Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had had a “long and meaningful” phone conversation on Wednesday, their first known contact since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
This live page is no longer being updated. For more of our coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here
03:10am: Russians pound frontline positions in Bakhmut, Ukraine military says
Russian forces pounded the city of Bakhmut, the months-old focal point of their attempts to capture the eastern Ukrainian industrial region of Donbas, and the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary force said Ukrainian troops were pouring in ahead of an "inevitable" counter-offensive.
The general staff of Ukraine's armed forces, in a report on Facebook, said fighting gripped Bakhmut and nearby areas. It said Russian forces had failed to advance on two villages to the northwest. At least a dozen localities came under Russian fire.
Separately, Serhiy Cherevatiy, spokesman for Ukraine's eastern group of forces, told national television on Wednesday that in the past 24 hours, Russian forces had attacked 324 times using artillery and multiple rocket launchers.
"The Russians are destroying buildings in Bakhmut to prevent our soldiers from using them as fortifications," Cherevatiy said.
10:07pm: Kyiv wants to get China 'on side'
After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, FRANCE 24's Ukraine correspondent Gulliver Cragg commented on the two leaders' first conversation since the Russian invasion.
"Ukrainians are just very very diplomatic with the Chinese; they can be extremely sharp-tongued sometimes with their Western allies, but with the Chinese it's very much the standard diplomatic language," Cragg noted. "The Ukrainians, I think, still hope that China's role in this conflict could be a positive one. They fear that China might start arming the Russians [...] so they want to get the Chinese on side, partly with a view to a possible mediation; partly of course they are also thinking about the contribution that China will be able to make to the eventual reconstruction of Ukraine after hostilities cease.
"But it has to be said that the page China is currently on is very much not the one that the Ukrainians would like it to be on," Cragg added.
8:55pm: US, Europe looking at ways to improve Ukraine's grain exports
US and European officials on Wednesday toured Ukraine's southern port of Izmail that's important in bringing Ukrainian grain to the world – and could become critical if a deal with Russia to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports expires.
From Izmail, which has been upgraded since the start of the war with the help of US and other funding, grain is taken by barge down a branch of the Danube through Romania to its Black Sea port of Constanta for shipment onward.
US Ambassador Bridget Brink told AP after looking over the port facilities with Ukrainian and EU officials, as well as Ukrainian grain companies, that they were exploring ways to increase the exports from Danube ports.
8:28pm: EU welcomes Xi-Zelensky talks
Brussels welcomed Wednesday's conversation between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, thought to be their first call since Russia invaded Ukraine.
"It is an important, long overdue first step by China in exercising its responsibilities as a member of the UN Security Council," said European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer.
"China's leadership needs to use its influence to bring Russia to end its war of aggression, restore Ukraine's territorial integrity and respect its sovereignty, as a basis for a just peace."
7:35pm: China is effectively saying 'we are equal with US'
After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, FRANCE 24's Chief Foreign Editor Robert Parsons commented on the two leaders' first conversation since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
“China is a very big player in this, and also it's Russia's main strategic ally,” Parsons noted. “Ukraine would like to get China involved if it could see any advantage for itself [...] It's interesting that the Chinese didn't refer to Russia in their statement about the talks, whereas clearly the Ukrainians have done.
“But they both talk about sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Ukraine, I think will see room for manoeuvre there; room to try and get the Chinese to be more proactive on their behalf. The Chinese, for their part, quite clearly do not want to antagonise Russia.”
For China, Parsons continued, the Zelensky-Xi conversation was “about, more than anything else, was just asserting itself on the global stage; just saying […] ‘we are an equal with the United States’”.
6:25pm: Italian newspaper says reporter shot dead in Ukraine
A Ukrainian reporter working as a fixer for Italy's Repubblica daily has been shot dead by snipers in southern Ukraine and his Italian colleague was wounded, the newspaper said Wednesday.
"Our correspondent Corrado Zunino and his fixer Bogdan Bitik were victims of an ambush by Russian snipers today on the outskirts of Kherson, in southern Ukraine," the Repubblica said.
"Bitik unfortunately did not make it and died: he leaves behind his wife and a son. Corrado, who was wounded in the shoulder, is in the civil hospital in Kherson," it said.
Both reporters, who had extensively covered the conflict, were wearing bulletproof vests with "press" written on them, it added.
5:43pm: Ukrainians will get arms in time for counter-offensive, US general says
Ukraine's military will get the weaponry it needs in time for an upcoming counter-offensive against invading Russian forces, the top US general in Europe told Congress on Wednesday.
General Christopher Cavoli, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, cited as an example that more than 98 percent of the combat vehicles promised to Kyiv had already been delivered.
"I am very confident that we have delivered the materiel that they need and we'll continue a pipeline to sustain their operations as well," Cavoli told a hearing at the House Armed Services Committee.
5:09pm: Kremlin warns it could go further with foreign company asset seizures
The Kremlin warned on Wednesday that Russia could widen the list of foreign companies subject to temporary asset seizures in case of the "expropriation" of Russian assets abroad.
The comments came after Putin signed a presidential decree approving the takeover of operations of two Western energy groups in Russia – Finland's Fortum and Germany's Uniper – and threatened to do the same with others.
"If necessary, the list of companies could be expanded," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, a day after President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing asset seizures.
4:56pm: Ukraine launches tech cluster to boost military capability
The Ukrainian government on Wednesday launched a new initiative meant to streamline and promote innovation in the development of drones and other technologies that have been critical in the war with Russia.
As part of the initiative dubbed BRAVE1, the government hopes to bring state, military, and private sector developers working on defence issues together into a tech cluster that would give Ukraine a battlefield advantage.
“Considering the enemy that is right next to us and its scale, we definitely need to develop the military tech so that we can defend ourselves,” Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, said.
4:49pm: China 'not a neutral player' – but still 'wants to be global peacemaker'
As Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on the phone with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War, it is clear that Xi is once again "trying to play the mediator", FRANCE 24's Yena Lee reported from Beijing.
"It is important to contextualise this conversation; it comes one month after Xi visited Moscow; two months since the 12-point position paper published by Beijing," Lee continued. "On the Chinese side, they call it the Ukrainian crisis and not the Ukrainian war, and not Russia's invasion of Ukraine. So Beijing is clearly not a neutral player in all of this – but it still wants to be a global peacemaker."
4:24pm: Jailed Russian dissident Navalny says he may face life sentence
Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Wednesday that he was facing new extremism and terrorism charges that could keep him behind bars for life, as authorities set the stage for a new trial against the Kremlin's leading critic.
Navalny said by video link from prison during the hearing that the extremism charges which he rejected as “absurd” could land him in prison for 30 years. He noted that an investigator had told him he also would face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that could potentially carry a life sentence, adding on a sardonic note that the charges imply that “I'm conducting terror attacks while sitting in prison".
His top ally Ivan Zhdanov said investigators were trying to link the terrorism charges against Navalny to a bombing that killed a well-known Russian military blogger earlier this month.
3:35pm: Hungary's call for Ukraine ceasefire 'cynical', US envoy says
The Hungarian government's call for a ceasefire in neighbouring Ukraine is "cynical" given large swathes of the country are occupied by invading Russian forces, the US Ambassador to Budapest David Pressman said on Wednesday.
The US envoy did not mention Prime Minister Viktor Orban by name, but Hungary's leader has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and peace talks – a move critics have said would amount to surrendering chunks of Ukraine's territory to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"When we hear politicians advocate for appeasement masquerading as peace, let's be very clear: one man can make peace today. If Putin stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends," Pressman told a panel discussion in Budapest, according to a transcript of his remarks released by the US embassy.
3:16pm: Ukraine repatriates 44 POWs from Russian custody
Ukraine has repatriated 44 prisoners of war from Russian custody, a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser said on Wednesday.
Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app that 42 were soldiers and two were civilians, and that some of those freed had injuries sustained during torture.
3:10pm: Zelensky names China ambassador after Xi call
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed a new ambassador to Beijing on Wednesday after his first call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since Moscow's invasion.
Pavel Ryabikin, who previously headed the ministry of strategic industries of Ukraine, was named Kyiv's new envoy to China, according to a decree on the presidency's website. Ukraine has not had an ambassador to China since February 2021.
3pm: Russia says 'no progress' towards extending grain deal
Russia warned Wednesday that "no progress" had been made towards meeting the conditions it has set for extending a Ukraine grain exports deal aimed at easing the global food crisis.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative has been in place since last July and allows Ukrainian grains to be exported after they were blocked amid the conflict with Russia. The exports via the Black Sea are vital for world food security.
But Moscow has repeatedly threatened to block the continuation of the agreement – which is up for its third renewal – if obstacles to a parallel agreement on unhindered Russian food and fertiliser exports are not removed.
2:53pm: Brazil's Lula doubles down on contentious Ukraine stance in Spain
Brazilian President Lula met Spain's prime minister Wednesday for talks aimed at making progress on an intercontinental trade deal, but his differences with the Western alliance on the war in Ukraine remained evident.
Lula and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez held a news conference after the signing of bilateral agreements Wednesday. The warmth between the two left-wing leaders was evident, but their divergent views on Ukraine left a note of tension in the room.
“There is no doubt that we condemn Russia's violation of Ukraine’s rights with the invasion, but it is of no use to say who is right or wrong. The war must be stopped,” Lula said.
2:55pm: Xi, Zelensky speak for first time since war started
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had a “long and meaningful” phone conversation Wednesday, their first known contact since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago.
The phone call, which official said lasted nearly an hour, is a significant development in efforts to resolve the conflict. It comes two months after Beijing, which has long been aligned with Russia, said it wanted to act as a peace mediator in the war against Ukraine and after Xi visited Moscow last month.
"I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” Zelensky said in a Facebook post without elaborating.
2:49pm: Moscow accuses Kyiv of undermining peace attempts
Moscow on Wednesday accused Kyiv of undermining any peace attempts in its reaction to the first call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping since Russia's offensive.
China has sought to portray itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict despite strong ties with Russia. It has not condemned Moscow's offensive.
"The Ukrainian authorities and their Western minders have already shown their ability to mess up any peace initiatives," the Russian foreign ministry said.
Moscow noted what it cast as "the readiness of the Chinese side to make efforts to establish a negotiation process."
11:19am: Melitopol a likely target for a Ukrainian spring offensive
The plans for a Ukrainian counter-offensive are top secret but a likely first target is Melitopol, the largest occupied city in Zaporizhzhia region. It was just outside Orihiv, a little over a year ago, that the Russian offensive in Zaporizhzhia region was stopped but the shelling has never stopped since then. FRANCE 24's correspondent in Ukraine Gulliver Cragg reports after spending time with the remaining adults of the city.
11:12am: Poland will keep ban on Ukrainian grain until year-end, minister says
Poland will keep in place an embargo on the import of Ukrainian grains at least until the end of the year, Development Minister Waldemar Buda said on Wednesday as the European Union works on a deal to end unilateral bans introduced by some countries.
Some central European countries, which became transit routes for Ukrainian grain that could not be exported through Black Sea ports because of Russia's invasion in February 2022, banned imports of some food products from Ukraine this month to protect local farmers.
"We will not repeal our measures until similar measures are introduced at the European level. Time plays in our favour. We will keep Polish solutions until the situation stabilizes," Buda told the private Radio Zet.
Asked whether the embargo could be lifted at the end of June, he said it was "absolutely impossible" and that in Poland the ban would "for sure" remain in place until the end of the year.
10:42am: Russia's Navalny slams 'absurd' latest case against him
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny denounced on Wednesday extremism charges against him as his team says authorities are preparing a major new trial against him.
"They have brought absurd charges against me, according to which I am facing up to 35 years," Navalny said, appearing via video link at a pre-trial hearing.
9:55am: According to a Russian investigator, 11 people are on 'international wanted list' over Navalny case
A Russian investigator said that 11 people have been put on an "international wanted list" in a case related to jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny, TASS said on Wednesday.
9:17am: Russian opposition ex-mayor on trial over Ukraine criticism
Yevgeny Roizman, a prominent Kremlin critic and popular former mayor, went on trial on Wednesday over accusations of discrediting the Russian army over the Ukraine offensive.
In 2013, Roizman, 60, became Russia's highest-profile opposition mayor and held the position in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg for five years.
He is Russia's last prominent opposition figure who is still in the country and not behind bars.
Roizman, who openly denounces President Vladimir Putin and his offensive in Ukraine, has said he knows he could go to prison at any moment. He is a hugely popular figure in Yekaterinburg and beyond and a friend of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
9:06am: Russian military aircraft intercepted over Baltic Sea, says Germany
Germany and Britain intercepted three Russian military reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea, the German air force said on Wednesday.
"Reconnaissance flights intercepted. German and British Eurofighters were alerted to identify three military aircraft. The two SU-27 Flankers and a IL-20 from Russia were flying again without transponder signals in international airspace over the Baltic Sea," said the air force on Twitter.
As a NATO member, Germany participates in monitoring the air space over the Baltic states.
Security has been heightened for the Baltic states after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
Russian military jets have repeatedly strayed into the airspace over the Baltic Sea in recent months.
-
Key developments from Tuesday, April 25
A Russian missile hit a museum building in the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region, on Tuesday, killing at least two people, wounding around 10 people and burying others under the rubble.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Moscow's "barbaric methods" and said Russia was trying to erase Ukraine's history and culture.
Meanwhile Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the situation related to the Black Sea grain deal had reached a deadlock, adding there were still obstacles blocking Russian exports.
The pact was renewed for 60 days last month, but Russia has signalled it may well not agree to extend it further unless the West removes obstacles to the exports of Russian grain and fertiliser.
And Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said his government would seek the "complete transformation" of six towns that have been badly damaged in Russia's full-scale invasion under a reconstruction programme.
Shmyhal said the towns of Borodianka and Moshchun near the capital Kyiv, Yahidine in the north, Trostianets and Tsyrkuny in the east, and Posad-Pokrovske in the south would be rebuilt "comprehensively and according to new principles" under an experimental programme.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
