Closing summary
Here are all the key developments from the Russia-Ukraine war today:
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday morning on his first visit to Ukraine since a major US aid package was passed last month. Blinken, who arrived by train from Poland in an unannounced visit, met Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, shortly after arriving. “Some of it has already arrived and more of it will be arriving,” said Blinken of the US aid. “And that’s going to make a real difference against the ongoing Russian aggression on the battlefield.”
Russian troops continuing their advance in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region have captured the town of Buhruvatka, the Kremlin claimed on Tuesday. It has not been possible to independently verify the battlefield claims, though there are fears grow Moscow is in the process of achieving its biggest breakthrough since the early days of the war.
Zelenskiy described the US aid as crucial, and thanked Blinken, but also said Ukraine desperately needed two more air defence systems to protect the second city of Kharkiv, which has been hit repeatedly by Russian strikes in recent weeks.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, will visit China on May 16-17, Chinese state media reported.
Russia has put its Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile into service, the TASS state news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the system’s chief designer.
The governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Sinehubov, said in a social media post that four people were injured by Russian shelling.
Andrei Belousov, Vladimir Putin’s nominee for defence minister, said there will be no new mobilisation of Russian troops, but that the enemy is learning fast and Moscow needed to be ahead, Reuters reported.
He also said it was imperative that Russian soldiers have the most modern equipment.
