3h ago
05.31 BST
Summary
Hello and
welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. This is Helen Sullivan
with the latest.
Our top stories this morning: Russia launched an
exceptionally intense air attack on Kyiv in the early hours of Tuesday, using
drones, cruise and probably ballistic missiles, city officials said, as the
Ukrainian capital suffered its eighth air raid this month.
The attack
comes as European leaders travel to Iceland today for a two-day summit meant to
show their support for Ukraine.
Falling
debris was reported in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Solomyanskyi and
Darnytskyi districts, officials said.
We’ll bring
you more on these stories shortly. Here are the other key recent developments:
- British prime minister Rishi Sunak said Britain would provide Ukraine with hundreds of air defence missiles and further unmanned aerial systems, including new long-range attack drones with a range of more than 200km in the coming months, during a visit by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy’s visit comes off the back of trips to Berlin and Paris.
- The Ukrainian leader said he was also “very positive” about creating a “jets coalition” in the war against Russia, with a decision on the provision of western fighter jets expected soon. Sunak said the UK was preparing to open a flight school to train Ukrainian pilots and France has also now offered to train Ukrainian fighter pilots, president Emmanuel Macron said in Paris, though he ruled out sending war planes to Kyiv.
- The US is seeing more indications that Russia and Iran are expanding an unprecedented defence partnership that will help Moscow prolong its war in Ukraine as well as pose a threat to Iran’s neighbours. Iran has reportedly provided Russia with one-way attack drones, including more than 400 since august, US national security adviser John Kirby said at a news briefing.
- Ukraine hailed its first substantial battlefield advances for six months. Since last week, the Ukrainian military has started to push Russian forces back in and around the embattled city of Bakhmut, its first significant offensive operations since its troops recaptured the southern city of Kherson in November.
- The World Health Organization’s European office decided to close a specialised WHO office in Moscow and move its functions to Denmark. Calls from members to shut the office came last year over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, inadvertently confirmed that four military aircraft had been shot down over Russia last week near the borders of Ukraine and Belarus, saying the capital city Minsk had responded by putting its armed forces on high alert. Photos also emerged of Lukashenko today visiting an air force installation. The president had not been seen since 9 May, causing speculation about his health.
- Data published on the Federal Treasury’s online budget portal shows Russia spent 2tn roubles (£21bn) on defence in January and February alone. This is a 282% jump on the same period a year ago, illustrating the spiralling costs for Moscow of its conflict in Ukraine.
- Russia’s top army general, Gen. Oleg Salyukov, and his South African counterpart, Lt. Gen. Lawrence Mbatha discussed “military cooperation” at a meeting in Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The announcement came hours after South African president Cyril Ramaphosa denied US accusations that his country was siding with Russia in Ukraine and had sent weapons to help it.
- Seven people including a Russian-installed senior official and a teenager were wounded when an explosion ripped through a beauty salon in the centre of Russian-controlled Luhansk in eastern Ukraine on Monday, officials said.
- UN aid chief, Martin Griffiths, said that efforts will continue to extend a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, a pact Moscow has threatened to quit on 18 May over obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports, Reuters reports.
- Zelenskiy issued a new appeal to Nato to make a “positive political decision” on Kyiv’s membership at its July summit. Zelenskiy made his remarks in a video address to the Copenhagen democracy summit. He said that Finland joining Nato showed the strength of security guarantees, and thanked Denmark and other allies for their resolve in assisting Ukraine against Russia.
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