Telegram that a fire had broken out in non-residential premises in the Desnyansky district, just east of the capital.
He provided no information on casualties.
4:44am: Air raid alerts sound across Ukraine, military warns of strikes in central regions
Ukraine's army reported several explosions in Kyiv and other parts of the country early Thursday morning, urging people to stay in bomb shelters.
"According to preliminary information, the fall of debris was recorded in the Darnytskyi district of the capital. Data on victims and destruction are currently being verified," Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv's civil and military administration, wrote on Telegram.
Key developments from Wednesday, May 17:
Russia agreed to a two-month extension of a deal that has allowed Ukraine to ship grain through the Black Sea to parts of the world struggling with hunger, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Wednesday, a boost to global food security after the war drove up prices.
Ukraine’s foreign minister told a top Chinese envoy at talks in Kyiv on Wednesday that Kyiv would not accept any proposals to end the war with Russia that involved it losing territory.
Read yesterday's live blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
