Closing Summary
The time in Kyiv is just coming up to 9pm. Here is a roundup of the day’s main news:
Russia moved ahead on Thursday with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, claimed that the relocation of some of the weapons from Russia to Belarus had already started, according to reports.
Unverified footage appears to show a drone speedboat attack on the Russian naval vessel the Ivan Khurs in the Black Sea on Wednesday. The video appears to show at least one of the drones getting extremely close to the ship, though it remains unclear whether or not any damage was done.
Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has begun withdrawing its forces from the devastated Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and transferring its positions there to regular Russian troops, according to its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Ukraine has secured the release of 106 captured soldiers in a prisoner exchange with Russia on Thursday, according to Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff. The soldiers, including eight officers, were reportedly said to have been captured fighting in Bakhmut.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the ambassadors of Germany, Sweden and Denmark to protest over what it described as the “complete lack of results” in an investigation to identify who blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year.
Ukraine said on Thursday it had shot down all 36 Iranian-made drones launched by Russia in overnight attacks which it claims likely targeted key infrastructure and military facilities.
Russia has denied a fire broke out at the ministry of defence in Moscow, after users on social media and reports in the local Tass news agency said emergency services had been called to the building. State-owned Tass initially reported on a fire at the ministry early on Thursday morning, but later reported the ministry saying there was none.
Dutch prosecutors have seized a plot of land near Amsterdam that belongs to Vladimir Putin’s former son-in-law, a joint investigation by the Guardian and two other media organisations can reveal.
The plot of land in Duivendrecht is owned by Jorrit Faassen, a Dutch businessman who was married to Maria Vorontsova, the Russian president’s elder daughter.
An entry in the Dutch land registry shows that the plot of land was seized on 12 May by the national public prosecutor’s office for financial, economic and environmental offences. The agency is responsible for enforcing sanctions compliance.
Dutch cadastre documents show that the land plot was seized as part of a criminal investigation.
You can read more of this exclusive, by my colleagues Andrew Roth and Pjotr Sauer, here:
Updated
America has long asked Ukraine not to use US-provided military equipment to carry out attacks inside Russian territory, Gen Mark Milley, the top US general, said on Thursday.
Milley, who is chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said his office was looking into imagery appearing to show vehicles allegedly used in an attack around the Russian border region of Belgorod.
But he said the US position against such US equipment being used inside Russia was clear to Kyiv, Reuters reports.
Updated
During talks held this week in Kyiv, Ukraine’s defence minister personally thanked Ben Wallace for the UK’s continued military support for Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The UK defence secretary met his counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, during a visit to the Ukrainian capital, after the UK provided Ukraine with long-range precision strike capability earlier this month.
British sources have said giving Storm Shadow missiles was compatible with the UK’s signature to the voluntary missile technology control regime, which is intended to limit the proliferation of cruise missiles.
Wallace said in comments released on Thursday:
I was pleased to visit Kyiv again to meet with my good friend Oleksii Reznikov to discuss the next stages of Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s illegal invasion. The UK continues to offer equipment, training and advice to Ukraine’s armed forces. I also visited some of the military commanders who have been so bravely pushing back Russian forces.
Updated
Russia’s defence ministry said on Thursday that it had scrambled fighter jets to escort two US strategic bomber planes away from the Russian border as they flew over the Baltic Sea, Reuters reports.
“The crew of the Russian fighter aircraft identified the aerial targets as two US air force B-1B strategic bombers,” it said in a statement.
The US aircraft did not cross the border and the fighter jets returned to their home airfield, it added. These claims could not immediately be independently verified.
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Ukraine said on Thursday that it would open more embassies in Africa, as it announced its intention to stage a historic summit with leaders from the continent.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, made the comments in a statement to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union).
He said:
We have recently adopted our first African strategy and intensified our political dialogue with many countries on the continent. This year, we are going to establish new embassies in different parts of the continent and plan to hold the first Ukraine-Africa Summit. I invite the leaders of your countries to take part in this important event.
In a lower section, the address read: “We are hearing calls for peace from various countries and leaders. We support them as such and think they need to be directed first and foremost to Russia as the country that started this war.”
On Africa Day, first-ever visit to Rwanda. Minister @Vbiruta and I discussed @ZelenskyyUa’s Peace Formula and food security. We intend to boost cooperation in trade, digitalization, aerospace, construction, education, and pharmaceuticals. Ukraine will open an embassy in Rwanda. pic.twitter.com/DY6LyGn8gE
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) May 25, 2023
Updated
Belarus' president says transfer of tactical nuclear weapons from Russia has already started
Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, confirmed on Thursday that the relocation of some tactical nuclear weapons from Russia to Belarus had already started, the Russian state-owned news agency Tass reports.
Russia signed a deal with its close ally Belarus earlier on Thursday about the storage of the warheads at a special facility that should be finished in just over a month’s time.
It is unclear at this stage how many nuclear weapons would be kept in Belarus.
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended to destroy enemy troops and weapons on the battlefield, and have a relatively short range.
Speaking in Moscow, Lukashenko said “the movement of the nuclear weapons has begun,” AP reports, but he was not clear whether any actually had arrived in his country.
Lukashenko, who sparked rumours of being seriously ill when he cut short a Victory Day appearance in Red Square on 9 May before resurfacing in public on 15 May, was attending a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council with Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The plan for the nuclear deployment, Moscow’s first outside Russia’s borders since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, was announced by Putin in an interview with state television on 25 March.
The Russian president has said the west is fighting an escalating proxy war against Russia.
The US government believes Russia has about 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include bombs that can be carried by aircraft, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery rounds, AP reports.
Updated
The Danish foreign ministry has confirmed that its ambassador had been summoned by Russia over the Nord Stream investigation (See 12:34), and said authorities in Denmark, Germany and Sweden were continuing their investigations, Reuters reports.
“Denmark has been providing ongoing updates to Russia regarding the investigation’s progress and responding to their inquiries. We will continue to do so,” the ministry said in an email.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
Unverified footage appears to show a drone speedboat attack on the Russian naval vessel the Ivan Khurs in the Black Sea on Wednesday. The video appears to show at least one of the drones getting extremely close to the ship, though it remains unclear whether or not any damage was done.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the ambassadors of Germany, Sweden and Denmark to protest over what it said was the “complete lack of results” of an investigation into blasts that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year.
The head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner has claimed his forces have started pulling out of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and handing over control to the Russian military. Ukrainian forces still have a foothold in the south-western outskirts, Hanna Maliar, the deputy minister of defence, said.
Russia and Belarus signed a deal formalising the procedure for deploying Russian nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory, AP reported. Control of the weapons will remain with Moscow.
Russia has denied a fire broke out at the ministry of defence in Moscow, after reports claimed that emergency services had been called to the building.
Russian forces carried out overnight drone attacks on Kyiv, officials said on Thursday, continuing a month-long campaign of air strikes against the Ukrainian capital.
Updated
The European Commission has repeated calls for China to play a constructive role in establishing peace in Ukraine, Reuters reports.
“The EU expects China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to play a constructive role (...) and to recall the necessity to respect the principles of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity (...) by unconditionally withdrawing all forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders,” the EU said in a statement on Thursday.
Last week, Li Hui, China’s special representative for Eurasian Affairs and former ambassador to Russia, visited Ukraine and met Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a European tour that Beijing billed as its effort to promote peace talks and a political settlement. He is set to visit Russia on Friday.
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Finland will provide Ukraine with additional military aid worth around €109m, with the package containing ammunition and anti-aircraft weapons, Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office, has been quoted by the Kyiv Post as saying.
Finland is also among the European countries helping Ukraine defend itself on the battlefield, sending Leopard tanks to assist in combat.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has thanked his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, for the military package, which he says is “urgently needed on the battlefield”.
Zelenskiy tweeted:
I thank Finland and President @niinisto personally for the prompt implementation of our agreements reached in Helsinki. The 16th package of defense assistance to Ukraine, which will include anti-aircraft systems and ammunition, is urgently needed on the battlefield. Together to victory!
Updated
Footage appears to show drone speedboat attack on Russian Black Sea fleet
Anton Gerashchenko, a former minister and adviser to Ukraine’s interior minitry, has shared an unverified clip that purports to show a drone attack on the Russian naval vessel the Ivan Khurs yesterday.
Russia claimed on Wednesday it had repelled three unmanned vessels that attempted to strike the reconnaissance ship in the Black Sea, but the video appears to show that at least one of the drones got extremely close to the ship, even though it remains unclear if any damage was caused.
I posted yesterday about a Russian Black Sea Fleet ship Ivan Khurs that was attacked by unmanned drones.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) May 25, 2023
Russia claimed "the ship continues to carry out its functions" without mentioning its state.
It seems the third drone did manage to damage the ship? pic.twitter.com/ZdYyQQq10f
On Wednesday, the Russian ministry of defence issued this statement:
Today at 05:30am, the Ukrainian armed forces made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the Ivan Khurs ship of the Black Sea fleet with three unmanned speedboats. [The Ivan Khurs] is performing tasks to ensure the safety of the operation of the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines in the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Turkey.
All enemy boats were destroyed by fire from the standard armament of a Russian ship 140km north-east of the Bosphorus. The ship Ivan Khurs of the Black Sea fleet continues to fulfil its tasks.
Updated
The chair of Ukraine’s parliament has offered words of reconciliation over second world war-era mass murders that have strained relations with its neighbour and strategic ally Poland for 80 years.
Ruslan Stefanchuk told Polish lawmakers that the two countries should work together to identify and honour Polish victims buried in Ukraine, sounding a new tone in contrast to the recent angry reaction of Ukraine’s ambassador to Polish expectations of an apology.
About 100,000 Poles were massacred in 1943-44 by Ukrainian nationalists and others in Volhynia and other regions that were then in eastern Poland, under Nazi German occupation, and which are now part of Ukraine.
“Human life has equal value, regardless of nationality, race, sex or religion,” Stefanchuk told Polish lawmakers. “With this awareness we will cooperate with you, dear Polish friends, and we will accept the truth regardless of how uncompromising it may be.”
Poland this year is marking the 80th anniversary of the 1943-44 massacre. Entire villages were burned down and all their inhabitants killed by the nationalists. Poland calls the events a genocide. An estimated 15,000 Ukrainians died in retaliation.
Associated Press reports Stefanchuk thanked the families of the victims for cultivating a memory that “does not call for revenge or hatred, but which serves as a warning that nothing like that can ever happen between our nations again”.
He said identification and honoring of the victims “without bans or barriers” is “our joint moral and Christian obligation.”
Poland’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Łukasz Jasina, had last week said that on the 80th anniversary Poland was expecting an apology from Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Zvarych, reacted by saying that any suggestions of what Kyiv or Zelenskiy should do were “unacceptable and unfortunate”.
Updated
Here are some of the latest pictures from Bakhmut. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner, claimed on Thursday that his forces had started pulling out of the city.
Ukraine, which denies that Bakhmut has fallen to Russia, insisted it still controlled a “micro district” of the devastated city and said it was still advancing on the flanks, AFP reports.
Updated
There has been an update on the reports of the alleged detention of two Ukrainian saboteurs who were plotting to blow up power pylons of nuclear power stations in Russia (See 06:56am):
The Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said the saboteurs working for Ukrainian foreign intelligence had laid explosives on 11 pylons of the Leningrad and Kalinin nuclear power stations.
“The plan of the Ukrainian special services was to prompt the shutdown of the nuclear reactors, disrupt the operation of the nuclear power plants and cause serious economic and reputation damage to the Russian Federation,” the FSB said in a statement.
The attacks were due to take place on the eve of the 9 May anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, added the FSB, which said the saboteurs had been recruited in 2022 by Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service. These claims could not be independently verified.
The Leningrad station, located on the Gulf of Finland close to St Petersburg, is Russia’s biggest atomic power plant. The Kalinin nuclear power station is 350km north of Moscow.
Updated
Ukraine has secured the release of 106 captured soldiers in a prisoner exchange with Russia on Thursday, according to Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff.
The soldiers, including eight officers, were captured fighting in the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut that Russia says it has captured, but where Kyiv’s forces claim they still have a small foothold, Reuters reports.
“Every one of them is a hero of our state. Many of the ones we are returning from captivity were considered missing. The relatives of these people have gone through a difficult time,” said Andriy Yermak, the senior official.
There was no immediate information available about the forces Russia received from Ukraine in exchange.
Here is some more reporting on the exchange from The Kyiv Independent:
⚡️106 Bakhmut defenders return home from Russian captivity.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 25, 2023
Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak reported on May 25 that 106 Ukrainian prisoners of war had returned home from Russian captivity as part of a prisoner exchange.
Updated
Russia summons Germany, Denmark, Sweden envoys over Nord Stream investigation
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it had summoned the ambassadors of Germany, Sweden and Denmark to protest over what it said was the “complete lack of results” of an investigation into blasts that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September last year.
In a statement, the ministry accused all three countries of trying to conceal who was behind the blasts, adding that it was unhappy about what it called the opaque nature of the investigation and its refusal to engage with Russia.
According to a UN report, the three underwater explosions that ruptured the gas link between Russia and Germany north-east and south-east of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm on 26 September 2022 were equivalent to the power of several hundred kilograms of explosives.
The destruction of three of the four Nord Stream pipelines, which had stopped transporting gas at the point of the blasts, has been the subject of intense speculation.
The blasts occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark and both countries have said the explosions were deliberate, but have yet to determine who was responsible. The two countries and Germany have been investigating the incident.
Updated
Japan scrambled jet fighters after spotting Russian military planes over the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan on Thursday, the defence ministry said.
It detected one Russian information-gathering aircraft IL-20 flying round-trip from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Pacific and another IL-20 flying toward the waters near Sado Island before turning toward the continent, Reuters quotes the ministry as saying.
These claims could not immediately be independently verified.
The EU agreed on Thursday to suspend restrictions on imports from Ukraine for a further year after warding off an import ban on grain imposed by some EU nations, Reuters reports.
The Council of the EU, the grouping of EU governments, said in a tweet that EU ministers responsible for trade had agreed to the extension at a meeting on Thursday.
The EU lifted tariffs and other restrictions for an initial 12 months in June 2022. In reaction to the news, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, urged for the “temporary liberalisation” to become permanent, as he continues to seek EU accession for Ukraine.
He tweeted:
As we move towards the EU, this temporary liberalization should become permanent – without any exceptions or restrictions. I am grateful to all EU members for their support, which brings us closer to the EU accession.
I welcome today's decision of the @EUCouncil to extend temporary trade liberalization for Ukrainian products for another year. The full abolition of duties and quotas has been extended until June 2024. As we move towards the EU, this temporary liberalization should become…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 25, 2023
Last month, EU governments agreed to extend the suspension of duties and quotas on imports from Ukraine by a year to help its economy during the war with Russia.
Ukraine gained EU candidacy status in 2022 at record speed, but while it was an initial step to membership, the process usually takes many years to complete.
Updated
In addition to Russia announcing on Thursday that five Swedish diplomats are to be expelled from the country (See 09:46), Moscow has additionally announced its decision to close its consulate in Gothenburg, Sweden, in September, Reuters reports.
Updated
Regular Russian troops replacing Wagner units in Bakhmut but mercenaries remain in city, Ukraine says
We reported earlier (See 10:27) that Russia is said to have replaced Wagner private military units with regular troops in the outskirts of Bakhmut, the Ukrainian mining city that has been largely devastated by a year of deadly fighting.
Reuters has new quotes from Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, who had an update after reports of Wagner forces withdrawing from the eastern Ukrainian city and handing over their positions to regular Russian troops.
Maliar wrote in comments on the Telegram app: “In Bakhmut’s outskirts, the enemy has replaced Wagner units with regular army forces. Inside the city itself Wagner fighters remain.”
She also said that Ukrainian forces still have a foothold in the south-western outskirts of the city.
Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern military command, claimed that the number of Russian attacks in the area had fallen in the last three days, and that there had been two military engagements in the last 24 hours, though shelling continued.
You can read more on the fighting raging in Bakhmut here:
Updated
Unverified footage of drones being shot down over Kyiv last night has been posted by Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine.
He tweeted:
Another sleepless night for many of us. Another attack on Kyiv. We hold on, go to work in the morning, thankful to our air defense and all our friends who keep Ukraine in their hearts and bring our Victory closer.
A video of drones being shot down over Kyiv - United Forces.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) May 25, 2023
Another sleepless night for many of us. Another attack on Kyiv. We hold on, go to work in the morning, thankful to our air defense and all our friends who keep Ukraine in their hearts and bring our Victory closer. pic.twitter.com/17xRizG36w
Russia unleashed a barrage of drones against Kyiv in its 12th nighttime air assault on the Ukrainian capital this month, but the city’s air defences shot all of them down, Ukrainian authorities claimed on Thursday.
Updated
Hello everyone, this is Yohannes Lowe. I’ll be running the blog until 7pm (UK time). Please do feel free to get in touch on Twitter if you have any story tips.
Summary of the day so far …
Russia has replaced its Wagner private military units with regular soldiers in the outskirts of Bakhmut but the group’s fighters remain inside the devastated city, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Thursday. Her comments appeared at least partially to confirm an announcement by Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin that his group had started withdrawing its forces from Bakhmut in east Ukraine and handing over its positions to regular Russian troops. Prigozhin had repeatedly threatened to withdraw troops from the area before it was taken, citing his dispute with the Russian military and defence establishment over supplies of ammunitions. A couple of days ago Prigozhin sarcastically suggested that his mercenary troops could be replaced by “a battalion of generals”. Yesterday he warned of a new revolution in Russia if leaders did not improve their handling of the war.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak sought to downplay the idea that there was a counter-offensive coming from Ukraine that would be marked by a single significant shift of gear. He wrote: “Once again about the counter-offensive. This is not a ‘single event’ that will begin at a specific hour of a specific day with a solemn cutting of the red ribbon. These are dozens of different actions to destroy the Russian occupation forces in different directions, which have already been taking place yesterday, are taking place today and will continue tomorrow.”
Ukraine’s defence ministry claimed to have shot down 36 out of 36 Shahad drones launched into Ukraine by Russia overnight.
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reported that some areas of Chernivtsi were left without power after lines were damaged by falling drone debris.
The Russian-imposed head of Crimea’s administration said on Thursday that air defences had downed six drones overnight in different areas of the region. There were no casualties. Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.
Russia’s defence minister has said Belarus remains a “faithful ally and reliable partner” to Russia in the face of western states doing “everything possible … to prolong and escalate the armed conflict in Ukraine” as the two countries signed an agreement on the positioning of nuclear weapons in Belarus. During a visit to Minsk Sergei Shoigu said “deploying nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus does not transfer it to the republic control over it, and the decision on its use remains with Moscow”.
Overnight the New York Times has reported that US intelligence officials believe that Ukraine was responsible for the drone attack which slightly damaged the Kremlin, and which Russia labelled an assassination attempt on Vladimir Putin, despite the Russian president not being in the building at the time. Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov said Russia had always held Kyiv responsible, and that it didn’t really matter exactly which Ukrainian units were behind it. Podolyak on Thursday responded by saying Ukraine had nothing to do with the “strange and pointless” attack.
The US ambassador to Ukraine has criticised Russia over its implementation of the newly extended Black Sea grain initiative. Bridget Brink tweeted: “After repeated threats to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia now refuses to allow any of the waiting 28 ships into Pivdennyi, one of the three ports designated by the agreement for food exports – a clear violation of their commitment. Russia must stop obstructing the operations of this life-saving initiative.”
Russia has denied a fire broke out at the ministry of defence in Moscow, after users on social media and reports in the local Tass news agency said emergency services had been called to the building. State-owned Tass initially reported on a fire at the ministry early on Thursday morning, but later reported the ministry saying there was none.
Updated
Earlier today Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak sought to downplay the idea that there was a counteroffensive coming from Ukraine that would mark a significant shift of gear. He tweeted:
Once again about the counteroffensive. Without further questions.
1. This is not a “single event” that will begin at a specific hour of a specific day with a solemn cutting of the red ribbon.
2. These are dozens of different actions to destroy the #Russian occupation forces in different directions, which have already been taking place yesterday, are taking place today and will continue tomorrow.
3. Intensive destruction of enemy logistics is also a counteroffensive.
However, as my colleague Dan Sabbagh, our defence and security editor, notes: “Except, at some point, Ukrainian ground forces will need to attack with sufficient combat mass …”
Except, at some point, Ukrainian ground forces will need to attack with sufficient combat mass... https://t.co/OFtb5cJLIy
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) May 25, 2023
Updated
Russia has replaced its Wagner private military units with regular soldiers in the outskirts of Bakhmut but the group’s fighters remain inside the devastated city, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Thursday.
Her comments appeared at least partially to confirm an announcement by Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin that his group had started withdrawing its forces from Bakhmut in east Ukraine and handing over its positions to regular Russian troops.
Yesterday, Julian Borger reported for the Guardian from Kyiv that Progozhin had said that 20,000 of its fighters have been killed in the battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. He also warned that Russia could face another revolution if its leadership does not improve its handling of the war.
Prigozhin pointed to the social disparity underlined by the war, with the sons of the poor being sent back from the front in zinc coffins while the children of the elite “shook their arses” in the sun.
“This divide can end as in 1917 with a revolution,” he said in an interview posted on his channel on the Telegram messaging app. “First the soldiers will stand up, and after that – their loved ones will rise up. There are already tens of thousands of them – relatives of those killed. And there will probably be hundreds of thousands – we cannot avoid that.”
Reuters reports Russian prosecutors have asked a court to recognise crimes committed by Nazi Germany in the Moscow region during the second world war as a genocide against the peoples of the Soviet Union.
Russia said on Thursday it would expel five Swedish diplomats in what it said was a retaliatory measure for Sweden’s “confrontational course” in relations with Russia.
The Russian foreign ministry said it was responding to the expulsion of five of its diplomatic staff from Sweden last month, which it called an “openly hostile step”.
Relations between the two countries have worsened since Sweden last year announced its intention to join Nato after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Reuters reports the Russian statement said ties had “reached an unprecedented low”.
A senior Ukrainian presidential aide said on Thursday that Ukraine had nothing to do with a “strange and pointless” drone attack on the Kremlin and played down the findings of two US media reports.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, told Reuters in a statement that Russia was trying to reduce arms supplies to Kyiv by playing on western fears of a possible escalation because of alleged Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil.
The New York Times reported that assessments by US spy agencies showed that a drone attack on the Kremlin this month was probably orchestrated by one of Ukraine’s special military or intelligence units. Moscow blames the attack on Ukraine.
The US ambassador to Ukraine has criticised Russia over its implementation of the newly extended Black Sea grain initiative. Bridget Brinktweeted:
After repeated threats to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia now refuses to allow any of the waiting 28 ships into Pivdennyi, one of the three ports designated by the agreement for food exports – a clear violation of their commitment. Russia must stop obstructing the operations of this life-saving initiative.
After repeated threats to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia now refuses to allow any of the waiting 28 ships into Pivdennyy, one of the three ports designated by the agreement for food exports — a clear violation of their commitment. Russia must stop… https://t.co/Zu3AayqltQ
— Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) May 25, 2023
Updated
Russia’s defence minister has said Belarus remains a “faithful ally and reliable partner” to Russia in the face of western states doing “everything possible … to prolong and escalate the armed conflict in Ukraine”.
Russia launched part of its full-scale invasion and failed attempt to capture Kyiv from Belarusian soil in February 2022, in what it termed a “special military operation”.
In statements published on Telegram by Russia’s ministry of defence, Sergei Shoigu is quoted as saying his meetings with his Belarusian counterpart have become more regular, saying:
This is especially important in the context of the rapid growth of tension, the destruction of the foundations of strategic stability and the unprecedented intensification of international confrontation. Everything possible is being done to prolong and escalate the armed conflict in Ukraine, which is receiving all kinds of military support. The Republic of Belarus has been and remains our faithful ally and reliable partner.
Updated
Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson has said of reports in the New York Times that Ukraine was behind a drone attack on the Kremlin that “it doesn’t make much difference which of the units of the Kyiv regime is behind it”.
Reuters reports Dmitry Peskov told the media: “We immediately said that the Kyiv regime was behind this.”
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, denied at the time that Ukraine was responsible.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images to be sent to us from Ukraine over the news wires.
Updated
Tass has more detail on the document signed today concerning arrangements for Belarus hosting Russian nuclear weapons. On Telegram it quotes Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu saying “deploying nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus does not transfer it to the republic control over it, and the decision on its use remains with Moscow”.
It also reports Shoigu noted the measures implemented by Russia and Belarus “comply with all existing international legal obligations”.
Tass writes:
Russian president Vladimir Putin said on 25 March that Russia, at the request of the Belarusian side, would deploy its tactical nuclear weapons in the republic, as the US has long done on the territory of its allies. According to the head of the Russian state, on 1 July it is planned to complete the construction of a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. Moscow has already handed over to Minsk the Iskander missile system, which can be a carrier of nuclear weapons, and has assisted in re-equipping Belarusian aircraft to be able to use special ammunition. Belarusian servicemen have undergone appropriate training in the Russian Federation.
Updated
Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has started withdrawing its forces from the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in a video published on Thursday, Reuters reports.
Prigozhin had repeatedly threatened to withdraw troops from the area before it was taken, citing his dispute with the Russian military and defence establishment over supplies of ammunitions. A couple of days ago Prigozhin sarcastically suggested that his mercenary troops could be replaced by “a battalion of generals”.
Updated
The defence ministers of Russia and Belarus on Thursday signed a document on the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russian state-owned news agency Tass reported.
Separately, citing Russian media, Reuters reported that the Russia defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said the west was waging an “undeclared war” against Russia and Belarus. Shoigu is in Minsk for a meeting of the Council of Ministers of Defense of the CSTO member states, which include Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Russia and Belarus, which are close allies over the conflict in Ukraine, agreed earlier this year to deploy part of Moscow’s tactical nuclear arsenal in Belarus. Russia launched its failed attempt to capture Kyiv from Belarusian territory last year.
Updated
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, offers this update on the overnight situation, writing on its official Telegram channel:
At night, air defence forces destroyed 36 of the 36 ‘Shahed’ drones that Russia launched over Ukraine, the air force reported.
Also at night, the Russian military struck Tsyrkuny in the Kharkiv region. The S-300 missile hit the ground. A private house was damaged, there were no injuries.
In the Chernivtsi region, two power lines were damaged as a result of the fall of the drone debris – part of the Dnipro district was cut off. Three residential buildings were damaged.
Yesterday, the Russian army shelled the Kherson region 83 times: four people were injured.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Updated
Pavlo Kyrylenko, Ukraine’s governor of Donetsk, one of the occupied regions of the Donbas which the Russian Federation claims to have annexed, has posted to Telegram to state that in the last 24 hours one person has been killed and six injured by Russian shelling in the region. He listed a number of locations where houses and infrastructure had been destroyed, including Horlivka, Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka. The claims have not been independently verified.
The Russian-imposed head of Crimea’s administration said on Thursday that air defences had downed six drones overnight in different areas of the region. There were no casualties, Reuters reports Sergei Aksyonov said on Telegram. Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.
Overnight the New York Times has reported that US intelligence officials believe that Ukraine was responsible for the drone attack which slightly damaged the Kremlin, and which Russia labelled an assassination attempt on Vladimir Putin, despite the Russian president not being in the building at the time.
US officials said the drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month was likely orchestrated by one of Ukraine’s special military or intelligence units, the latest in a series of covert actions against Russian targets that have unnerved the Biden administration.
US intelligence agencies do not know which unit carried out the attack and it was unclear whether President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine or his top officials were aware of the operation.
The New York Times goes on to say:
US officials say their level of confidence that the Ukrainian government directly authorised the Kremlin drone attack is “low” but that is because intelligence agencies do not yet have specific evidence identifying which government officials, Ukrainian units or operatives were involved.
The attack appeared to be part of a series of operations that have made officials in the US – Ukraine’s biggest supplier of military equipment – uncomfortable. The Biden administration is concerned about the risk that Russia will blame US officials and retaliate by expanding the war beyond Ukraine.
American spy agencies see an emerging picture of a loose confederation of Ukrainian units able to conduct limited operations inside and outside Russia, either by using their own personnel or partners working under their direction. Some of these missions could have been conducted with little, if any, oversight from Zelenskiy, officials said.
At the time, Zelenskiy said “We didn’t attack Putin or Moscow”, as he addressed journalists during a visit to Helsinki.
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Russia’s FSB security service says it has detained two Ukrainian saboteurs who were plotting to blow up power pylons of nuclear power stations in Russia, Reuters reports, citing Russian state-owned news agency RIA.
More on that story now: Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, which says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has helped ignite a boom in clean energy investment,said: “Clean energy is moving fast – faster than many people realise. This is clear in the investment trends, where clean technologies are pulling away from fossil fuels.
“In very simple, but very striking terms, five years ago global energy investment was $2tn, of which $1tn was for clean energy and $1tn was for fossil fuels. Today, $1tn is for fossil fuels and $1.7tn is for clean energy. This is a dramatic shift which will have consequences for the energy markets and climate change. In my view, it’s very exciting.”
The clean energy boom is particularly apparent in solar power investment, Birol said. “For the first time in history the amount of investment going to solar is higher than the amount going to oil production. It may be symbolic but it is very important because it shows the tide turning,” he said.
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has helped ignite a boom in clean energy investment which will significantly outpace spending on fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency.
A report from the IEA has found that clean energy investment is on track to reach $1.7tn (£1.4tn) this year as investors turn to renewables, electric vehicles, nuclear power, grids, storage and other low-carbon technologies.
Investment in coal, gas and oil will rise to just over $1tn, the IEA said.
The Paris-based agency found that clean energy investments have been boosted by many factors including periods of strong economic growth and volatile fossil fuel prices as well as heightened concerns about energy security after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:
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A second fire, which appeared to be unrelated, broke out at a market in Akos, in the Moscow region on Wednesday evening. Russia’s emergency services said on Telegram that the fire had increased from 500 sq metres to 1,800 sq metres and had been localised. No victims were reported.
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Russian government denies outbreak of fire at Moscow defence ministry
Russia has denied a fire broke out at the ministry of defence in Moscow, after users on social media and reports in the local Tass news agency said emergency services had been called to the building.
Tass initially reported on a fire at the ministry early on Thursday morning, saying: “The fire broke out in the building of the Ministry of Defense of Russia in the centre of Moscow.” They cited an unnamed government source and said “a fire broke out on one of the balconies.”
Emergency services were on the scene, the source told Tass.
Unknown smoke near the Defense Ministry building in Moscow
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 24, 2023
Earlier, Russian media reported a fire on a balcony at the Defense Ministry building. However, the Ministry of Emergency Situations later stated that there was no fire in the ministry building.
The cause of the unknown… pic.twitter.com/Sw9nrOiLVQ
Almost an hour later, the news agency published a second story saying: “The Ministry of Emergency Situations did not detect a fire in the building of the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation for Moscow told reporters on Thursday.”
Both stories were still up on the website at 5am Thursday, Moscow time.
Unverified video circulated on social media early on Thursday showing smoke emerging from the ministry building. In one video of the building seen by CNN, a woman could be heard saying: “The smell of burning is horrible.”
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Denis Kapustin, Russian commander of a militia that conducted a raid on a Russian border region this week was asked repeatedly about Western media reports that his militia had used US military equipment that was meant to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invasion, but declined to answer directly.
“I know exactly where I got my weapons from. Unfortunately not from the Western partners”, he said.
Washington is looking into reports that American vehicles were used by Ukraine inside Russia, the White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday. He said the US has been clear with Kyiv that it does not support any such use of US-made equipment.
Russian rebels behind Belgorod raid say ‘you will see us again’
The Russian commander of a militia that conducted a raid on a Russian border region this week said on Wednesday his group would soon launch more incursions into Russian territory.
Denis Kapustin, who described himself as the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, spoke to reporters on the Ukrainian side of the border with Russia a day after Moscow said it had repelled the raid on the Belgorod region.
Kyiv has said the attack was carried out by Russian citizens, casting it as homegrown, internal Russian strife. Two groups operating in Ukraine – the Russian Volunteer Corps and Freedom of Russia Legion - have claimed responsibility.
“I think you will see us again on that side,” said Kapustin, who introduced himself by his call-sign White Rex. “I cannot reveal those upcoming things, I cannot even reveal the direction. The ... border is pretty long. Yet again there will be a spot where things will get hot.”
Kyiv defences repel Russian drone attack: officials
Russian forces carried out overnight drone attacks on Kyiv, officials said Thursday, continuing a month-long campaign of air strikes against the Ukrainian capital.
Via AFP: Military chiefs said Kyiv’s air defences destroyed all of the drones during the three-hour air attack, the twelfth this month.
Serhiy Popko, head of the city’s military administration, said in a message on Telegram that Russia “again attacked Kyiv from the air”.
“The attack was massive,” the statement added. “The enemy continues to use attack tactics in several waves, with intervals between groups of attacking drones.”
He added that “all detected air targets moving in the direction of Kyiv were destroyed” by Ukrainian air defence systems.
The attacks were carried out using Iranian-made Shahed drones, the statement added, citing preliminary information.
Air alerts were also reported in the cities of Kharkiv and Chernivtsi.
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Opening summary
Welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. This is Helen Sullivan with the latest.
Our top stories this morning: The Russian commander of a militia that conducted a raid on a Russian border region this week said on Wednesday his group would soon launch more incursions into Russian territory.
And Russian forces carried out overnight drone attacks on Kyiv, officials said Thursday, continuing a month-long campaign of airstrikes against the Ukrainian capital. Military chiefs said Kyiv’s air defences destroyed all of the drones during the three-hour air attack, the twelfth this month.
Here are the other key developments:
Washington is looking into reports that American vehicles were used by Ukraine inside Russia, the White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday. He said the US has been clear with Kyiv that it does not support any such use of US-made equipment.
The Kremlin said the use of US-made military hardware by pro-Ukraine fighters who conducted a raid on a Russian border region this week was testament to the West’s growing involvement in the Ukraine conflict. The Russian military said on Tuesday it had routed militants who attacked the Russian border region of Belgorod with armoured vehicles the previous day, killing more than 70 “Ukrainian nationalists” and pushing the remainder back into Ukraine.
In Belgorod, nine people remain in hospital, utility supplies continue to be disrupted, and more than 500 people remain displaced after the cross-border incursion by anti-Russian partisans on Monday, according to Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Russian region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Iranians on Wednesday to reconsider the supply of deadly drones to Russia. Iranian-made Shahed drones supplied to Moscow have played a major role in Russia’s attacks on cities and infrastructure. “The simple question is this: what is your interest in being an accomplice to Russian terror?” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “What is the benefit to Iran of such cynical killing?”
Ukraine will not be able to join Nato as long as the war is going on, the alliance’s chief, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Wednesday. “I think that everyone realised that, to become a member in the midst of a war, is not on the agenda,” Reuters reports he said at an event organised by the German Marshall Fund of the US in Brussels. “The issue is what happens when the war ends.”
The Russian private army Wagner lost 20,000 fighters in the drawn-out battle for Bakhmut, according to the group’s chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin. He said about 20% of the 50,000 Russian prisoners recruited to fight in the 15-month war had died in the eastern Ukrainian city, and a similar number of its regular troop. The figure was in stark contrast with claims from Moscow that it has lost just over 6,000 troops in the war, and is higher than the official estimate of the Soviet losses in the Afghanistan war of 15,000 troops between 1979 and 1989.
The World Health Organization assembly passed a motion on Wednesday condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, including attacks on healthcare facilities. The motion passed by 80 votes to nine, with 52 abstentions and 36 countries absent, Reuters reported.
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development expects to spend €1.5bn (£1.3bn) in Ukraine next year in support of infrastructure and the economy, a senior source at the bank has said. It comes on top of €3bn already projected for 2022 and the remainder of 2023. The funds have helped the economy continue to function and ensure that there was no run on banks and that civil servants continued to be paid.
The European Union has discussed sending Ukraine the profits from €196.6bn of Russian assets that are stuck inside the plumbing of global financial markets, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, has accused Washington and London of thwarting efforts to reach a settlement over the conflict in Ukraine and of turning a blind eye to what he said was increasing “terrorism and violence” visited on civilians by Ukraine.
The first of three Russian hypersonic missile scientists to be arrested on suspicion of treason will go on trial next week, the court handling the case said on Wednesday. The criminal case against Anatoly Maslov, 76, will open in St Petersburg’s city court on 1 June, the court said on its website.
The Netherlands wants to give Ukrainian pilots F-16 training as soon as possible, the Dutch defence minister, Kajsa Ollongren, said on Wednesday in a letter to parliament. The training would be coordinated with Belgium, Denmark and the United Kingdom, and other countries could join, Ollongren added.
Russia has announced that a court in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don will try five foreign men, including three British nationals, accused of fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Moscow. The trial will begin on 31 May on terrorism-linked allegations and other charges. The men are believed to face trial in absentia.
Ukraine’s main Orthodox church said on Wednesday it had decided to switch to a calendar in which Christmas is celebrated on 25 December, a move that distances it from Russia. Ukrainian Christians, a majority of whom are Orthodox, have traditionally celebrated Christmas on 7 January alongside other predominantly Orthodox Christian countries.
Germany will buy 18 Leopard 2 tanks and 12 self-propelled howitzers to replenish stocks depleted by deliveries to Ukraine, a member of the parliamentary budget committee that approved the purchase on Wednesday told Reuters. The tanks order will come to €525.6m (£457m) while the howitzers have a price tag of €190.7m; all of them are to be delivered by 2026 at the latest, said the finance ministry documents meant for the parliament.
