Evening summary
The time in Kyiv is just coming up to 9pm. Here is a roundup of the day’s news:
Long-range Storm Shadow missiles provided to Ukraine by Britain have been used, the British defence minister, Ben Wallace, said on Thursday. “All I can say is it is my understanding that it has been used since we announced its deployment to Ukraine, but I’m not going to go into further details,” Wallace said at a joint press conference with Norway’s defence minister, Bjørn Arild Gram. Meanwhile, Gram said Norway donating F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine was not on the agenda at the moment.
There is no doubt Russia has “the intent and the ability” to target the west’s underwater energy and communication lines, the British defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said. At a press conference alongside his Norwegian counterpart at the Northwood military base on Thursday, Wallace said Moscow has submarines and spy ships “specifically designed” to “potentially sabotage or attack critical national infrastructure belonging to its adversaries”.
Ukraine said it had repelled a day of Russian attacks in and around the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut on Thursday and made gains of a kilometre in some places while buying time for “certain planned actions”. While Russia boosted its forces in the city, attacked the suburbs to the north and engaged in fierce fighting in the southern suburbs, Ukraine’s forces advanced 500 meters in the north and in some areas in the south by one kilometre, deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said on her Telegram channel.
The Russian defence ministry said on Thursday that it had struck Ukrainian military targets using high-precision missiles. The claim comes a day after a major wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, the Russian state-owned news agency Tass has reported.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, on Thursday accused regular Russian army units of pulling back 570 metres north of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, leaving his own fighters’ flanks exposed. Reuters was unable to verify his assertion and there was no immediate comment from the defence ministry.
The Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, told reporters that he and the US president, Joe Biden, have agreed to continue sanctions against Russia and support Ukraine as the two leaders met in the Japanese city of Hiroshima today, Reuters reported. Kishida also appeared to confirm that the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, would not be visiting Japan in person for the G7 summit being held from 19 to 21 May. Zelenskiy is set to join a G7 session on Sunday via teleconference.
The Black Sea grain corridor designed to ensure the safe supply of Ukrainian food to world markets has not yet resumed operation despite statements by Turkey and Russia on extending the agreement, a senior Ukrainian official said on Thursday. The deal has been extended for two more months, in what the UN secretary general, António Guterres, hailed on Wednesday as “good news for the world”, a day before Russia could have quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports, Reuters reported.
The Pentagon overvalued US equipment it sent to Ukraine by about $3bn, a Senate aide and a defence official said on Thursday, an error that opened up the possibility of more weapons being sent to Kyiv for its defence against Russian forces. The error was the result assigning a higher than warranted value on weaponry that was taken from US stocks and then shipped to Ukraine, two senior defence officials said.
The former British prime minister Boris Johnson described Emmanuel Macron as “nauseating” for travelling to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin, a former UK government aide has said. Johnson also described Macron as “Putin’s lickspittle”, Guto Harri told the latest edition of Unprecedented, his podcast about his time at No 10.
Russia launched missiles overnight at Kyiv again, with falling debris causing a fire at a business building, authorities reported. It was the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the capital, a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive. The attack was carried out by strategic bombers from the Caspian region, probably using cruise missiles, and Russia later deployed reconnaissance craft over the capital. According to preliminary information, all enemy targets were destroyed, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv Military Administration said in a Telegram post.
A person has been killed in Russian missile strikes on Odesa, the military administration spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk has said on Telegram. Two people were injured. “Most of the enemy’s missiles were shot down over the sea by the air defence forces. Unfortunately, an industrial object was hit: one person died, two were injured,” he wrote.
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that on the night of 18 May, the Russian army shelled Kostyantynivka in Donetsk region, and one person was killed.
Rail traffic has been suspended between Simferopol, capital of the Crimean peninsula, and the city of Sevastopol, after a freight train carrying grain derailed, the region’s Russian-installed leader said on Thursday. The derailment was caused by “interference by outsiders”, Crimean railways confirmed in a statement. Russian-imposed governor Sergei Aksyonov said that wagons loaded with grain had derailed and no one was injured.
The Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more months, in what the UN secretary general, António Guterres, hailed as “good news for the world”. It comes a day before Russia had said it would quit the pact over what it claims are obstacles to its own grain and fertiliser exports.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that a delegation from African countries hoping to present their initiative to end the conflict in Ukraine would visit Moscow. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow would be ready to listen to “any proposals” that help resolve the conflict.
Court documents show that Jack Teixeira, the US air national guard member charged with being behind the so-called Pentagon leaks of highly classified military documents, was warned repeatedly over his mishandling of classified material. The leaked documents appear to detail US and Nato aid to Ukraine and show real-time details from February and March of Ukraine’s and Russia’s battlefield positions and precise numbers of battlefield gear flowing into Ukraine from its allies.
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.
That’s all from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the Ukraine live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
Updated
Ukraine says it has repelled Russia attacks in Bakhmut
Ukraine said it had repelled a day of Russian attacks in and around the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut on Thursday and made gains of a kilometre in some places while buying time for “certain planned actions”.
While Russia boosted its forces in the city, attacked the suburbs to the north and engaged in fierce fighting in the southern suburbs, Ukraine’s forces advanced 500 metres in the north and in some areas in the south by one kilometre, the deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said on her Telegram channel.
“The defence of Bakhmut and its outskirts is meeting its military objectives,” she said. “As of now, we control the south-western part of Bakhmut.”
She said Russia had attacked Bakhmut all day, having “significantly strengthened” its grouping in Bakhmut by bringing most of its reserves there.
“All the attacks were repelled by our defenders,” she added.
Updated
There is no doubt Russia has “the intent and the ability” to target the west’s underwater energy and communication lines, the British defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said.
At a press conference alongside his Norwegian counterpart at the Northwood military base on Thursday, the Wallace said Moscow has submarines and spy ships “specifically designed” to “potentially sabotage or attack critical national infrastructure belonging to its adversaries”.
Wallace and Norwegian defence minister, Bjørn Arild Gram, signed a statement of intent to increase cooperation on countering undersea threats in the wake of last year’s attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
He told the press conference:
What we know is the Russians have a work programme, they have a specific naval programme designed to both look at and potentially sabotage or attack critical national infrastructure belonging to its adversaries.
It has a number of submarines and other pieces of equipment and spy ships and everything else specifically designed for that purpose.
So whether we are talking about Nord Stream, whether we are talking about our own infrastructure, that is an area that is vulnerable and needs to be protected.
He added:
What we can say without doubt is Russia has the intent and the capability to target the west’s critical national infrastructure. We have to have the intent and the capability to defend it.
Updated
Ukraine deputy defence minister says Russia on offensive in Bakhmut
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said in a Telegram post that Kyiv’s forces had repelled daylong attacks by Russia in the embattled city of Bakhmut on Wednesday.
“The enemy gathered most of its reserves to Bakhmut and significantly strengthened the group,” she said.
“Today the enemy attacked Bakhmut for the entire day. All attacks were repelled.”
Updated
The Pentagon overvalued US equipment it sent to Ukraine by about $3bn, a Senate aide and a defence official said on Thursday, an error that opened up the possibility of more weapons being sent to Kyiv for its defence against Russian forces.
The error was the result assigning a higher than warranted value on weaponry that was taken from US stocks and then shipped to Ukraine, two senior defence officials said.
“We’ve discovered inconsistencies in how we value the equipment that we’ve given” to Ukraine, one of the senior defence officials told Reuters. The officials and the Senate aide spoke on the condition of anonymity. Congress is being notified of the accounting adjustment on Thursday, the sources said.
The defence official said it was possible the amount of overvalued weaponry could grow as the Pentagon examined the situation more thoroughly, increasing the $3bn.
Updated
A crater left by a Russian missile strike in the village of Tsyrkuny, near Kharkiv in Ukraine.
Storm Shadow missiles have been used in Ukraine, says UK defence minister
Long-range Storm Shadow missiles provided to Ukraine by Britain have been used, the British defence minister, Ben Wallace, said on Thursday.
“All I can say is it is my understanding that it has been used since we announced its deployment to Ukraine, but I’m not going to go into further details,” Wallace said at a joint press conference with Norway’s defence minister, Bjørn Arild Gram.
Meanwhile, Gram said Norway donating F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine was not on the agenda at the moment.
“When it comes to F-16 … it’s not on the agenda now and I really don’t want to speculate on any possible future donations,” he replied, when asked by a reporter whether Norway would be giving F-16s to Ukraine.
Updated
The Black Sea grain corridor designed to ensure the safe supply of Ukrainian food to world markets has not yet resumed operation despite statements by Turkey and Russia on extending the agreement, a senior Ukrainian official said on Thursday.
The deal has been extended for two more months, in what the UN secretary general, António Guterres, hailed on Wednesday as “good news for the world”, a day before Russia could have quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports, Reuters reported.
“This was announced yesterday, but so far these statements have not led to the resumption of work and the joint centre in Istanbul did not inspect vessels for entry yesterday or today,” Yuriy Vaskov, Ukraine’s deputy restoration minister, told Reuters.
“We expected it to be yesterday immediately after the statements of our partners. We are expecting the partners’ position today and believe that they will be able to resolve this issue,” he said.
He added that 62 vessels are ready for inspection and some of them have been standing by for several months.
Updated
The Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida told reporters that he and the US president, Joe Biden, have agreed to continue sanctions against Russia and support of Ukraine as the two leaders met in the Japanese city of Hiroshima today, Reuters reports.
Kishida also appeared to confirm that the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, will not be visiting Japan in person for the G7 summit being held from 19 to 21 May. Zelenskiy is set to join a G7 session on Sunday via teleconference.
Today is Vyshyvanka Day, a holiday dedicated to celebrating the traditional type of Ukrainian clothing the day is named after. The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget A. Brink, tweeted a video where she is wearing a Vyshyvanka, saying she does so “proudly”.
In the video, Brink said: “As Russia attacks not only your territory and your people and also your unique identity and heritage, the US is united with you in celebrating Ukraine’s culture and its history.
“While many Ukrainians are trading embroidery for fatigues and uniforms, I’m honoured to join my colleagues in wearing such a striking symbol of Ukraine.”
З Днем вишиванки! With Ukraine’s cultural identity and heritage under attack by Russia, I join my Ukrainian and American colleagues in proudly celebrating Ukrainian culture by wearing our vyshyvankas. pic.twitter.com/isxWkWi74K
— Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) May 18, 2023
Updated
Ukrainian troops have advanced in parts of Bakhmut, say spokespeople
Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukrainian troops in the east, said troops had advanced in parts of Bakhmut by more than a mile, Reuters reports.
In televised comments, Cherevatyi said: “Despite the fact that our units do not have an advantage in equipment ... and personnel, they have continued to advance on the flanks, and covered a distance of 150 to 1,700 metres (1.1 miles).”
Petro Podaru, commander of a Ukrainian artillery unit, also said troops had advanced, despite shelling from the Russian military.
Podaru said: “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,” he said.
Updated
The mood in Mariupol has “changed dramatically”, according to residents who thought Russia would stay for ever but are now expecting a swift Ukrainian military offensive to recapture the city.
In a series of anonymous interviews with the Guardian, people said Mariupol had been transformed into a gloomy version of the Soviet Union since the last Ukrainian defenders holed up in the Azovstal steelworks surrendered to Russian troops a year ago.
“I feel as if I’ve fallen into some terrible submerged and downtrodden collective farm. The shops are primitive and the prices astronomical,” one said. “The city isn’t the one I knew. The people are not the same. Everything is changed. I have a permanent feeling of wanting to go home.”
They said Russian flags flew above municipal buildings, soldiers were visible on the streets, and portraits of Vladimir Putin and the leader of the self-proclaimed republic in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, hung on the walls of offices and schools.
Updated
The Russian defence ministry said on Thursday that it had struck Ukrainian military targets using high-precision missiles.
The claim comes a day after a major wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, the Russian state-owned news agency Tass has reported.
Updated
The 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.
Updated
Wagner chief accuses Russian army of leaving his troops exposed in Bakhmut
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, on Thursday accused regular Russian army units of pulling back 570 metres north of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, leaving his own fighters’ flanks exposed.
Reuters was unable to verify his assertion and there was no immediate comment from the defence ministry.
Wagner forces have been spearheading the assault on Bakhmut, one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the war, something Moscow calls “a special military operation”, with some support from the regular army in recent months.
Prigozhin, who has repeatedly accused Russia’s top military brass of not doing enough to back his men, asked the defence ministry to do all it could to protect Bakhmut’s flanks after what he alleged was a withdrawal.
“Unfortunately, units of the Russian defence ministry have withdrawn up to 570 metres to the north of Bakhmut, exposing our flanks,” Prigozhin said in a voice message.
“I am appealing to the top leadership of the ministry of defence – publicly – because my letters are not being read,” Prigozhin said.
“Please do not give up the flanks,” he said, addressing the Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff.
Wagner says it has taken most of the shattered city, albeit at enormous human cost. But Ukraine says its forces have retaken territory around Bakhmut in recent days.
Updated
The former British prime minister Boris Johnson described Emmanuel Macron as “nauseating” for travelling to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin, a former UK government aide has said.
Johnson also described Macron as “Putin’s lickspittle”, Guto Harri told the latest edition of Unprecedented, his podcast about his time at No 10.
Harri was working as Johnson’s communications chief at the time. He said:
There were tensions early on when people like Emmanuel Macron of France went to Moscow to talk to Putin. I think Boris described it privately as ‘nauseating’. And meanwhile, I think Macron was feeling the tension from Boris seemingly doing the running with helping Ukraine militarily.
So, when the British press was giving the British government a hard time over our response to the refugee crisis, Macron turbocharged it by criticising Boris pretty directly and his words were all over the front page of the Guardian on a Friday, I think.
And much as Boris is not prone to getting really cross, nor using particularly strong language, this was one where he really flipped and at our morning meeting, I think with a small gang of us he just launched into a violent attack on Emmanuel Macron.
Basically, saying ‘He’s a four-letter word that begins with C, he’s a weirdo, he’s Putin’s lickspittle. We need to go studs up on this one’ – a rugby term that basically means, gloves off – ‘We need an orgy of frog bashing. I’m going to have to punch his lights out.’ Pretty strong stuff.
And I’m pleased to say weeks later, of course, they had patched it up. They got on really well. They actually went for a whisky together at the G7 summit.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
Russia launched missiles overnight at Kyiv again, with falling debris causing a fire at a business building, authorities reported. It was the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the capital, a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive. The attack was carried out by strategic bombers from the Caspian region, probably using cruise missiles, and Russia later deployed reconnaissance craft over the capital. According to preliminary information, all enemy targets were destroyed, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv Military Administration said in a Telegram post.
A person has been killed in Russian missile strikes on Odesa, the military administration spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk has said on Telegram. Two people were injured. “Most of the enemy’s missiles were shot down over the sea by the air defence forces. Unfortunately, an industrial object was hit: one person died, two were injured,” he wrote.
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that on the night of 18 May, the Russian army shelled Kostyantynivka in Donetsk region, and one person was killed.
Rail traffic has been suspended between Simferopol, capital of the Crimean peninsula, and the city of Sevastopol, after a freight train carrying grain derailed, the region’s Russian-installed leader said on Thursday. The derailment was caused by “interference by outsiders”, Crimean railways confirmed in a statement. Russian-imposed governor Sergei Aksyonov said that wagons loaded with grain had derailed and no one was injured.
The Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more months, in what the UN secretary general, António Guterres, hailed as “good news for the world”. It comes a day before Russia had said it would quit the pact over what it claims are obstacles to its own grain and fertiliser exports.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that a delegation from African countries hoping to present their initiative to end the conflict in Ukraine would visit Moscow. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow would be ready to listen to “any proposals” that help resolve the conflict.
Court documents show that Jack Teixeira, the US air national guard member charged with being behind the so-called Pentagon leaks of highly classified military documents, was warned repeatedly over his mishandling of classified material. The leaked documents appear to detail US and Nato aid to Ukraine and show real-time details from February and March of Ukraine’s and Russia’s battlefield positions and precise numbers of battlefield gear flowing into Ukraine from its allies.
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.
Reuters reports the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said on Thursday that the country had increased its food exports last year, and that Russia needed to help farmers in the regions it claims to have annexed from Ukraine last year.
Yesterday Russia agreed to extend the Black Sea grain initiative, after weeks threatening to pull out of the deal, complaining that western sanctions were impeding its ability to export agricultural products.
Updated
The Kremlin said on Thursday that a delegation from African countries hoping to present their initiative to end the conflict in Ukraine would visit Moscow.
Reuters reports Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow would be ready to listen to “any proposals” that help resolve the conflict.
Reuters reports the leaders of the G7 countries will discuss the idea of an international peace summit over Ukraine when they meet in Japan this week, an EU official said on Thursday. G7 leaders will meet on 19-21 May in Hiroshima.
Updated
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the national security and defence council of Ukraine, has described Kyiv as “Putin’s maniacal and unattainable goal” following the latest attacks. He writes:
Symbolic places of Kyiv are the target of Russian missile attacks. The Kremlin needs those senseless and super-expensive attacks for Russia on the capital to raise the degree of patriotic hysteria inside the country. In Russia, a process of despair and disappointment with the authorities is developing against the background of the unsuccessful offensive and failures at the front.
Kyiv remains putin’s maniacal and unattainable goal. Symbolic places of Kyiv are the target of russian missile attacks. The kremlin needs those senseless and super-expensive attacks for russia on the capital to raise the degree of patriotic hysteria inside the country. In russia,…
— Oleksiy Danilov (@OleksiyDanilov) May 18, 2023
Emine Dzheppar, deputy foreign minister of Ukraine, has posted a picture of the foreign ministry with a lowered Crimean Tatar flag in memory of the Soviet-era displacement which is commemorated on 18 May. She also restated Ukraine’s aim to restore its borders to a pre-2014 state, including retaking Crimea. She wrote:
Today, at Ukraine’s foreign ministry we lowered the Crimean Tatar flag to commemorate victims of the forced deportation of indigenous people of Crimea 79 years ago. On 18 May 1944, the Soviet regime started a genocide of Crimean Tatar people to eliminate them and rewrite history of the peninsula.
History repeated itself in 2014. Modern Russia applies the worst repressive practices in Crimea. But it failed before and it will fail now again. Liberation of the Crimean peninsula will put an end perverted imperialistic ambitions and respect for human rights be restored worldwide.
Today, at @MFA_Ukraine we lowered the #CrimeanTatar flag to commemorate victims of the forced deportation of indigenous people of #Crimea 79 years ago. On May 18,1944,#soviet regime started genocide of #CrimeanTatar people to eliminate them and rewrite history of the peninsula1/2 pic.twitter.com/tS4R848EzB
— Emine Dzheppar (@EmineDzheppar) May 18, 2023
History repeated itself in 2014.Modern🇷🇺applies the worst repressive practices in #Crimea. But it failed before&it will fail now again. Liberation of the Crimean Peninsula will put an end 🇷🇺 perverted imperialistic ambitions and respect for human rights be restored worldwide. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/QcaTu0CIW0
— Emine Dzheppar (@EmineDzheppar) May 18, 2023
Updated
Moldova is no longer using Russian natural gas or electricity after cutting its dependence since war started in Ukraine, the 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,” Reuters reports 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.”
Updated
Here are some of the latest images to be sent to us from Ukraine over the news wires.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has posted to his social media channels to commemorate 18 May as a day of remembrance for Crimean Tatar people forcibly moved by Soviet authorities, as well as Vyshyvanka Day, when Ukraine celebrates the history of its traditional embroidered clothes. He said:
This year, the two meanings are united by one date, 18 May. 79 years ago on this day, the Soviet authorities began deporting the Crimean Tatar people. A people they wanted to erase. Deprive of their homes, deprive of the right to life. But the people survived. And they will live freely.
Today, I am wearing a special vyshyvanka with ornaments that symbolise the unity of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar peoples. Symbols of our strength and our desire to live in our home.
Let this year’s Vyshyvanka Day in Ukraine be a reminder of what our people have been through and how strong our culture is. Eternal memory to all our people whose lives were taken by totalitarian regimes.
This year, the two meanings are united by one date, May 18.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 18, 2023
79 years ago on this day, the Soviet regime began deporting the Crimean Tatar people. A people they wanted to erase. Deprive of their homes, deprive of the right to life.
But the people survived. And they will live… pic.twitter.com/PDgX56ST7s
Updated
Suspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster, has posted to its Telegram channel for Donbas to state that:
On the night of 18 May, the Russian army shelled Kostyantynivka in Donetsk region, one person was killed, the ministry of foreign affairs reported. According to preliminary findings, the shelling was conducted from the S-300 complex, several private and apartment buildings, a shop, and administrative buildings were destroyed and damaged.
The claims have not been independently verified.
If you missed it earlier, overnight it has emerged in court documents that Jack Teixeira, the US air national guard member charged with being behind the so-called Pentagon leaks of highly classified military documents, was warned repeatedly over his mishandling of classified material.
Teixeira is accused of sharing highly classified documents about top national security issues in a chatroom on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. He has not yet entered a plea.
The leaked documents appear to detail US and Nato aid to Ukraine and US intelligence assessments regarding allies that could strain ties with those nations. Some show real-time details from February and March of Ukraine’s and Russia’s battlefield positions and precise numbers of battlefield gear flowing into Ukraine from its allies.
Read more here: Pentagon leaks suspect was warned off viewing classified material – prosecutors
Train derailment in Crimea caused by 'interference by outsiders'
Rail traffic has been suspended between Simferopol, capital of the Crimean peninsula, and the city of Sevastopol, after a freight train carrying grain derailed, the region’s Russian-installed leader said on Thursday.
The derailment was caused by “interference by outsiders”, Crimean railways confirmed in a statement.
Governor Sergei Aksyonov said that wagons loaded with grain had derailed and no one was injured. Images that purport to be from the scene show cargo wagons derailed.
Earlier, Reuters reports, the Baza Telegram channel, which has links to Russian security services, had reported an explosion on a railway line.
Crimea was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Crimea’s Russian-installed governor Sergei Aksyonov has posted to Telegram to state that “wagons with grain derailed” in the Simeferopol region. He did not give a cause. It has led to train services being halted.
Tass reports that the train service between Simferopol and Sevastopol in Crimea has been suspended.
Reuters reports that earlier the Baza Telegram channel, which has links to Russian security services, had reported an explosion on a railway line in the region.
The claims have not been independently verified. The Russian Federation unilaterally annexed Crimea in 2014.
Updated
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.
With polling showing US support for Ukraine waning, some European allies say the Biden administration is under pressure to show that tens of billions of dollars in assistance have made a significant impact on the battlefield.
Some of the officials pointed to the UN general assembly and G20 leaders’ summit taking place consecutively in early September as two crucial diplomatic events where both sides would come under large pressure to come to the table.
“If we get to September and Ukraine has not made significant gains, then the international pressure on [the west] to bring them to negotiations will be enormous,” said one of the officials on condition of anonymity. “The same is true for Russia if the counter-offensive leaves them routed.”
Yesterday Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, posited that the war might come to an end with the US abandoning its allies, citing the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the abandonment of the authorities “on whom they had relied throughout the 20-year occupation of that country”.
Lavrov said: “Many political analysts have been writing about this. They predict that this entire crisis will continue for as long as the Americans need it to. These people [the government in Kyiv] will remain in power for as long as the US needs them there.”
Updated
Here are some photos of the aftermath of this morning’s strikes:
d
Here is more from Li’s statement, via Reuters:
“China is willing to promote the international community to form the greatest common denominator for resolving the Ukrainian crisis, and make its own efforts to stop the fighting and (establish a) ceasefire and restore peace as soon as possible,” the statement said.
Li Hui, China’s special envoy for Eurasian Affairs, visited Kyiv on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he exchanged views with Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian foreign minister and other state leaders on ways to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict through a political settlement, the foreign ministry statement said.
Li, who is a former ambassador to Russia, will also visit Poland, France, Germany and finally Russia during a multi-day trip. He is the most senior Chinese official to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.
During Li’s visit to Kyiv, bilateral relations were also discussed, and both sides agreed to work to maintain mutual respect and keep moving forward with mutually beneficial co-operation, China’s foreign ministry said.
Both governments agreed that a recent phone call between President Xi Jinping and Zelenskiy had pointed out the direction for the development of relations.
China and Ukraine agreed to work together, says Chinese foreign ministry
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.
Thursday's attacks on Kyiv are ninth in May
It was the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the capital, a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using newly supplied advanced Western weapons.
The attack was carried out by strategic bombers from the Caspian region, probably using cruise missiles, and Russia later deployed reconnaissance craft over the capital. According to preliminary information, all enemy targets were destroyed, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv Military Administration said in a Telegram post.
Air raid alert over in Mykolaiv
The air raid alert for Mykolaiv has stopped, governor Vitaly Kim just announced on Telegram.
The military also reports “cruise missile” attacks in the central Vinnytsia region of Ukraine, and local media reported explosions in Khmelnytskyi, about 100 kilometres further west.
One person killed in Odesa
A person has been killed in Russian missile strikes on Odesa, the military administration spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk has said on Telegram. Two people were injured.
“Most of the enemy’s missiles were shot down over the sea by the Air Defense Forces. Unfortunately, an industrial object was hit: 1 person died, two were injured,” he wrote.
Attacks 'unprecedented', says Kyiv City Regional City Administration
This morning’s strikes on Kyiv are the ninth in a series of recent raids by Russia that are “unprecedented in their power, intensity and variety,” the Kyiv City Regional City Administration (KMBA) wrote a short while ago on Telegram.
Air raid alerts are still in place for Kyiv.
“This time the attack was carried out by strategic bombers Tu-95MS, Tu-160 from the Caspian region, probably by cruise missiles of the X-101/555 type. After launching the rockets, the enemy deployed its reconnaissance UAVs over the capital,” the KMBA wrote.
Ukraine’s army reported several explosions in Kyiv and other parts of the country early Thursday morning, urging people to stay in bomb shelters.
A fire broke out at a business in the city’s Darnytskyi district as a result of falling debris, and an explosion was recorded in the Desnyansky district, according to Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko.
“The attack on the capital continues. Do not leave the shelters during the air alert!” he implored on Telegram.
Updated
Opening summary
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine with me, Helen Sullivan. Air raid sirens are sounding in Kyiv, where it approaching 7am, as people are urged to take shelter.
Russia launched missiles at Kyiv, with falling debris causing a fire at a business building, authorities reported.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko wrote on Telegram a short while ago:
“Fire in a garage cooperative due to falling debris in Darnytskyi district. In the same area, debris fell in several places. Previously, there was also an explosion in the Desnyan district. The attack on the capital continues. Do not leave shelters during an air raid!”
We’ll bring you more news as it breaks.
Here are the other key recent developments:
The Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more months, in what the UN secretary general, António Guterres, hailed as “good news for the world”. It comes a day before Russia might have quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told a top Chinese envoy at talks in Kyiv on Wednesday that Ukraine would not accept any proposals to end the war that involved losing territory or freezing the conflict, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said. Li Hui, China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs and former ambassador to Russia, visited Ukraine on 16-17 May.
China has notified several foreign missions in Beijing not to display “politicised propaganda” on their buildings, diplomats have told Reuters, adding the request appeared aimed at Ukrainian flags flown since Russia’s invasion.
The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has asked EU governments to add €3.5bn (US$3.85bn) to the European Peace Facility (EPF), a fund used to finance military aid for Ukraine, EU sources have said. The EPF has already allocated €4.6bn in military aid for Ukraine.
Hungary, though, said it would block the next tranche of EU military support and any new sanctions against Russia unless Ukraine removes Hungarian bank OTP from its list of war sponsors.
Britain can support Ukraine’s military by enabling other countries that wish to supply fighter jets and other military equipment to do so, the British defence minister has said. “What we can obviously contribute is training and support, again, within limits, because we don’t have F16 pilots,” Ben Wallace said at a press conference in Berlin with his German counterpart when asked about international plans to send jets to Ukraine.
The Dutch foreign minister said there was no progress to report in international talks on the possible delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. “We haven’t reached a solution yet,” Wopke Hoekstra said on Wednesday in response to questions about earlier announced talks of the Dutch with the UK, Denmark, Belgium and other partners.
The German government is looking into mechanisms to secure war damages for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including the possibility of using Russian assets, a government spokesperson said. The chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was among European leaders who agreed to set up a register of damages during a meeting in Reykjavik, Reuters reported.
Belarus, one of Russia’s closest allies, has partially restored controls on their border, Belarusian foreign minister Sergei Aleinik said on Wednesday. This is the first time in 28 years there have been checks at the 770-mile border, AP reported. According to Aleinik, it is to avoid the entry of third-country nationals into Belarus, ahead of the implementation of an intergovernmental agreement on the mutual recognition of visas.
The number of Kazakhs who believe neighbouring Russia may invade the former Soviet republic has doubled over the past six months, an opinion poll by Kazakh researchers showed on Wednesday. The central Asian country of 20 million has close ties with Moscow but has maintained neutrality in the Ukrainian conflict, refusing to recognise Russia’s annexations.
Ukraine denied on Wednesday that a Russian hypersonic missile had destroyed a US-made Patriot missile defence system during an airstrike on Kyiv. Two US officials said a Patriot system had probably been damaged but did not appear to have been destroyed.
The Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatyi has claimed Ukrainians have made new advances in Bakhmut. Reuters quotes Cherevatyi saying: “We are successfully conducting a defensive operation, counterattacking and during this day our units have penetrated up to 500 metres in some parts of the Bakhmut front.”
