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Ukraine regains control over settlements near Kherson, military says
Ukraine has regained control over several settlements surrounding Mykolayiv and Kherson in the country’s south, military officials have said.
Due to the successful actions of Ukrainian defenders, Russian forces “lost control over several settlements on the border of Mykolayiv and Kherson regions,” the latest intelligence report from Ukraine’s general staff of the armed forces reads.
However, heavy fighting continues in Mariupol where Russian occupiers are focusing their efforts on blocking and trying to destroy Ukrainians units stationed in the Azovstal steel works area, officials added.
With the support of aircraft, the enemy resumed the offensive in order to take control of the plant, the report continued.
Russia is also “provoking tensions” in the Transnistrian region of Moldova, Ukraine claimed
UK to provide £45m to help vulnerable in Ukraine and at its borders
The UK is providing £45m in funding to help the most vulnerable in Ukraine and at its borders, the government has said.
The money will go to UN agencies and charities delivering vital aid and supporting survivors of sexual violence in the war-torn nation, PA Media reports.
This means the UK’s full £220m humanitarian aid package for Ukraine has now been allocated. Foreign secretary Liz Truss said:
Britain has stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine throughout this conflict. As one of the largest humanitarian donors we will continue to make sure those bearing the brunt of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s vile war have the lifesaving aid they need.
British aid is supporting the most vulnerable in Ukraine, particularly women and children, who are facing increased risk of sexual violence and exploitation.”
Of the 45m, 15m will go to the UN Ukraine Humanitarian Fund which distributes food, water, shelter and other basic necessities, as well as working to prevent sexual violence, the agency added.
Martin Griffiths, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co-ordinator, said: “This generous contribution from the United Kingdom will enable the UN’s Ukraine Humanitarian Fund to scale up the delivery of fast, effective and lifesaving aid to people who are caught up in this unfolding nightmare.”
Another 15m will go to children’s agency Unicef to provide food to pregnant women and mental health support for children.
Aid organisations in Moldova and other neighbouring countries will receive 10m to protect those fleeing the war, while 5m will go to the International Federation of the Red Cross in Ukraine.
Truss also announced the UK will send more medical supplies, in addition to more than 5m items already delivered, including some 380,000 packs of medicine and wound care packs to treat 220,000 wounded.
Britain has already committed 2m of food supplies to parts of Ukraine encircled by Russian forces, with 17 trucks already having delivered more than 50,000kg of pasta, 10,000kg of rice, 60,000 tins of corned beef and more than 80,000 litres of water.
Some 30 million in humanitarian support is going to Poland to help refugees there and get supplies into Ukraine.
Nearly 16 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance within Ukraine, according to the UN. Some seven million are internally displaced, while 5.5 million refugees have spilled into neighbouring countries.
Updated
Satellite images captured on Wednesday show signs of intense bombardment at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
A memorial service for Ukrainian serviceman Ruslan Borovyk, who was killed in battle amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, was carried out at Mikhailovsky Zlatoverkhy Cathedral in central Kyiv on Wednesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has condemned Russia’s entry ban on Japanese officials as “completely unacceptable.”
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a clear violation of international law and the killing of a large number of innocent civilians is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime,” Kishida told reporters during a state visit to Rome on Wednesday.
“It is the Russian side that has resorted to military means and caused this situation. The Russian side is entirely responsible for the breakdown of Japan-Russia relations.”
Russia “indefinitely” banned 63 Japanese citizens, including Kishida, from entering the country, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti earlier reported.
A Russian army helicopter violated Finland’s airspace on Wednesday, the Finnish defence ministry said, as the country mulls a potential Nato membership bid.
“The aircraft type is a Mi-17 helicopter and the depth of the suspected violation is about four to five kilometres”, a ministry spokesman told AFP.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at 10:40am (7:40 GMT).
This is the second Russian airspace violation this year, following a previous one in April, both of them coming in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
A civilian transport plane belonging to the Russian army briefly entered Finnish airspace on April 8.
Experts have warned that Finland and Sweden would likely be subjected to Russian acts of interference as they consider whether to join Nato as a deterrent against aggression from their eastern neighbour.
A Ukrainian journalist who enlisted to fight after the Russian invasion has been killed outside the north-eastern city of Izyum, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday.
Oleksandr Makhov, 36, is at least the eighth journalist to have died in more than two months of conflict.
10:42 pm in #Kyiv
— Yaroslava Antipina (@strategywoman) May 4, 2022
Some time ago I worked in media. Oleksandr Makhov was my colleague, He was a TV reporter (very popular & loved one).
Oleksandr joined the Army to protect Ukraine. He was killed today.
In such minutes I hate my war diary, pic.twitter.com/yEDzkvcWNs
Makhov, known for graphic accounts from conflict zones, had also reported from Antarctica. He fought in a 2014 conflict after Russian-speakers staged separatist insurrections in two eastern regions of Ukraine.
“Patriotic and sincere, and always without vanity. And he was always among the bravest, among those first in line,” Zelenskiy said in an early morning video address.
“From the first day of the full-scale war, he was on the frontline. Volunteer. ATO veteran. Warrior of the 95th assault brigade.”
Updated
Summary so far
- Ukrainian forces are fighting “difficult bloody battles” against Russian troops inside the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Reuters reported, citing a Telegram video message from the commander of the Azov battalion. A Ukrainian official said on Wednesday that Russian forces entered the steelworks where the city’s last resistance has been holding out but contact remained with the defenders.
- Another 344 people have been rescued from the besieged city of Mariupol in a second evacuation operation, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has confirmed a national address.
- Russia has said it will implement a daytime ceasefire for three days from Thursday to allow more civilian evacuations from the Azovstal plant. “The Russian armed forces will from 8 am to 6 pm (Moscow time) on 5-7 May open a humanitarian corridor from the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant to evacuate civilians,” the defence ministry said.
- Joe Biden said he would speak with other G7 leaders this week about potential additional sanctions against Russia. His treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said the US was in constant discussions with its partners about this.
- Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he believed Ukraine would again see peace despite Russia’s war but warned that what happens in Ukraine will have important consequences for the rest of Europe. Addressing the people of Denmark on the 77th anniversary of their liberation from Nazi occupation, he said: “I do believe our day of liberation is coming close.”
- Russia has practised simulated nuclear-capable missile strikes in the western enclave of Kaliningrad, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic coast. Forces rehearsed simulated “electronic launches” of nuclear-capable Iskander mobile ballistic missile systems, the defence ministry said.
- Sweden has received assurances from the US that it would receive support during the period a potential application to join Nato is processed by the 30 nations in the alliance, the Swedish foreign minister, Ann Linde, said in Washington.
- Brazilian presidential frontrunner Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said Zelenskiy and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, bear equal responsibility for the war, putting the leftist candidate at odds with western powers.
- The bodies of 20 more civilians were found in the past 24 hours in the Kyiv region, according to Kyiv’s regional police chief, Andriy Nebytov. The latest discoveries, in the town of Borodianka and the surrounding villages, raise the total number of civilian bodies found in the region to 1,235.
- The European Union is proposing to ban all Russian oil imports in a sixth package of sanctions. The European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, said Putin had to pay a “high price for his brutal aggression” in Ukraine. Hungary’s international relations minister, Zoltán Kovács, said his country would veto the EU proposal.
- As many as 600 people were killed in the Russian bombing of a theatre in Mariupol in March, according to an investigation by the Associated Press. Based on the accounts of nearly two dozen survivors, rescuers, and people familiar with the theatre, AP found evidence that the attack was twice deadlier than estimated.
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The head of the Russian Orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill, is reportedly on the draft blacklist of the EU’s next round of sanctions. An EU document claims Kirill
has been “one of the most prominent supporters of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine” and a key player in amplifying Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric on Ukraine. - Ukraine has accused Russia of planning to hold a Victory Day military parade in the captured city of Mariupol on 9 May to celebrate victory over the Nazis in the second world war. Ukraine’s military intelligence said an official from Russia’s presidential administration had arrived in Mariupol to oversee plans for the parade.
- Britain has banned all export of services to Russia as part of new sanctions against 63 individuals and organisations. The measures, announced by the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, would cut off Russia’s access to the UK’s accounting, management consulting, and PR services. However, it is understood that the measures will not affect the legal profession or some other sectors such as software development and cloud internet services.
- The Kremlin dismissed speculation that it will declare all-out war in Ukraine in the coming days as “nonsense” amid speculation from western officials that President Vladimir Putin could use the 9 May Victory Parade to announce an escalation of military action. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was no truth to the rumours “at all”.
The United States has provided intelligence that has helped Ukrainian forces kill many of the Russian generals who have died in the Ukraine war, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing senior US officials.
The targeting help is part of a classified effort by the Biden administration to provide real-time battlefield intelligence to Ukraine, the newspaper said.
Washington has reportedly provided to Ukraine details on Russia’s expected troop movements and the location and other details about Russia’s mobile military headquarters, and Ukraine has combined that help with its own intelligence to conduct artillery strikes and other attacks that have killed Russian officers.
Intelligence also includes anticipated Russian troop movements gleaned from recent American assessments of Moscow’s secret battle plan for the fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the officials said.
Ukrainian officials said they have killed about 12 Russian generals on the battlefield, according to the New York Times. Officials declined to specify how many generals had been killed as a result of US assistance, the newspaper added.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Paris for talks and a “working dinner” on Wednesday evening, where Macron hoped to “emphasise the consequences of the war for the international order well beyond the European Union, including in Asia,” his office said ahead of the talks.
France wants to “help the Indians diversify their supply” away from Russian arms and energy, officials added, according to a report from AFP.
The aim “is not to leave the Indians with no way out, but to offer solutions,” they said.
After meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Monday as part of a European tour, Modi told reporters that “there won’t be any winners in this war and everyone will lose”.
India has so far avoided condemning the Russian invasion or voting to censure Moscow at the United Nations.
The Elysee said Macron has an “extremely warm relationship” with Modi, who has visited France three times since 2017, while the French leader went to India in 2018.
France has a “trusting relationship with India,” officials added, and hopes to build up the two countries’ “strategic partnership” in the Indo-Pacific.
Updated
Russia continues to hit non-military targets in Ukraine such as residential properties and transport hubs in a bid to weaken the country’s resolve, Britain’s defence ministry has said.
Despite Russian ground operations focusing on eastern Ukraine, missile strikes continue across the country as Russia attempts to hamper Ukrainian resupply efforts, the report added.
As Russian operations have faltered, non-military targets including schools, hospitals, residential properties and transport hubs have continued to be hit, indicating Russia’s willingness to target civilian infrastructure in an attempt to weaken Ukrainian resolve.
The continued targeting of key cities such as Odessa, Kherson and Mariupol highlights their desire to fully control access to the Black Sea, which would enable them to control Ukraine*s sea lines of communication, negatively impacting their economy.”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 04 May 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 4, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/dlWsZ2qH6U
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/kjghrN0dYT
Here are some of the latest images to come out of Ukraine today.
Russia practises nuclear-capable missile strikes, ministry says
Russia has said its forces practised simulated nuclear-capable missile strikes in the western enclave of Kaliningrad, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic Coast.
Russia practised simulated “electronic launches” of nuclear-capable Iskander mobile ballistic missile systems on Wednesday, the defence ministry said in a statement.
The Russian forces practised single and multiple strikes at targets imitating launchers of missile systems, airfields, protected infrastructure, military equipment and command posts of a mock enemy, AFP cited the statement as saying.
After performing the “electronic” launches, the military personnel carried out a manoeuvre to change their position in order to avoid “a possible retaliatory strike,” the defence ministry added.
The combat units also practised “actions in conditions of radiation and chemical contamination”.
The drills reportedly involved more than 100 servicemen.
Russia placed nuclear forces on high alert shortly after Putin sent troops to Ukraine on 24 February and the Russian President has hinted at deploying tactical nuclear weapons, warning of a “lightning fast” retaliation if the west directly intervenes in the Ukraine conflict.
Russia’s state television has attempted to make nuclear weapons use more palatable to the public, according to some who spoke to AFP.
“For two weeks now, we have been hearing from our television screens that nuclear silos should be opened,” Russian newspaper editor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov said.
Russian military vehicles participated in a Victory Day Parade night rehearsal by taking to the streets of Moscow on Wednesday.
Russia has dismissed speculation that it will declare all-out war in Ukraine in the coming days as “nonsense” amid speculation from western officials that President Vladimir Putin could use the 9 May Victory Parade to announce an escalation of military action.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was no truth to the rumours “at all”.
Last week, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the Moscow parade - an annual event that commemorates the defeat of the Nazis and end of World War Two - might be used to drum up support for a mass mobilisation of troops and renewed push into Ukraine.
“I would not be surprised, and I don’t have any information about this, that he is probably going to declare on this May Day that ‘we are now at war with the world’s Nazis and we need to mass mobilise the Russian people’,” he told LBC radio.
Updated
US President Joe Biden has said he will speak with other leaders from the Group of Seven advanced economies this week about potential additional sanctions against Russia.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States was in constant discussions with its partners about further sanctions and could take “additional actions” to pressure Moscow, Reuters reports.
At a Wall Street Journal conference, Yellen would not preview any specific actions under consideration, but stressed that further measures were likely “if Russia continues this war against Ukraine.”
Biden told reporters, “We’re always open to additional sanctions” when asked about US plans after the European Union proposed its toughest sanctions yet against Russia, including a phased oil embargo.
“I’ll be speaking with the members of the G7 this week about what we’re going to do or not do,” Biden added.
Updated
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has made a cheeky quip at the slowness by some western governments in providing military aid.
Stocks of Soviet-era weapons dwindle, but Russian aggression does not. This is why Ukraine shifts to modern equipment.
Training is required, but we are fast learners. In fact, we learn to operate modern weapons faster than it takes some governments to decide upon providing them.”
Stocks of Soviet-era weapons dwindle, but Russian aggression does not. This is why Ukraine shifts to modern equipment. Training is required, but we are fast learners. In fact, we learn to operate modern weapons faster than it takes some governments to decide upon providing them.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) May 4, 2022
Updated
Russia has said it will implement a ceasefire for three days from Thursday to allow more civilian evacuations from the Azovstal plant in the besieged city of Mariupol.
“The Russian armed forces will from 8 am to 6 pm (Moscow time) on May 5, 6 and 7 open a humanitarian corridor from the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant to evacuate civilians,” the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
“During this period, the Russian armed forces and formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic will unilaterally cease any hostilities,” the ministry added.
Another 344 people evacuated from Mariupol, Zelenskiy says
Another 344 people have been rescued from the besieged city of Mariupol in a second evacuation operation, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed in his latest national address.
The second stage of our evacuation operation from Mariupol was completed today. 344 people were rescued - from the city and its suburbs. That’s how many people departed to Zaporizhzhia today. Our team is getting ready to meet them. Meet in the same way as more than 150 people whom we managed to take out of Azovstal. They all receive the necessary help. All of them will receive the most caring treatment from our state.”
Zelenskiy said negotiations continue to rescue people trapped in the Azovstal steel works. “There are still civilians. Women, children,” he added.
To save them, we need to continue the silence. The Ukrainian side is ready to provide it. It takes time to just lift people out of those basements, out of those underground shelters. In the current conditions, we cannot use special equipment to clear the debris. Everything is done manually.”
Osnat Lubrani, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, also confirmed the evacuations.
“While this second evacuation of civilians from areas in Mariupol and beyond is significant, much more must be done to make sure all civilians caught up in fighting can leave, in the direction they wish,” she said in a statement.
Today again, we managed to provide safe passage for civilians stranded in Mariupol & other areas, thanks to a strong @UN - @ICRC collaboration.
— Osnat Lubrani (@OsnatLubrani) May 4, 2022
Many came with nothing but the clothes they had on. We will now support them in this difficult time.
Our work must, and will continue. pic.twitter.com/LiWvUiFaOf
Updated
Zelenskiy: ‘Our day of liberation is coming’
The Ukrainian president said he believes Ukraine will again see peace despite Russia’s war but warned that what happens in Ukraine will have important consequences for the rest of Europe.
Addressing the people of Denmark on the anniversary of their liberation from Nazi occupation during the second world war, Zelenskiy said on Wednesday: “The Russian state is not ready to stop the war. They’re dreaming of capturing Ukraine and other European countries. They’re still dreaming that the freedom of Europe will disappear. But their dreams will not come true. The dream of peace shall come true. Just like it happened 77 years ago.”
Zelenskiy, whose remarks were broadcast in public squares in Denmark, urged people to remember the 220 Ukrainian children killed in the war, and that “Europe is capable of putting an end to the extension of this”.
“It is now in Ukraine that the future of our continent is decided. Whether not only we but our neighbors will have peace,” he said. “No one can tell how many more days this war will go on. But I do believe our day of liberation is coming close.”
Updated
The US has reportedly offered security assurances to Sweden in the event that it submits an application to join Nato.
Reuters reports that Ann Linde, Sweden’s foreign minister, said Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, assured her Sweden would receive support during the period a potential application to join the alliance is processed. Sweden, as well as its neighbor Finland, stayed out of Nato during the cold war, but the countries are now rethinking security policies after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea in 2014 and invasion of Ukraine.
The application could take up to a year to be approved by the alliance’s members, and Sweden and Finland are concerned they would be vulnerable in that time. Russia has said it could deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in the European exclave of Kaliningrad if the countries were to join Nato.
“Naturally, I’m not going to go into any details, but I feel very sure that now we have an American assurance,” said Linde, who didn’t say what specific assurances she had received.
“They would mean that Russia can be clear that if they direct any kind of negative activities against Sweden, which they have threatened, it would not be something that the US would just allow to happen ... without a response,” she said.
Russia, which has continued to refer to its war in Ukraine as a “special military operation”, denied suggestions that it will use its annual second world war victory parade to declare war against its neighbour.
The BBC reports that western officials believed Vladimir Putin could use the Victory Parade on 9 May, the day Russia traditionally celebrates its victory over the Nazis during the second world war, to announce plans to escalate military action in Ukraine.
But a Kremlin spokesperson said there was no truth to the speculation, a claim BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said should be taken with a “hefty pinch of salt” as Russian officials once shot down talk of Russia invading Ukraine as “western hysteria and propaganda”.
Regardless of how Russia refers to the conflict, the war has already been extremely destructive and deadly. In two months, Russia’s invasion has killed thousands, destroyed cities and forced millions of Ukrainians to flee their homes.
Updated
Ukrainian forces engaged in ‘bloody battles’ at Azovstal steelworks
Inside Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Ukrainian forces are fighting “difficult bloody battles” against Russian troops, Reuters reports.
“I am proud of my soldiers who are making superhuman efforts to contain the pressure of the enemy ... the situation is extremely difficult,” Denis Prokopenko, the commander of the Azov regiment, said in a video message on Telegram.
Russian forces entered the territory of Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks on Wednesday, a Ukrainian official said. Video from a Russia-backed account reportedly shows airstrikes hitting the plant as civilians seek refuge inside, but it’s not entirely clear when the strikes happened.
I’m Dani Anguiano and I’ll be covering the latest updates in the war in Ukraine for the next few hours.
Updated
Ninety per cent of howitzer long-ranged weapons that were pledged to Ukraine from the US have been transferred, said a senior US defence official, via CNN.
From CNN’s Kylie Atwood:
“I can tell you that more than 90% of the 90 howitzers that were pledged to Ukraine in the last two presidential drawdown authorities are actually in Ukrainian hands," said a senior US defense official. https://t.co/iiQCNakFS3
— Kylie Atwood (@kylieatwood) May 4, 2022
Updated
Here’s an update on earlier reports of explosions in Brovary and a possible missile attack on a village near Brovary.
According to UkraineWorld, the missile was downed by the Ukraine air defense and remnants fell on the fields between villages.
From UkraineWorld:
UPD: Russian missile was downed by Ukrainian air defense near Brovary, missile remnants fell on the fields between villages nearby https://t.co/RpTzpxONdG
— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) May 4, 2022
French president Emmanuel Macron and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will have a “working dinner” tonight as Macron hopes to prise Delhi away from Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
From AFP:
Macron would “emphasise the consequences of the war for the international order well beyond the European Union, including in Asia,” his office said ahead of the talks.
France wants to “help the Indians diversify their supply” away from Russian arms and energy, officials added.
The aim “is not to leave the Indians with no way out, but to offer solutions,” they said.
After meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Monday as part of a European tour, Modi told reporters that “there won’t be any winners in this war and everyone will lose”.
India has so far avoided condemning the Russian invasion or voting to censure Moscow at the United Nations.
The Elysee said Macron has an “extremely warm relationship” with Modi, who has visited France three times since 2017, while the French leader went to India in 2018.
France has a “trusting relationship with India,” officials added, and hopes to build up the two countries’ “strategic partnership” in the Indo-Pacific.
Securing France’s place in the region is especially important after Britain, the United States and Australia last year sealed their AUKUS security pact - dumping a lucrative French contract to supply Canberra’s next generation of submarines along the way.
India has bought dozens of French Rafale fighter jets and six submarines, and cooperates with Paris on civil nuclear projects.
French state-owned energy giant EDF wants to build six next-generation EPR reactors in Jaitapur on India’s west coast.
The Elysee said it was pushing hard to get that deal signed, fitting in with Macron’s vow ahead of his re-election last month to renew France’s nuclear industry and replace its fleet of ageing power plants.
Updated
An air alert has been declared in most regions in Ukraine.
From Nexta:
An air alert has been declared in many regions of #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/NtmTeQCoj6
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 4, 2022
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, for help evacuating people still trapped in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, reports Reuters.
“The lives of the people who remain there are in danger. Everyone is important to us. We ask for your help in saving them,” said a statement quoting Zelenskiy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is asking United Nations Secretary-General Guterres for help saving people trapped in the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol - @ZelenskyyUa office says @reutersLjungg
— Doina Chiacu (@DoinaChiacu) May 4, 2022
Updated
The UK defence ministry said today that Russia’s military continues to hit non-military targets in Ukraine in an attempt to weaken the country’s resolve, reported Reuters.
While giving a routine military update, the UK defence ministry added that while Russia has concentrated its ground efforts on the eastern side of Ukraine, airstrikes have targeted areas across the country to stop Ukraine’s resupply efforts.
The UK defence ministry via Twitter:
(1/3) Despite Russian ground operations focusing on eastern Ukraine, missile strikes continue across the country as Russia attempts to hamper Ukrainian resupply efforts.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 4, 2022
(2/3) As Russian operations have faltered, non-military targets including schools, hospitals, residential properties and transport hubs have continued to be hit, indicating Russia’s willingness to target civilian infrastructure in an attempt to weaken Ukrainian resolve.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 4, 2022
(3/3) The continued targeting of key cities such as Odessa, Kherson and Mariupol highlights their desire to fully control access to the Black Sea, which would enable them to control Ukraine’s sea lines of communication, negatively impacting their economy.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 4, 2022
Updated
Russia says it will open humanitarian corridors to allow civilians out of the Azovstal steel plant, reports Reuters, citing Interfax agency.
Russian officials have said they will open up the safe passage routes on 5 May, 6 May, and 7 May to evacuate a number of civilians who have been hiding in the steel plant in the besieged city of Mariupol.
Military activities will cease during that time and units will be withdrawn to a safe distance, said Russia’s military.
Updated
Online accounts have reported explosions heard in Brovary, a city in the Kyiv oblast.
From UkraineWorld:
⚡️reported explosions in Brovary, Kyiv suburb, where some members of our team live. They are safe.
— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) May 4, 2022
The mayor says possibly a missile attack on a village near Brovary.
Brovary’s mayor also said that there might have been a missile attack on a village near Brovary.
Updated
New video from a Russia-backed account reportedly shows air strikes hitting the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged city of Mariupol as civilians are hiding inside, reports CNN.
While it is not entirely clear when these strikes happened, as recent reports state that Russian troops have entered the steel plant, the video shows a number of explosions hitting the plant, sending smoke and flames into the air.
Video posted from a Russian-backed account shows Russian air strikes at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, that is housing civilians, according to the city's mayor. Watch CNN's @ScottMcLean report here: https://t.co/E5T1jIPM6P
— CNN (@CNN) May 4, 2022
Mariupol’s mayor said that the strikes happened as civilians were hiding inside the plant.
Updated
Global food security needs cannot be solved without help from Russia and Ukraine, said the UN chief today, as Reuters reports.
The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, said today that the issue of global food security could not be solved without restoring Ukraine’s agricultural output and Russia’s food and fertilizer contributions to the global market.
“Our analysis indicates that the war in Ukraine is only making things worse, setting in motion a three-dimensional crisis that is devastating global food, energy and financial systems for developing countries,” said Guterres to reporters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
“There is really no true solution to the problem of global food security without bringing back the agriculture production of Ukraine and the food and fertilizer production of Russia and Belarus into world market despite the war,” noted Guterres, adding that he is determined to help facilitate dialogue between Russia and Ukraine to meet food production goals.
In April, Nigeria had to buy emergency supplies of Canadian potash after the country could not import the key fertilizer from Russia due to the impact of Western sanctions, said the head of Nigeria’s sovereign investment authority NSIA.
The International Monetary Fund also reported last month that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had delivered a further “huge negative shock” to sub-Saharan Africa, increasing the price of food and energy and placing the most vulnerable people at risk of hunger.
Updated
Summary
It is 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand now:
- Russian forces have entered the territory of the Azovstal plant in the besieged city of Mariupol, according to Ukraine’s ruling parliamentary faction head, David Arakhamia. Arakhamia said as of Wednesday evening contact remained between Ukraine’s government and the Ukrainian fighters in the plant, after Mariupol’s mayor, Vadym Boichenko, earlier said contact had been lost with the Azovstal defenders.
- As many as 600 people were killed in a Russian bombing of a theatre in the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol in March, according to an investigation by Associated Press. Based on the accounts of nearly two dozen survivors, rescuers and people intimately familiar with the theatre, AP found evidence that the attack was in fact twice deadlier than estimated.
- The bodies of 20 more civilians were found in the past 24 hours in the Kyiv region, according to Kyiv regional police chief, Andriy Nebytov. The latest discoveries, found in the town of Borodianka and the surrounding villages, raise the total number of civilian bodies found in the region so far to 1,235.
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The European Union is proposing to ban all Russian oil imports in a sixth package of sanctions. The European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, said Putin had to pay a “high price for his brutal aggression” in Ukraine. Hungary’s international relations minister, Zoltán Kovács, said his country will veto the EU’s proposal.
- The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is reportedly on the draft blacklist of the EU’s next round of sanctions. An EU document claims Kirill has been “one of the most prominent supporters of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine” and a key player in amplifying Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric on Ukraine.
- Ukraine has accused Russia of planning to hold a ‘Victory Day’ military parade in the captured city of Mariupol on 9 May to celebrate victory over the Nazis in the second world war. Ukraine’s military intelligence said an official from Russia’s presidential administration had arrived in Mariupol, to oversee plans for the parade.
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Britain has banned all service exports to Russia as new sanctions against 63 individuals and organisations have been announced. The measures, announced by Britain’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, would cut off Russia’s access to the UK’s accounting, management consulting and PR services. However, it is understood that the measures will not affect the legal profession or other important services sectors such as software development and cloud services.
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, as I hand the blog to my colleague, Gloria Oladipo. I’ll be back tomorrow. Thank you.
Rehearsals are under way in the Russian capital Moscow in preparation for the Victory Day parade on 9 May, when Russia traditionally celebrates its victory over the Nazis in the second world war with processions in dozens of cities.
From the BBC’s Will Vernon:
There’s another rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow today. Tanks, missile carriers and other armoured vehicles are thundering through the city centre. pic.twitter.com/NEhT0NSvWR
— Will Vernon (@BBCWillVernon) May 4, 2022
Russian troops enter Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant, says Ukrainian lawmaker
Russian forces have entered the territory of the Azovstal plant in the besieged city of Mariupol, according to Ukraine’s ruling parliamentary faction head, David Arakhamia.
In comments to RFE/RL as reported by Reuters, Arakhamia said as of Wednesday evening contact remained between Ukraine’s government and the Ukrainian fighters in the plant.
Arakhamia said:
Attempts to storm the plant continue for the second day. Russian troops are already on the territory of Azovstal.
Ten civilians have been killed and 20 injured after a Russian military strike hit a bus depot in the city of Avdiivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, said.
Ukraine’s national police posted photos showing the aftermath of the strike on the bus depot, where it said factory workers had been waiting to board a bus after their shift when the incident took place.
Venediktova also shared pictures of the aftermath of the military strike, tweeting:
This is the real face of RF (Russian forces): multiple launching rocket systems were fired at people waiting for public transport in Avdiivka. 10 dead, 20 injured.
Similar picture of premeditated killings of civilians by RF soldiers is documented throughout Ukraine.
Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said:
The Russians knew exactly where they were aiming. The workers had just finished their shift and were waiting at a bus stop for a bus to take them home from the factory.
Anti-corruption campaigners and MPs have warned that “the kids of oligarchs” may have used their parents’ money to buy the right to live in the UK after it was revealed that the government granted “golden visas” to 46 people aged 21 or under.
The Home Office on Wednesday disclosed that it approved 46 applications for the tier 1 investor visa scheme to those aged 21 or under over the last seven years, following a freedom of information request from Bloomberg.
The golden visa scheme – which was scrapped in February over fears that it had been exploited by Russian oligarchs – was designed to attract wealthy people to the UK and required applicants to invest at least £2m.
Thousands used it to secure fast-track rights to live and work in Britain, and the scheme was particularly popular with Russian and Chinese families.
John Penrose, a Conservative MP who serves as “the prime minister’s anti-corruption champion”, said the revelation raised concerns that golden visas could have been “a loophole for kleptocrats’ children to live gilded lives in London funded by dirty money”.
He added: “If golden visas were granted to the brightest and best young entrepreneurs, Britain will have benefited hugely from the jobs, energy and wealth which they will have created.
“The answer is for the government to publish its long-promised review of golden visas, so we can see what really happened and when. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, as the saying goes.”
600 people killed in Russian airstrike on Mariupol theatre, evidence shows
As many as 600 people were killed in a Russian bombing of a theatre in the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol in March, Associated Press reports.
Based on the accounts of witnesses of the attack, authorities in the southern port city originally said 300 people were killed in the bombing on 16 March.
A new investigation by AP, based on the accounts of nearly two dozen survivors, rescuers and people intimately familiar with the theatre, has found evidence that the attack was in fact far deadlier than estimated.
Using a reconstruction of a 3D model of the building’s floorplan and feedback from experts, journalists found that the bombing attack killed closer to 600 people inside and outside the building.
Survivors of the incident estimated 1,000 people were inside the theatre at the time of the airstrike but the most anyone saw escape, including rescuers, was around 200.
The first signs of a backlash to a possible Swedish application to join Nato have emerged within the ruling Social Democrats, at the start of a critical month in which Sweden and neighbouring Finland are expected to move rapidly towards a decision.
Sweden is due to publish a security policy assessment report by 13 May, two-weeks earlier than planned, which will involve representatives of all parties in Sweden’s parliament, the Riksdag.
The foreign ministry is also due to issue a position paper, before a decision is taken by the coalition government, no later than 24 May. The Social Democrats are eager to avoid a split over an issue that challenges nearly 200 years of Swedish neutrality with a national election in the autumn.
However, local media in Sweden reported the climate and environment minister, Annika Strandhäll, who is also the federal board chair of the women’s wing of the Social Democrats, as saying the faction had “a long history and struggle in matters concerning peace, disarmament, detente and military freedom of alliance”.
Therefore, Strandhäll said: “[We] in the federal board have decided to remain in line with our congressional decisions that Sweden should be militarily non-aligned and stand outside Nato.”
The Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, has said he will make his views known by 12 May, giving himself time to react to what Vladimir Putin may say on Russia’s Victory Day on 9 May. Moscow has rejected reports that Putin will declare war on Europe on 9 May but it has threatened unspecified consequences if Nato accepts the two countries as members.
The UK would always help Finland if it were to come under attack by Russia, regardless of whether the country was a member of Nato, defence secretary Ben Wallace said.
Speaking to reporters during a trip in Finland to oversee a military exercise, Wallace said it is “entirely for the freedom of Finland to choose” whether it wants to become a member of the alliance, and added he is not going to “lobby or direct” what it should do.
Wallace said:
Do I think if Finland didn’t join Nato Britain wouldn’t come along to help? No. Britain will always be here in the Nordics, to be part of you, to help you, to support you.
It is inconceivable that Britain would not come to the support of Finland, or Sweden, if it was ever attacked, without any big formal agreement. We are European countries who share the same values, who have deep, long histories.
He added that a “significant number” of the UK’s population had “descended from Vikings anyhow, so we have that cultural link”.
The Swedish embassy in Kyiv has returned to the Ukrainian capital, ambassador Tobias Thyberg said.
The embassy team is back where we belong: in @Kyiv, supporting #Ukraine and its heroic citizens as they defend the freedom of their country and freedom in #Europe. Слава Україні! pic.twitter.com/agKbvofrB7
— Tobias Thyberg (@TobiasThyberg) May 4, 2022
The US president, Joe Biden, said he would speak with other G7 leaders this week about potential additional sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
When asked about US plans after the EU proposed its toughest sanctions yet against Russia, Biden told reporters:
We’re always open to additional sanctions.
Concerned about sweeping Russia-style sanctions from the west, Beijing has ordered a comprehensive “stress test” to study the implications of a similar scenario for its economy, the Guardian has learned.
According to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, an extensive exercise began around late February and early March when western allies imposed unprecedented sanctions against Moscow. Several key Chinese government agencies – from banking regulation to international trade – have been asked to come up with responses if the west imposed the same embargos on to China.
“Those involved in this exercise use how Russia was treated as a baseline for China’s own policy response should it be treated in a same fashion by the west,” the person added. “This stress test involves a range of methodology, including modelling.”
Beijing did not specify why it had asked its vast bureaucracy to carry out such an exercise, the person said. They said that it was a “natural reaction” from Beijing given its close relationship with Moscow. A second source, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that Chinese diplomats had in the past few weeks also been meeting experts to understand the trajectory of this conflict.
“From Beijing’s perspective, if the US-led western allies could take such measures against Moscow, they could also do the same to China. Therefore, it needs to know how resilient the country really is,” said Tong Zhao, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace based in Beijing.
But Edward Fishman, a former adviser to John Kerry on economic sanctions at the US state department, said that no economy – not even China – was immune to the types of financial sanctions that the west has wielded against Russia. “There is no good alternative to the western financial system, and that’s likely to remain the case for a long time,” he said.
Hungary will not support EU ban on Russian oil, says foreign minister
Hungary will not support the EU’s proposal to ban Russian oil imports over the next six months, the country’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said.
In a video posted on Facebook, Szijjarto said Hungary’s energy supply “would be completely destroyed” by an EU embargo of Russian oil, which he said would make it “impossible for Hungary to obtain the oil necessary for the functioning of the Hungarian economy”.
Earlier today, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said Russian supply of crude oil would be prohibited within six months and refined products would be banned by the end of the year, while she acknowledged the demands from countries such as Slovakia and Hungary for additional flexibility.
Szijjarto said that, even with a lag, Hungary could only agree to the measures if crude oil imports from Russia via pipeline were exempt from the sanctions.
Meanwhile, Hungary’s international relations minister, Zoltán Kovács, said his country will veto the EU’s proposal.
In an interview with the BBC, Kovács described the proposal as “unacceptable” and that it would “ruin” the Hungarian economy.
Hungary received more than half of its crude oil and oil products imports from Russia last year, according to the International Energy Agency.
Updated
The bodies of 20 more civilians were found in the past 24 hours in the Kyiv region, according to Kyiv regional police chief, Andriy Nebytov.
The latest discoveries, found in the town of Borodianka and the surrounding villages, raise the total number of bodies found in the region so far to 1,235.
Of the 1,235 bodies found by authorities, “more than 800 bodies were examined by experts. Unfortunately, most of them are people who died from gunshots”, Nebytov said in a video released by Ukraine’s interior ministry.
Experts have yet to identify 282 bodies, he added.
The UK has said it will ban the export of services including accountancy, consultancy and PR advice to Russia in the latest attempt to isolate the country’s economy after the invasion of Ukraine – but lawyers will still be able to service Russian clients.
The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, announced the “ban on services exports to Russia” in a press release on Wednesday. It is thought that the measures will not take effect for several weeks.
Russian oligarchs, many of whom own significant assets in London and the UK, have in the past employed a vast array of British accountants, consultants and public relations advisers to carry out legally required reporting duties as well as lobbying and managing their reputations.
The UK is one of the world’s leading providers of professional services such as accounting. The Foreign Office said British firms account for about 10% of Russian imports in accounting, management consultancy and PR advice.
However, any ban would for the most part formalise an exodus by big professional services companies that was completed weeks ago. The “big four” accountants that dominate the sector globally – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – had by 7 March all announced they would exit Russia, while other services companies have ditched wealthy Russian clients in part because of concerns for their own reputations.
Since well before the latest invasion of Ukraine there has been widespread support in parliament, including from Conservative party MPs, for measures to prevent London companies from being “enablers” to Russian companies that play an important role in supporting Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, told parliament in March it was “shameful” that Russian companies could “launder their money and their reputations through our capital city”, pointing to “an industry of enablers”.
However, it is understood that the measures will not affect the legal profession or other important services sectors such as software development and cloud services.
That means law firms will be free to continue to serve Russian clients. In some cases lawyers may even be able to serve clients who are subject to sanctions under licences provided by the Treasury.
Ukraine has accused Russia of planning to hold a ‘Victory Day’ military parade in the captured city of Mariupol on 9 May to celebrate victory over the Nazis in the second world war, AFP reports.
Ukraine’s military intelligence said an official from Russia’s presidential administration had arrived in Mariupol, to oversee plans for the parade.
In a statement, it said:
Mariupol will become a centre of ‘celebration’. The central streets of the city are urgently being cleaned of debris, bodies and unexploded ordnance.
Ukraine’s military claimed a “large-scale propaganda campaign” is under way, adding:
Russians will be shown stories about the ‘joy’ of locals on meeting the occupiers.
Mariupol’s mayor, Vadym Boichenko, later told Ukrainian television there were ongoing “works” in the city, as if the Russians were preparing for something.
Boichenko said:
They are removing signs of the crimes they have committed.
Today so far...
It is 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
- The European Union is proposing to ban all Russian oil imports in a sixth package of sanctions. The European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, said Putin had to pay a “high price for his brutal aggression” in Ukraine, while acknowledging the demands from countries such as Slovakia and Hungary for additional flexibility.
- The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is reportedly on the draft blacklist of the EU’s next round of sanctions. An EU document claims Kirill has been “one of the most prominent supporters of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine” and a key player in amplifying Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric on Ukraine.
- Contact has been lost with the Ukrainian forces holed up in the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged city of Mariupol amid fierce battles with Russian troops, Mariupol’s mayor, Vadym Boichenko, said. More than 30 children are still trapped at the Azovstal plant awaiting evacuation, he said.
- Russia’s chief rabbi, Berel Lazar, has joined criticism of remarks by the country’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, who said Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood” and that the “most rabid antisemites tend to be Jews”. Lazar described Lavrov’s remarks as “shocking” and said he wished the minister would apologise.
- Britain has banned all service exports to Russia as new sanctions against 63 individuals and organisations have been announced. The measures, announced by Britain’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, would cut off Russia’s access to the UK’s accounting, management consulting and PR services.
Hello from London, I’m Léonie Chao-Fong and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news from the war in Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
Updated
‘No more’ contact with Azovstal defenders, says mayor
Fierce battles have broken out between Ukrainian and Russian forces at the Azovstal steel works in the besieged city of Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians are still trapped inside along with the city’s last Ukrainian defenders, according to Mariupol’s mayor, Vadym Boichenko.
Russia confirmed it was attacking Ukrainian positions at the plant with “artillery and aircraft” but earlier today the Kremlin denied Russia was storming Azovstal.
Speaking on national television, Boichenko said:
Today there are heavy battles on the territory of our fortress, on the territory of Azovstal. Our brave guys are defending this fortress, but it is very difficult, because heavy artillery and tanks are firing all over the fortress; aviation is working, ships have approached and are also firing on the fortress.
More than 30 children are still trapped at the Azovstal plant awaiting evacuation, he said. Two young women were killed at the plant earlier this week, he added.
We must understand that people are still dying. Unfortunately, enemy aviation and artillery are working and firing on the fortress constantly.
Boichenko said contact had been lost with the fighters at the plant:
Unfortunately, today there is no connection with the guys, there is no connection to understand what is happening, whether they are safe or not. Yesterday there was a connection with them; today, no more.
Updated
The European Commission has proposed freezing the assets of Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, as part of a sixth round of sanctions against Russia, according to reports.
The patriarch has been added to a proposed draft that has been sent to the corresponding ambassadors for review, according to two sources who have seen the full documents.
Names can be taken off or added at the discretion of member states at this stage, an EU Commission source said.
The 75-year-old Kirill is a fervent supporter of the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, and once described his rule as a “miracle”.
According to a European External Action Service document seen by Politico, Kirill has been “one of the most prominent supporters of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine” and a key player in amplifying Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric on Ukraine.
The document highlights a series of pro-war sermons and remarks by Kirill in the months since Russia’s invasion, as well as his blessing for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, adding:
Patriarch Kirill is therefore responsible for supporting or implementing, actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as stability and security in Ukraine.
Updated
Updated
The Russian Orthodox Church has issued a statement criticising Pope Francis, saying that the Pope misrepresented the last conversation he had with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.
Speaking to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera earlier this week, Pope Francis said:
I spoke to Kirill for 40 minutes via Zoom. The first 20 with a card in hand he read me all the justifications for the war. I listened and told him: I don’t understand anything about this. Brother, we are not clerics of state, we cannot use the language of politics, but that of Jesus.
Russia’s RIA news agency is carrying a statement from the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, which says:
The negotiations of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Pope and the head of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby took place online on 16 March. They discussed the problems of helping refugees, the right of everyone to confess their faith and native language without political persecution, and the role of Christians in the search for peace in Ukraine.
It is regrettable that one and a half months after the conversation with Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis chose the wrong tone to convey the content of this conversation. Such statements are unlikely to contribute to the establishment of a constructive dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches, which is especially necessary at the present time.
The RIA report goes on to say that the Orthodox Church statement then explained that Patriarch Kirill told Pope Francis that the war started because of a coup in Ukraine in 2014 and Nato’s broken promise not to move east.
As well as addressing that conference organised by the Wall Street Journal, it is anticipated that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy will give a live address to the Danish nation tonight.
4 May marks the anniversary of Denmark’s liberation from Nazi occupation during the second world war, which Danes traditionally commemorate by placing a candle in their windows.
Danish newspapers Politiken and Jyllands–Posten are sponsoring two open-air events in Copenhagen and Aarhus where Zelenskiy’s speech will be broadcast on big screens. The events will feature speeches by Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, in Copenhagen and foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, in Aarhus, and incorporate a minute’s silence for victims of the war in Ukraine.
Updated
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy gave a video address to the Wall Street Journal CEO council summit in London earlier, which he has posted to his official Telegram channel. One of the key lines out of it was a refusal to allow the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to become a “frozen conflict”. Zelenskiy said:
We will not go to a frozen conflict. I came to the presidency when there was Minsk-1, Minsk-2. There were documents that were violated, so I can say these were not serious. However, there were arrangements on paper. It was a frozen conflict. I am against it. We will definitely not have such a document.
Several conflicts that arose after the dissolution of the Soviet Union are regarded as “frozen conflicts”, where hostilities are not active, but there has not been a definitive peace treaty or agreement to end the dispute. Examples include Transnistria in Moldova, and the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Updated
EU representatives have not yet reached an agreement about a proposed embargo against Russian oil, but they are expected to move closer to a deal at a meeting on Thursday, Reuters cites an official familiar with the talks as saying.
Envoys from the EU countries had their first discussion about the proposal today, according to the source, who said the meeting ended without a formal backing for the plan.
Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria raised concerns about the oil embargo, the source said, noting that a deal could be achieved at a new meeting of envoys tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Bulgaria’s deputy prime minister, Assen Vassilev, said his country will seek an exemption if the EU agrees to allow exemptions on any embargo on Russian oil.
Vassilev said in an interview with financial newspaper Capital:
Bulgaria, technologically, can do without Russian oil crude, but that would push up fuel prices significantly. So, if the European Commission considers exemptions, we would like to take advantage of such exemptions.
Britain has banned all service exports to Russia as new sanctions against 63 individuals and organisations have been announced.
The measures, announced by Britain’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, would cut off Russia’s access to the UK’s accounting, management consulting and PR services.
According to the UK government, Russia is “heavily reliant” on service companies in western countries, and cutting off UK services will account for 10% of Russian imports in the sectors affected.
In a statement, Truss said:
Doing business with Putin’s regime is morally bankrupt and helps fund a war machine that is causing untold suffering across Ukraine.
Cutting Russia’s access to British services will put more pressure on the Kremlin and ultimately help ensure Putin fails in Ukraine.
NEWS: Today I announce a ban on services exports to Russia. Russian businesses will no longer benefit from the UK’s world class accountancy, consultancy and PR services.
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) May 4, 2022
We’re making sure that Putin fails in Ukraine. https://t.co/MTmLc0R2Ju
The government has also announced 63 new sanctions, including travel bans and assets freezes for individuals linked to Russian broadcasters and newspapers, and sanctions against mainstream media organisations.
Those sanctioned today include employees of Channel One, a major state-owned outlet in Russia, as well as war correspondents embedded with Russian forces in Ukraine. Organisations including state-owned broadcaster, All Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting, will also face sanctions.
Other media companies sanctioned include InfoRos, a news agency spreading “destabilising disinformation about Ukraine”; SouthFront, a disinformation website; and the Strategic Culture Foundation, an online journal spreading disinformation about the invasion.
Updated
Ursula von der Leyen says Putin must pay ‘high price’ as she proposes oil ban
Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a total ban on Russian oil imports to the EU, saying Vladimir Putin had to pay a “high price for his brutal aggression” in Ukraine.
Member states in Brussels are scrutinising a proposed sixth package of sanctions, but in a speech on Wednesday the European Commission president said Russian oil flows had to stop.
Von der Leyen said Russian supply of crude oil would be prohibited within six months and refined products would be banned by the end of the year, while she acknowledged the demands from countries such as Slovakia and Hungary for additional flexibility.
“Let us be clear: it will not be easy,” Von der Leyen said in a speech to the European parliament.
Some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But we simply have to work on it. We now propose a ban on Russian oil. This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined.
We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimises the impact on global markets.
Russian imports account for 25% of oil imports to the EU and are a major source of revenue for the Kremlin but the level of dependency varies and Slovakian and Hungarian ministers have already said they will seek exemptions from the proposals.
The sanctions package will require unanimous support from the EU member states whose representatives in Brussels have already started to pore over the details with the hope of coming to an agreement by the end of the week.
Russia’s chief rabbi, Berel Lazar, has joined criticism of remarks by the country’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, who said Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood” and that the “most rabid antisemites tend to be Jews”.
Lazar described Lavrov’s remarks as “shocking” and said he wished the minister would apologise. In a reply to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Lazar wrote:
I do not consider myself entitled to give advice to the head of Russian diplomacy – but it would be nice if he apologised to the Jews and simply admitted that he was mistaken.
I think it would then be possible to consider the incident settled and turn the page.
Lazar’s comments come as Russia accused Israel of supporting the “neo-Nazi regime” in Kyiv amid an escalating diplomatic row that has threatened to unsettle Israel’s careful position over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
On Monday, Israel summoned Russia’s ambassador to the foreign ministry and its foreign minister, Yair Lapid, called Lavrov’s remarks “unforgivable and outrageous … as well as a terrible historical error”.
Russia’s foreign ministry then doubled down on Lavrov’s words, accusing Lapid of making “antihistorical” remarks about the Holocaust that “largely explain the course of the current Israeli government in supporting the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv”.
Updated
Here are some recent comments from Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, who said Russia has been looking into various options as it braces for an oil embargo from the European Union, Reuters reports.
Asked about speculation that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, plans to declare war against Ukraine in a speech on 9 May, Peskov replied:
There is no chance of that. It’s nonsense.
The 9 May Victory Day is one of Russia’s most important national events and there is speculation that Putin could be preparing for a major announcement with a range of possible scenarios ranging from an outright declaration of war to a declaration of victory.
Peskov said that people should not listen to speculation that there could be a decision on a national mobilisation.
He also said no agreement had been reached on a possible meeting between Putin and Pope Francis, after the pope said he had asked for a meeting in Moscow to try to stop the war in Ukraine but had not received a reply.
More than 30 children still trapped in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant, says mayor
The mayor of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol said there was heavy fighting at the Azovstal steel works where the city’s last defenders and some civilians are holding out, Reuters reports.
Contact has been lost with the Ukrainian fighters still in the Azovstal steel plant, where more than 30 children are among those still awaiting evacuation, mayor Vadym Boichenko said on national television.
The Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik said the news that 156 people had managed to leave Mariupol to reach the relative safety of Ukraine-controlled Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday had reduced many to tears.
Speaking to Sky News, Rudik said there were at least 20 failed attempts to evacuate people from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
Rudik said:
You can imagine that we were all in tears once the first group reached out to safety. It is incredible progress that we have made in getting people out.
She said the “main goal” now is to evaluate all the children who are still at the plant, alongside women, the elderly and injured soldiers:
So right now our main goal is to make sure we get out all the children, its about 30 children still there.
The most complicated step would be with the wounded soldiers because Russia is not allowing them to get out.
Updated
People have described the ordeal of constant shelling and not seeing the light of day for months as the first convoys of civilians have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
Elina Tsybulchenko reached the relative safety of the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday with just under 200 others during a brief ceasefire over the weekend, in an operation overseen by the UN and the Red Cross.
The Russian military said earlier that some evacuees chose to stay in separatist areas, including Russian-controlled Bezymenne.
Ukraine has accused Moscow of taking civilians against their will to Russia or Russian-controlled areas – something the Kremlin has denied.
Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here again, taking over the live blog from Martin Belam to bring you all the latest developments from the war in Ukraine. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.
Moldova has been making contingency plans for “pessimistic” scenarios amid fears that it could be drawn into the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine, the country’s president, Maia Sandu, said.
Speaking at a press conference with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, Sandu said Moldova does not see an “imminent” threat of unrest spilling over from the war in Ukraine despite “provocations” by pro-Russian separatists in the breakaway region of Transnistria, who have reported a number of attacks and explosions there, which they have blamed on Kyiv.
Sandu and her government have blamed the incidents on “pro-war” separatist factions, and denounced comments last month by a Russian general that Russia aimed to seize Ukrainian territory to link up with the separatists in Moldova.
Ukraine has accused Russia of trying to drag Moldova into the war. The Kremlin has expressed “concern” over the situation in Moldova’s separatist region.
Asked whether she was worried about unrest in coming days, Sandu replied:
We see no imminent threat for the nearest future, but of course we have contingency plans for such scenarios, which are less optimistic or which are pessimistic.
She repeated her description of the unrest as “provocations” by separatists, and said Moldova’s police were doing what they could on their side of the Dniestr River to ensure stability.
Updated
Today so far …
- The EU is proposing to ban all Russian oil imports in a sixth package of sanctions aimed at Russian president Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced the proposals in a speech in the European parliament.
- The measures include “a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined oil. We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimises the impact on global markets,” she said.
- Other measures proposed include listing high-ranking military officers and other individuals who are accused of committing war crimes in Bucha, banning three Russian state-owned broadcasters from EU airwaves. and expelling Sberbank from the Swift payment system.
- Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has said that the remaining Ukrainian forces in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol are “securely blocked”.
- Buses have left Mariupol carrying civilians this morning, according to Ukraine’s governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko.
- Russia’s defence ministry says it has disabled six railway stations in Ukraine used to supply Ukrainian forces with foreign weapons.
- One person died and two were injured as a result of the shelling by Ukrainian forces of an oil depot in Makeyevka, which is in the Russian-controlled area of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in the east of Ukraine.
- Russia has deployed 22 battalion tactical groups near Izium in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine in its attempt to advance along the northern axis of the Donbas, the UK ministry of defence has said.
- The armed forces of Belarus began sudden large-scale drills to test their combat readiness, its defence ministry said. Ukraine has said it does not ruled out the possibility that Russia could use armed forces from Belarus in the war.
- Russia’s foreign ministry has announced sanctions against 63 Japanese officials, journalists and professors for engaging in what it called “unacceptable rhetoric” against Moscow.
- The European Union is considering additional military support to Moldova, EU Council president Charles Michel said on a visit to Chișinău.
Léonie Chao-Fong will be with you shortly to take over the blog.
Updated
If you missed it, overnight in the UK we published this video report, which includes clips of the people who had been evacuated from Azovstal in Mariupol.
Updated
Russia’s foreign ministry has announced sanctions against 63 Japanese officials, journalists and professors for engaging in what it called “unacceptable rhetoric” against Moscow.
Reuters reports the list includes Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and defence minister Nobuo Kishi, among other officials.
Updated
Russia's defence minister: Ukrainian forces in Azovstal are 'securely blocked'
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has said that the remaining Ukrainian forces in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol are “securely blocked”.
Russia’s RIA news agency quotes the minister saying:
In accordance with the instructions of the supreme commander-in-chief, the remnants of the militants located in the industrial zone of the Azovstal plant are securely blocked along the entire perimeter of this territory. Repeated proposals to the nationalists to release civilians and lay down their arms with a guarantee of saving lives and decent treatment in accordance with the norms of international law by them ignored. We continue these attempts.
Updated
The European Union is considering additional military support to Moldova, EU Council president Charles Michel said on a visit to Chișinău.
The 27-nation bloc is looking into how it can provide more military support to Moldova, including more help in building up the country’s forces, Michel told a joint news conference with Moldovan president Maia Sandu.
Reuters reports he said this would come on top of help in the fields of logistics and cyber-defence that the EU had already agreed. Michel refused to give any details but said it was extremely important to avoid any escalation.
Updated
Russia’s defence ministry says it has disabled six railway stations in Ukraine used to supply Ukrainian forces with foreign weapons.
Reuters reports the ministry also claimed it had hit 40 Ukrainian military targets, including four ammunition depots. The claims have not been independently verified.
The European Union’s proposed ban on imports of Russian oil does not look like it will have an entirely smooth path to coming into force.
Czech industry and trade minister Jozef Síkela has told Reuters “The proposal does not include … how the gap will be distributed, meaning how to share it fairly, and a proposal on joint purchases and joint distribution. We are still studying it, but it is a problem for me.”
Updated
Russia’s RIA agency is reporting that one person died and two were injured as a result of the shelling by Ukrainian forces of an oil depot in Makeyevka, which is in the Russian-controlled area of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in the east of Ukraine.
Unverified video footage shows a large fire that the agency says is the depot.
В Макеевке после обстрела ВСУ загорелись четыре резервуара на нефтебазе. Один человек погиб и два получили ранения https://t.co/bUd5X6HWmv pic.twitter.com/MmNwS8IZXJ
— РИА Новости (@rianru) May 4, 2022
On Telegram, the territorial defence authority of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic told residents: “Take care of yourself and your family, try not to leave the house unnecessarily.”
They said that four large capacity tanks had been ignited.
Updated
Ukraine has said it does not ruled out the possibility that Russia could use armed forces from Belarus in the war.
Reuters reports that after Belarus began military drills, Ukrainian state border service spokesperson Andriy Demchenko said: “We do not rule out that the Russian Federation could at some point use the territory of Belarus, the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus, against Ukraine. Therefore, we are ready.”
Demchenko claimed Ukraine’s border with Belarus had been “strengthened” since the latest Russian invasion began on 24 February.
Updated
Daniel Boffey reports for us from Brussels on the contents of Ursula von der Leyen’s speech to the European parliament:
The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has been detailing her proposal to the member states on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, which includes a total ban on oil imports.
She has listed the main themes of the proposal.
“First, we are listing high-ranking military officers and other individuals who committed war crimes in Bucha and who are responsible for the inhuman siege of the city of Mariupol. This sends another important signal to all perpetrators of the Kremlin’s war: we know who you are, and you will be held accountable.
“Second, we de-Swift SberBank – by far Russia’s largest bank, and two other major banks. By that, we hit banks that are systemically critical to the Russian financial system and Putin’s ability to wage destruction. This will solidify the complete isolation of the Russian financial sector from the global system.
“Third, we are banning three big Russian state-owned broadcasters from our airwaves. They will not be allowed to distribute their content anymore in the EU, in whatever shape or form be it on cable, via satellite, on the internet or via smartphone apps. We have identified these TV channels as mouthpieces that amplify Putin ́s lies and propaganda aggressively. We should not give them a stage anymore to spread these lies. Moreover, the Kremlin relies on accountants, consultants and spin-doctors from Europe. And this will now stop. We are banning those services from being provided to Russian companies.
“My final point on sanctions: When the leaders met in Versailles, they agreed to phase out our dependency on Russian energy. In the last sanction package, we started with coal. Now we are addressing our dependency on Russian oil. Let us be clear: it will not be easy. Some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But we simply have to work on it.
“We now propose a ban on Russian oil. This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined. We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimises the impact on global markets. This is why we will phase out Russian supply of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year.
“Thus, we maximise pressure on Russia, while at the same time minimising collateral damage to us and our partners around the globe. Because to help Ukraine, our own economy has to remain strong.”
Updated
Ursula von der Leyen announces sixth package of EU sanctions against Russia
The EU is proposing to ban all Russian oil imports in a sixth package of sanctions aimed at Russian president Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced the proposals in a speech in the European parliament.
On the crucial issue of energy imports, Von der Leyen said:
This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined. We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimises the impact on global markets. This is why we will phase out Russian supply of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year.
The sanctions will require unanimous support among the 27 EU nations – with Slovakia having already indicated they will require an exemption, and Hungary suggesting sanctions on energy supplies are a “red line” for them.
Other measures proposed include:
- Listing high-ranking military officers and other individuals who are accused of committing war crimes in Bucha and those responsible for the siege of Mariupol.
- Banning three Russian state-owned broadcasters from EU airwaves.
- Expelling SberBank – by far Russia’s largest bank – from the Swift payment system, along with two other major banks.
She said Europe has a special responsibility towards Ukraine, and also proposed an “ambitious recovery package” for the country.
Updated
Buses have left Mariupol carrying civilians this morning, according to a post by Ukraine’s governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko. He writes on Telegram:
Today, with the support of the United Nations and the Red Cross, we are evacuating civilians from the Azov region to Zaporizhia. Buses have already left Mariupol.
Kyrylenko says that there will be stops at Lunacharsky, Tokmak and Vasylivka, with an opportunity to join the convoy in private transport at Tokmak.
- This is Martin Belam taking over the blog in London. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com
Here are some of the latest striking images to come out of Ukraine today.
Updated
Belarus says surprise army drills no threat to neighbours
The armed forces of Belarus began sudden large-scale drills on Wednesday to test their combat readiness, its defence ministry said.
“It is planned that the (combat readiness) test will involve the movement of significant numbers of military vehicles, which can slow down traffic on public roads,” the Belarusian ministry said in a statement, as reported by Reuters.
Against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ministry said the exercise posed no threat to its neighbours or the European community in general.
Areas of Ukraine adjacent to Belarus, including its capital, Kyiv, came under Russian assault in the initial stage of the invasion, which began in late February and followed joint drills held by Russia and Belarus.
Updated
EU to unveil Russian oil sanctions
The European Union is expected to outline oil sanctions against Moscow with ambassadors from the 27 European Union countries set to meet today to give the plan a once-over before final approval.
EU officials handed over a draft plan to member states on a new package of sanctions on Russia late on Tuesday, but divisions between how an oil embargo would work continues.
The commission’s proposal would phase in a ban on oil imports from Russia over six to eight months, with Hungary and Slovakia allowed to take a few months longer, EU officials told AFP.
But Slovakia, which like Hungary is almost 100% dependent for fuel on Russian crude coming through the Druzbha pipeline, has said it will need several years.
Slovakia’s refinery is designed to work with Russian oil and would need to be thoroughly overhauled or replaced to deal with imports from elsewhere – an expensive and lengthy process.
Other officials, speaking on condition of anonymity during the legally and diplomatically fraught negotiation, said Bulgaria and the Czech Republic could also seek sanctions opt-outs.
One European diplomat warned that granting exemptions to one or two highly-dependent states could trigger a domino effect of exemption demands that would undermine the embargo.
The European Commission is not planning to unveil the draft in public before its president, Ursula von der Leyen, addresses the European parliament on Wednesday.
Updated
In case you missed our earlier report, the head of the UK armed forces criticised the Russia’s military campaign, characterised by “shocking intelligence failures” and “incredible arrogance”.
Admiral Sir Antony Radakin, chief of the British defence staff, told a Wall Street Journal summit in London he believed Russian president Vladimir Putin was becoming increasingly isolated.
Their decision making rarely improves, and their decision making gets worse.
We have been surprised at the way Russia has gone about this.
Whatever their endgame is, it is drastically different from their start game,” he said.
Russia expected that it could invade Ukraine, take cities in days and take control of the country in 30 days, he added.
The campaign started with the ambition of taking the whole of Ukraine, pushing back Nato and demonstrating Russia’s power and authority.
“All of those have failed, Nato has never been stronger,” he said. “The notion that the Ukraine people somehow would choose to orient themselves toward Russia now looks absurd.”
“The idea you would run out of fuel when you are just 100 miles into Ukraine is just slightly bizarre,” he added, speaking of Russian convoys that stalled in the early days of the war.
Updated
First evacuated civilians from Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant reach safety
More than 100 evacuees who managed to leave the besieged city of Mariupol - many trapped under the Azovstal steel plant - reached the relative safety of Ukraine-controlled Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed 156 people, mainly women and children, were successfully evacuated in his latest national address.
We finally have the result, the first result of our evacuation operation from Azovstal in Mariupol, which we have been organising for a very long time. It took a lot of effort, long negotiations and various mediations.
Today 156 people arrived in Zaporizhzhia. Women and children. They have been in shelters for more than two months. Just imagine! For example, a child is six months old, two of which are underground, fleeing bombs and shelling.
Finally, these people are completely safe. They will get help.
However, Russian troops are not adhering to the agreements of a ceasefire and continue to strike the plant, Zelenskiy added.
They continue massive strikes at Azovstal. They are trying to storm the complex. But I have been told many times that no one can be saved. That it is impossible. And today 156 people are in Zaporizhzhia. This is not a victory yet, but this is already a result. And I believe that there is a chance to save our other people.”
“The more such strikes, the farther Russia is from civilisation. From what is called civilisedness,” he added.
Ukrainian officials have said up to 200 civilians, including children, remain trapped in a network of underground bunkers and tunnels with up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
Four humanitarian corridors are planned from the besieged city to Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday “if the safety situation allows”, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, earlier announced.
The humanitarian corridors are planned from Mariupol, Lunacharske Circle, Tokmak and Vasylivka, Vereshchuk said in an update posted to her official Facebook account.
The evacuations will start from 8am, she added.
Updated
Russia deploys more troops near Izium, Kharkiv, UK MoD says
Russia has deployed 22 battalion tactical groups near Izium in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine in its attempt to advance along the northern axis of the Donbas, the UK ministry of defence has said.
Despite struggling to break through Ukrainian defences and build momentum, Russia “highly likely” intends to proceed beyond Izium to capture the cities of Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk, British intelligence added.
“Capturing these locations would consolidate Russian military control of the north-eastern Donbas and provide a staging point for their efforts to cut-off Ukrainian forces in the region.”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 04 May 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 4, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/IvoOTjNz8D
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/H0y9RFbaM7
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments until my colleague Martin Belam in London takes the reins a little later.
Ten weeks into a war that has killed thousands, destroyed cities and driven millions of Ukrainians to flee their homes, Moscow is showing no signs of pulling back.
It is almost 8am in Ukraine. Here is everything you might have missed:
- Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has confirmed 156 people who were successfully evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol arrived in Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday. Another 200 civilians were still trapped under the complex and approximately 100,000 remained in the city, said Mariupol’s mayor, Vadym Boichenko. Russian troops continued to shell and attempted to storm the Azovstal steelworks in violation of ceasefire agreements, the president said.
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Russian attacks in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region killed 21 civilians and injured 27 on Tuesday, according to the regional governor. In a Telegram post, Pavlo Kyrylenko said it was the highest daily death toll in the region since an assault last month on a railway station in the town of Kramatorsk, which killed 50 people.
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Four humanitarian corridors are planned from Mariupol to the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday “if the safety situation allows”, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, has announced.
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Power substations in Lviv were hit by Russian missiles on Tuesday evening, according to the city’s mayor, Andriy Sadovyi. The strike reportedly injured one person.
- EU sanctions intended to break “the Russian war machine” are imminent, the president of the European Council has said. A proposal to phase in a prohibition on Russian oil imports will be discussed by member state ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday. Divisions in the fraught negotiations have continued as some member states seek opt-outs.
- Boris Johnson said “Ukraine will win” against Russia and “will be free” in an address to the Ukrainian parliament virtually on Tuesday. The British PM was the first world leader to address the Verkhovna Rada since the conflict began.
- The head of the British armed forces has said he is surprised by the Russian failings in its military campaign. Admiral Sir Antony Radakin, chief of the British defence staff, told the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit in London on Tuesday that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin was in charge and showed traits of an autocratic leader who was becoming increasingly isolated. “Their decision making rarely improves, and their decision making gets worse,” Radakin said, calling it a “shocking intelligence failure and it’s also an incredible arrogance.”
- Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has passed a law that bans political parties that justify, recognise or deny Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine. The law will also ban parties who glorify or justify the actions of those carrying out armed aggression against Ukraine.
- Vladimir Putin told France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, that “western countries could help stop the crimes of the Ukrainian military”. Putin is reported to have told Macron about the Russian approach to negotiations with Kyiv.
- Putin signed a decree on retaliatory economic sanctions against the west. According to Reuters, the sanctions are in response to the “unfriendly actions of certain foreign states and international organisations”.
- Russia has said it will boycott a UN security council meeting set for Wednesday with the EU’s political and security committee (PSC).
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is inflicting damage to the country’s infrastructure at a cost of $4.5bn (£3.6bn) a week. According to estimates compiled by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), the damage has reached $92bn since the invasion began in February.
- Men and boys are among the alleged victims of rape by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, where dozens of cases of sexual violence by the invading forces are already under investigation, UN and Ukrainian officials have said.
- Pope Francis has said he requested a meeting Putin over Ukraine and compared the scale of the bloodshed to Rwanda’s genocide. Questioning the conflict’s causes, the pope spoke of an “anger” in the Kremlin which could have been “facilitated” by “the barking of Nato at Russia’s door”.
- The Russian tycoon Oleg Tinkov, who previously condemned Moscow’s “insane war” in Ukraine, says he has been forced to sell for “kopecks” (roughly translating to “pennies”) his stake in Tinkoff Bank, which he founded. “Farewell Tinkoff Bank, Farewell Russia. I have nothing left in Russia,” he wrote on Instagram. “It is a pity that my country has finally slipped into archaism, paternalism and servility. There is no Russia, it was all gone.”
