Summary
That’s all for today, thanks for following our live coverage.
It’s approaching 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s a summary of the day:
Russia launched a major offensive in eastern Ukraine and is trying to break through defences near the town of Kreminna, the governor for the Luhansk region said on Thursday.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine has intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova. Speaking to European Union leaders in Brussels, Zelenskiy said he recently told the Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, about the alleged scheme.
Zelenskiy said he had heard from several European Union leaders at a summit that they were ready to provide Kyiv with aircraft. He gave no further details about the pledges, and there was no immediate confirmation from any European countries.
Europe announced new sanctions against Russia which will include new export bans worth more than €10bn ($10.7bn), targeting Vladimir Putin’s propagandists, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen said.
The UK and US imposed sanctions on seven Russian nationals over their links to the development and deployment of ransomware, as part of a government crackdown on cyber criminals.
Downing Street is looking at a “whole suite of options” to assist Ukraine when asked again about sending warplanes. When asked about the Ukrainian president suggesting some European leaders were ready to provide fighter jets to Kyiv, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was seeing “whether we can provide fighter jets in the future”.
The European Union must continue to provide maximum support to Ukraine, the European Council president, Charles Michel, told reporters on Thursday. “We understand that the coming weeks and months will be of decisive importance”, he said.
Russian nuclear energy firm Rosatom says it is ready to continue work on creating a safety zone around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after officials from the company met the UN nuclear watchdog chief.
A quarter of Ukrainians are at risk of developing a severe mental health condition as the country grapples with the year-long Russian invasion, a special adviser to the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
Ukraine’s athletes have accused the International Olympic Committee of rewarding Vladimir Putin’s aggression and being “on the wrong side of history” in an escalating war of words over whether Russians should compete at the Paris 2024 Games.
Russia was stripped of hosting the 2025 swimming world championships and Singapore was awarded the event by the governing body of the sport. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has asked the governing bodies of sports not to stage events in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The UK government said it will not send fighter jets to Ukraine if there is risk to British safety. When asked about some western allies’ concerns that supplying jets could risk dragging Nato into the conflict, the prime minister’s spokesperson said: “Firstly we haven’t made a decision in terms of UK provision of jets, we are training currently.”
Speaking at the European Council, Zelenskiy thanked EU leaders for their support in countering Russia’s invasion but urged them to supply even more weaponry, including fighter jets. “We need to strengthen the dynamics of our cooperation more powerfully than the aggressor can mobilise its potential”, he said.
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, described Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s invitation to Paris, where he met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, as “inappropriate”.
Zelenskiy addressed the European parliament on Thursday morning, proclaiming Ukraine “will join the European Union” and thanking the bloc’s members for their support during Russia’s invasion.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said Paris would “continue the efforts” to deliver arms to Kyiv, adding that France was determined to help Ukraine towards “victory, peace and Europe”. “Russia cannot and must not win,” he said, adding that “the future of Europe” was at stake in Ukraine. The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said it was clear that Moscow would not win, and assured Ukraine its future was in the EU, saying Ukraine was part of the “European family”. “Putin will not achieve his goals – not on the battlefield and not through a dictated peace.”
Zelenskiy also made an emotional appeal to the UK to supply Ukraine with fighter jets on a surprise visit to the UK on Wednesday. “I appeal to you and the world with simple and yet most important words: combat aircrafts – for Ukraine! Wings – for freedom!” he said. Rishi Sunak, previously opposed to handing over UK jets, has ordered a defence ministry review into whether Zelenskiy’s request can be met, saying “nothing was off the table”.
Pledges of support by Sunak, the UK prime minister, included training Ukrainian pilots on advanced Nato fighter jets “to ensure Ukraine can defend its skies well into the future”. Sunak added: “The first step in being able to provide advanced aircraft is to have soldiers or aviators that are capable of using them. That is a process. It takes some time, we’ve started that process today.”
The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said there was no sign of Russia preparing for peace. “On the contrary, Moscow is preparing for new military offensives,” he said during a joint press conference with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken.
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