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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Samantha Lock (now); Kari Paul , Gabrielle Canon, Joan E Greve,Léonie Chao-Fong and Martin Belam (earlier)

Evacuation operations continue from Mariupol with 40 civilians rescued on Friday – as it happened

Vladimir Putin Ukraine Russia United States Mariupol Volodymyr Zelenksyy Boris Johnson United Kingdom Victory Day Azovstal (Geopolitical Entity)
Russian troops fire from a tank in Mariupol near the Azovstal steel plant
Russian troops fire from a tank in Mariupol near the Azovstal steel plant Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

Thank you for following our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

This blog has now closed. You can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blog in the link below.

The UK will exempt Ukraine from its ban on providing public support for fossil fuel energy overseas as ministers look to make sure services can continue to operate during the protracted conflict.

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the energy-related announcements were part of policies aimed at “ramping up” support for Kyiv, according to a report from PA Media.

Officials said Ukraine and other parts of eastern Europe would benefit from time-limited exemptions to the UK government’s international fossil fuel support policy to ensure Britain can join global efforts to keep the embattled country’s energy supplies topped up.

The policy prevents the UK providing any new direct financial or promotional support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas but ministers argued that exempting Ukraine would allow London to address the energy security impact of the conflict and quickly respond to requests for assistance.

A senior official from the Russian parliament said Friday that Russia will remain in southern Ukraine “forever”, speaking on a visit to the Moscow-controlled city of Kherson, AFP reports.

“Russia is here forever. There should be no doubt about this. There will be no return to the past,” Andrey Turchak said, according to a statement from the ruling United Russia party.

“We will live together, develop this rich region, rich in historical heritage, rich in the people who live here,” Turchak added.

Turchak also announced the opening of humanitarian aid centre in Kherson, for the delivery of food, medicine and essentials.

It is the first time a senior Russian official indicated Moscow’s intentions to remain present on Ukrainian territory.

Kherson was the first major city to fall to Russian forces after the start of their military operation in Ukraine on 24 February.

Over 40 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians captured by Russia, among them 11 women and a cleric, have been freed in a new prisoner exchange, Kyiv said Friday.

“Another prisoner exchange has taken place: 41 people, including 11 women were brought home,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on Telegram.

Among those released were 28 soldiers and 13 civilians, one of whom was a member of the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

She did not say how many Russians were released in exchange.

Here are some of the latest images to come out of Ukraine today.

An elderly lady in the bunker in Luch, Ukraine.
An elderly lady in the bunker in Luch, Ukraine. Photograph: Vincenzo Circosta/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock
Entrance to a bunker in Luch, a village on the border with Kherson Oblast which has been constantly bombed since the beginning of the war.
Entrance to a bunker in Luch, a village on the border with Kherson Oblast which has been constantly bombed since the beginning of the war. Photograph: Vincenzo Circosta/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock
A woman and her child walk past a residential apartment block damaged in Kramatorsk, Ukraine.
A woman and her child walk past a residential apartment block damaged in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. Photograph: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
A man cleans his damaged apartment from debris in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine.
A man cleans his damaged apartment from debris in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. Photograph: Roman Pilipey/EPA
A man cleans an apartment in a damaged building after the recent Russian airstrike, in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine.
A man cleans an apartment in a damaged building after the recent Russian airstrike, in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. Photograph: Roman Pilipey/EPA

Updated

US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a phone call on Friday, underscored their commitment to holding Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine and discussed efforts to provide security assistance to Ukraine, the White House said in a statement.

Both leaders underscored their commitment to continue holding Russia accountable for its brutal actions in Ukraine, and reviewed their ongoing efforts to provide security assistance to the government of Ukraine and economic and humanitarian aid to the millions of Ukrainians affected by the violence.”

Biden and Trudeau also discussed their upcoming participation in the Summit of the Americas in June in Los Angeles, it added.

Here is a little more detail on the scheduled G7 meeting set to take place on Sunday.

The Group of Seven (G7) leaders including US President Joe Biden will hold a video call on Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a show of unity the day before Russia marks its Victory Day holiday, the White House said.

Talks will focus on the latest developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, efforts to bolster the country and ways to demonstrate “continued G7 unity in our collective response, including by imposing severe costs for Putin’s war,” a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council said on Monday.

The leaders of the G7 countries, which include the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy, will hold their virtual meeting with Zelenskiy on Sunday in the US morning, the spokesperson added.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden flew to Ohio for the day, Psaki said the timing of the session was significant because it will take place a day before Putin participates in Victory Day. The holiday on Monday marks the end of World War Two and includes military parades across Russia.

Psaki also said US officials are discussing imposing more sanctions on Russian oligarchs and companies as well as taking steps to avoid Russians previously sanctioned from evading them.

“I’ll be speaking with the members of the G7 this week about what we’re going to do or not do,” Biden told reporters this week.

Summary

It is approaching 5am in Kyiv. Here is where things stand:

  • The UN Security Council has issued its first statement on the war in Ukraine, but withheld from using the words “war”, “conflict” or “invasion”. The statement instead “expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine” and voiced “strong support” for Secretary General Antonio Guterres in seeking a peaceful solution to the “dispute”.
  • Evacuation operations are continuing from the besieged southern city of Mariupol with 40 civilians rescued on Friday, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed in his latest national address.
  • Three evacuation buses left the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Friday, according to Russian media reports. Buses carrying 25 civilians including children were brought out from the plant to a camp in the Russian-controlled town of Bezimenne. An estimated 200 civilians, along with Ukrainian resistance fighters, remained trapped in underground refuges at the huge industrial complex.
  • The latest US military aid package to Ukraine, announced by president Joe Biden on Friday, is worth $150m, secretary of state Antony Blinken confirmed. The latest tranche of assistance includes 25,000 155mm artillery rounds, as well as counter-artillery radars, jamming equipment, field equipment and spare parts. It brings Washington’s military assistance to Kyiv since the Russian invasion began to around $3.8bn, Blinken said.
  • The UK government has said it will give Ukraine 287 mobile generators in addition to 569 generators it had donated earlier.
  • US officials have said they shared information about the location of the Russian warship Moskva with Ukraine prior to its sinking last month, a fresh demonstration of the close intelligence support Kyiv is receiving from Washington. However, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby deflected questions about whether the US provided information to Ukraine that helped military leaders target Russian generals, instead saying Ukraine “makes the decisions” when it comes to how they use US intel. “We provide [Ukrainians] what we believe to be relevant and timely information about Russian units that could allow them to adjust and execute their self- defence to the best of their ability,” he said. “The kind of intelligence that we provide them – it’s legitimate, it’s lawful, and it’s limited.”
  • Russia’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Britain’s ambassador to Russia, Deborah Bronnert, adding that it strongly protested in relation to new UK sanctions on Russian media. Russia would continue to react “harshly and decisively” to all sanctions imposed by the UK, the ministry said in a statement.
  • Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the southern port city of Mariupol is “an example of torture and starvation used as a weapon of war”. In an address to Chatham House, he said he was “elected as president of Ukraine and not a mini-Ukraine”, and that Russia must first fall back to the territory it held before its invasion on 23 February if peace talks are to succeed.
  • Italian officials have seized a yacht with ties to the Russian government and believed to belong to Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to a release from the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Friday.
  • Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy has accused Russia of “outright nuclear blackmail” during a speech to Chatham House, the international affairs think tank. “Russia is openly talking about nuclear weapons. The time it takes for Russian missiles to reach European cities. They do this because of the sense of impunity. Russia is blackmailing Europe through threats,” he said.

The UK government has said it will give Ukraine 287 mobile generators in addition to 569 generators it had donated earlier.

The new generators, which are enough to power nearly 8,000 homes, will be used for hospitals, shelters and other essential services in the face of ongoing destruction in eastern Ukraine, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said in a statement on Saturday as reported by Reuters.

The government has also relaxed rules on support for overseas fossil fuels to boost supply of vital energy to Ukraine, the statement added.

US First Lady Jill Biden arrived in eastern Europe on a four-day trip on Friday intended to reaffirm the US commitment to Ukraine.

Biden will meet national leaders and US troops, as well as displaced Ukrainian parents, children, educators and aid workers in Romania and Slovakia.

She began her visit by greeting and serving food to troops stationed at a Romanian air base.

On Sunday, she is expected to spend Mother’s Day with refugee mothers and their children in Kosice, a border city in eastern Slovakia.

“On my way to Romania and Slovakia to spend Mother’s Day with Ukrainian mothers and children who were forced to flee their homes because of Putin’s war,” Biden tweeted on Friday.

“I will also visit US troops and express gratitude for the relief efforts of neighbouring countries and aid workers.”

US intelligence to Ukraine is 'legitimate, lawful, limited', Pentagon says

Here is a little more detail on US officials deflecting questions that US intelligence helped Ukraine kill top Russian generals and sink the Moskva missile cruiser.

The US defence department’s spokesperson, John Kirby, held a press conference on Friday where he was asked about reports that the Pentagon has provided information with Ukrainian leaders to help them target and kill Russian generals.

Kirby would not corroborate the reports, instead saying Ukraine “makes the decisions” when it comes to how they use US intel and emphasising the importance of being careful when discussing intelligence-sharing with other countries.

Kirby told reporters:

We provide [Ukrainians] what we believe to be relevant and timely information about Russian units that could allow them to adjust and execute their self- defence to the best of their ability. ...

The Pentagon spokesperson also emphasised that other countries have provided Ukraine with information on Russian troop movements:

We are not the only sole source of intelligence and information to the Ukrainians. They get intelligence from other nations as well. And they have a pretty robust intelligence collection capability of their own. ...

And if they do decide to do something with that intelligence, then they make the decisions about acting on it....

The kind of intelligence that we provide them – it’s legitimate, it’s lawful, and it’s limited.”

Kirby also stressed that Ukraine combines intelligence from many countries and the US is “not the sole source of intelligence and information to the Ukrainians”.

Zelenskiy accuses Russia of 'outright nuclear blackmail'

Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy has accused Russia of “outright nuclear blackmail” during a speech to Chatham House, the international affairs think tank.

Zelenskiy outlined Russia’s “contempt for all international conventions” and what he claimed to be a sense of impunity.

Russia is openly talking about nuclear weapons. The time it takes for Russian missiles to reach European cities. They do this because of the sense of impunity. Russia is blackmailing Europe through threats.”

“Why is Russia doing all this? Because they think that if they can be held responsible for such crimes, criminal actions, it will be decades later,” he added. “They simply do not believe that the international community can hold those responsible for the war crimes to justice as they are hiding behind the nuclear force.”

Zelenskiy continued:

Russian state propagandists on their media resources calculate how long it takes for nuclear missiles to hit European capitals. They talk about it publicly, openly. They tell how to detonate nuclear explosives in the ocean to wash away everything in the British Isles with a radioactive wave. They prepare infographics, that is, they are serious about it. They boast that Russia can destroy any state leaving only ‘nuclear ashes’. Moreover, ‘nuclear ashes’ is their quote, which they repeat as a mantra.

Why is this happening? This is a feeling of impunity, and we are sure of it. They are accustomed to the fact that business ‘as usual’ has always returned to the relations of all states with Russia.”

US announces $150m military aid package

The latest US military aid package to Ukraine, announced by president Joe Biden on Friday, is worth $150m, secretary of state Antony Blinken confirmed.

I have authorised $150 million in additional US arms, equipment, and supplies for Ukraine to reinforce its defences to counter Russia’s offensive in the East,” Blinken said.

The latest tranche of assistance includes 25,000 155mm artillery rounds, as well as counter-artillery radars, jamming equipment, field equipment and spare parts.

I am announcing another package of security assistance that will provide additional artillery munitions, radars, and other equipment to Ukraine,” Biden said in a statement.

“US support, together with the contributions of our Allies and partners, has been critical in helping Ukraine win the battle of Kyiv and hinder Putin’s war aims in Ukraine,” he added.

With the latest $150m US security aid package to Ukraine, Washington’s military assistance to Kyiv since the Russian invasion began has reached around $3.8bn, Blinken said.

Evacuation operations are continuing from the besieged southern city of Mariupol with 40 civilians rescued on Friday, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed in his latest national address

We continue the evacuation mission from Mariupol, from Azovstal, with the mediation of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

During the day, our team organised rescue for more than 40 civilians - women and children. We hope that soon they will be able to arrive in a safe area after two months of shelling, just underground - in shelters.

We are also working on diplomatic options to save our military who still remain at Azovstal. Influential mediators are involved. Influential states.”

UN Security Council issues first statement on war in Ukraine, omits the words 'war'

The UN Security Council has issued its first statement on the war in Ukraine, but withheld from using the words “war”, “conflict” or “invasion”.

The statement instead “expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine” and voiced “strong support” for Secretary General Antonio Guterres in seeking a peaceful solution to the “dispute”.

“The Security Council expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine,” it reads.

“The Security Council recalls that all Member States have undertaken, under the Charter of the United Nations, the obligation to settle their international disputes by peaceful means.”

“The Security Council expresses strong support for the efforts of the Secretary-General in the search for a peaceful solution.

Wielding veto power in the council, Russia has stymied all prior bids to adopt a statement on Ukraine.

Mexico’s UN ambassador, whose country helped draft the statement, was asked about criticism that it took two months to draft and merely supports the UN secretary general.

Juan Ramon De La Fuente told the Associated Press there has to be a start somewhere and is “a very first initial step but it points on the right direction”.

Updated

Today so far

That’s it for me today but our coverage will continue with Samantha Lock. Here’s what happened over the last few hours:

  • US defense department spokesperson John Kirby deflected questions about whether the Pentagon provided information to Ukraine that helped military leaders target Russian generals.
  • Howitzer systems provided by the US required training for Ukrainian soldiers, and Kirby told reporters 220 have received training and 150 more are currently being trained.
  • The British ambassador to Moscow was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry to discuss UK sanctions on Russian media.
  • On Monday Biden will sign a bill to ease restrictions on aid his administration plans to provide to Ukraine.
  • Biden also announced that a $150 million aid package in the works that will include 25,000 artillery rounds, counter-artillery radars and jamming equipment.
  • A yacht belonging to Putin was reportedly seized by Italian officials.
  • Biden urged top intelligence and defense officials to stop leaks about the US providing key information to aid Ukrainian forces.

Updated

In a call with top defense and intelligence officials, Biden called for fewer leaks about US intelligence sharing with Ukraine, NBC News reports:

On the phone with CIA Director William Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Biden’s message was that such disclosures “distract from our objective,” one official said. The other official said Biden conveyed that the leaks should stop.

The CIA and the Office of the DNI declined to comment. The Pentagon and the National Security Council did not respond to requests for comment.

US officials previously confirmed claims that American intelligence helped Ukrainian forces, aiding both in the killing Russian generals and the location of the Russian warship Moskva, which was sunk last month.

The Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh wrote today that confirmation of the information sharing around the Moskva is a “a fresh demonstration of the close intelligence support Kyiv is receiving from Washington”:

It is unclear how far the US intelligence helped Ukraine launch an accurate double missile strike on the Moskva, and the US officials briefing the information insisted the targeting decision was a matter for the Ukrainians alone.

But the fact that the US was willing to confirm it had at least some involvement, three weeks after the Moskva went down on 14 April, shows how far Washington is willing to acknowledge its critical backseat role in the 10-week-long war, even at the risk of openly antagonising Moscow.”

It appears now that the President is uncomfortable with the reports. Administration officials have expressed fears that the close association and intelligence sharing could provoke Putin into an escalation. Despite the reports, the Administration denied claims that the US was involved in the attack on the Russian ship and that information was aided in targeting the Russian generals.

While efforts to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol continue, Zelenskiy said he also has hopes to get the remaining members of the military out safely. In his nightly address, the Ukrainian president said the mediation of the UN and the International Committee of the Red cross has helped with civilians but that “influential states” are supporting the safe withdrawal of Ukrainian soldiers.

“During the day, our team organized rescue operations for more than 40 civilians, all women and children,” Zelenskiy said. “We hope that soon they will be able to arrive in a safe area after two months of shelling, remaining underground in shelters.”

Updated

Yacht belonging to Putin reportedly seized

Italian officials have seized a yacht with ties to the Russian government, according to a release from the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Friday.

Reporters say the yacht, which had been moored in a Tuscany marina, belongs to Russian president Vladimir Putin. The ministry said in its statement the boat was seized under regulations relating to “actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.

The seizure comes after a $300m yacht belonging to another Russian oligarch was seized by Fijian authorities at the request of the US Department of Justice on Friday.

Updated

President Biden released a statement saying that his administration “has nearly exhausted funding that can be used to send security assistance through drawdown authorities for Ukraine”.

Calling for the US to “keep the weapons and ammunition flowing to Ukraine, without interruption” Biden pushed Congress to quickly provide the funding he’s requested. Though he did not specify in the statement the financial total for the latest package, Reuters reports it will amount to $150m and include 25,000 artillery rounds, counter-artillery radars and jamming equipment.

Here’s the president’s statement in full:

Today, the United States is continuing our strong support for the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country against Russia’s ongoing aggression. I am announcing another package of security assistance that will provide additional artillery munitions, radars, and other equipment to Ukraine.

The United States has provided a historic amount of security assistance to Ukraine at rapid speed. We are sending the weapons and equipment that Congress has authorized directly to the front lines of freedom in Ukraine. U.S. support, together with the contributions of our Allies and partners, has been critical in helping Ukraine win the battle of Kyiv and hinder Putin’s war aims in Ukraine.

With today’s announcement, my Administration has nearly exhausted funding that can be used to send security assistance through drawdown authorities for Ukraine. For Ukraine to succeed in this next phase of war its international partners, including the U.S., must continue to demonstrate our unity and our resolve to keep the weapons and ammunition flowing to Ukraine, without interruption. Congress should quickly provide the requested funding to strengthen Ukraine on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.”

Updated

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy outlined what he would consider a victory for his country on Friday, saying peace negotiations with Moscow would only be considered if Russian troops retreated from all occupied territory they gained after 24 February.

Zelenskiy emphasized that he still has hope for diplomacy but his conditions would be firm, the Washington Post reports.

“Despite the fact that they destroyed all our bridges, I think not all the bridges are yet destroyed, figuratively speaking,” he said, adding that Ukraine is his only objective. “For me what matters is Ukraine’s victory, and by Ukraine’s victory I mean something that belongs to us.”

Updated

Roughly 50 civilians, including women, children, and seniors, were evacuated today from the bunkers under the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, the New York Times reports, adding to nearly 500 people who have escaped in recent days.

The effort to safely evacuate civilians has been complicated has been slow because Russian troops have repeatedly violated a cease-fire intended to open safe evacuations for civilians, according to the deputy prime minister Iryna Vereschuk. She added that a convoy of vehicles was delayed for most of the day due to the dangers. “Tomorrow morning we will continue the operation,” she said.

Eleven children were among those rescued from the ruined plant on Friday. The group was left with representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations.

Updated

Residents in Kyiv have been warned to stay inside on Sunday while Russians celebrate Victory Day, a holiday commemorating the Nazi surrender during the second world war. Events will be canceled, city patrols will be bolstered, and, while there won’t be an official curfew, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the risks of shelling are high.

Cautioning residents to follow “wartime security rules,” Klitschko told locals not to ignore air alarm signals. “In the coming days, there is a high likelihood of missile shelling in all regions of Ukraine. Be aware and take care of your own safety!”

There are concerns that Putin will formally declare war that day and call for an escalation, according to CNN. Putin has used the rhetoric and imagery from the second world war to fuel support for the invasion of Ukraine in Russia, falsely claiming that Russians were seeking the “denazification” of the country.

In recent years, while celebrating a win in what they refer to as “the great patriotic war,” Russians have adopted a slogan with their Victory Day celebrations: “We can do it again”.

Putin has planned for a propaganda-filled day. Reuters reports:

Defiant in the face of deep Western isolation since he ordered the invasion of Russia’s neighbour, Putin will speak on Red Square before a parade of troops, tanks, rockets and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

A fly-past over St Basil’s Cathedral will include supersonic fighters, Tu-160 strategic bombers and, for the first time since 2010, the Il-80 “doomsday” command plane, which would carry Russia’s top brass in the event of a nuclear war, the Defence Ministry said.

In that scenario, the Il-80 is designed to become the roaming command centre for the Russian president. It is packed with technology but specific details are Russian state secrets.

Updated

Gabrielle Canon here, taking over to go through the news with you for the next few hours.

More US aid is on the way. President Biden is expected to announce a new assistance package amounting to more than $100 million, Reuters reports. The president will virtually speak with other G7 leaders on Sunday as Russians celebrate “Victory Day” a holiday commemorating the Nazi surrender in World War II.

The amount builds on billions the US has already contributed in humanitarian and military assistance and follows the president’s proposal to Congress last week for $33bn in aid.

The proposal before Congress is more than double the last request approved in March and “dwarfs the entire defence budget of Ukraine and of many other countries” according to The Guardian’s Julian Borger and Jon Henley who covered the package last week.

Biden has made the case that a win for Putin would threaten global peace but emphasized in his request that defending Ukraine was the focus:

“Despite the disturbing rhetoric coming out of the Kremlin, the facts are plain for everybody to see. We’re not attacking Russia. We’re helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression,” Biden said. But he added the cost involved was “a small price to pay to punish Russia and aggression, to lessen the risk of future conflicts”.

“Throughout our history, we’ve learned that when dictators do not pay the price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and engage in more aggression,” he said. “The threats to America and the world keep rising. We can’t let this happen.”

Fifty more civilians, including 11 children, were rescued today from the besieged steel plant in Mariupol as Russian forces try to take control of the facility, AP reports.

The Russian Interdepartmental Humanitarian Response Center, a Russian government agency, said the rescued civilians were handed over to representatives of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Efforts to rescue more civilians from the plant are expected to continue Saturday, but the Ukrainian fighters at the site have refused to surrender to Russian troops, even as the battle has intensified.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said her colleagues are on the ground in Mariupol and would continue their rescue efforts:

We are in an extremely delicate phase of this operation, working in close coordination with both the Ukrainian authorities and the Russian authorities.

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said Joe Biden will sign the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 on Monday.

The bill, which passed both chambers of the US Congress last month, will ease restrictions on the aid that the Biden administration provides to Ukraine amid its war against Russia.

The Democratic speaker of the US House, Nancy Pelosi, celebrated the bill’s strong bipartisan support in a floor speech last week:

In his 1941 State of the Union address, President Roosevelt explained that democracy itself, democracy itself was under direct – was under dire threat, not only in Europe, but around the world. And he called on Congress to lend a hand to our allies overseas: bolstering their defenses so they can defeat the evils of fascism. It was this initiative that would be enacted just two months later – then undeniably turned the tide of the Second World War. And the Lend-Lease program would help propel the Allies to a victory that preserved the promise of democracy for generations to come.

Today, we see an echo of that [chapter] in history, as a murderous tyrant seeks to conquer its neighbor and dismantle its democracy. At this moment – and this moment demands we summon a commitment response – a commitment to respond.

The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 revives this pivotal program, waiving time-consuming requirements on the president’s authority to send critical defensive resources to Ukraine. It’s important to note that it’s about time. Time is very important when lives are at stake.

The exiled journalists of the Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta have launched a new outlet in Latvia, AFP reports. The first issue of Novaya Gazeta.Europe hit news stands in Riga today.

The development comes weeks after the paper was forced to suspend its operations, as the Kremlin cracked down on opposition journalists following the invasion of Ukraine.

The newspaper’s publisher, the Rigas Vilni publishing house, said Novaya Gazeta.Europe “is a publication created by free Russian journalists who were forced to migrate”.

The publishing house added:

It is their independent point of view on the events of the war in Ukraine and developments in Russia.

Kirill Martynov, who is leading the paper, said on Latvian public radio:

When Russian propaganda makes May 9 (marking the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945) its day, Novaya Gazeta will be on news stands as a symbol of the fact they didn’t succeed in shutting us down.

Martynov also said he hopes copies of the newspaper would find their way to Russia, “even illegally”.

Updated

Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, has more details on the Kremlin summoning the British ambassador to Russia to discuss sanctions on Russian media:

The British ambassador to Moscow, Deborah Bronnert, has been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry to be warned over new UK sanctions imposed on Russian media outlets, in a move seen as likely to presage reprisals on British press operations in Russia.

In a statement late on Friday, the ministry said Russia would continue react “harshly and decisively” to all sanctions imposed by London.

The UK earlier this week announced sanctions against the state-owned television station Channel One, accusing it of “spreading disinformation in Russia, justifying Putin’s illegal invasion as a ‘special military operation’”.

Britain also imposed sanctions on a group of Russian journalists embedded with the Russian army in Ukraine, including Evgeny Poddubny, a war correspondent for the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, Alexander Kots, a war correspondent for the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, and Dmitry Steshin, a special correspondent for the same outlet.

Updated

John Kirby, the US defense department spokesperson, said today that 220 Ukrainian soldiers have already been trained on the howitzer artillery systems. Another 150 are currently being trained.

The last two US military aid packages to Ukraine included 90 howitzer systems, but the Pentagon acknowledged that Ukrainian troops would need to be trained before operating them on their own.

That training has been happening at a location in Eastern Europe that is outside of Ukraine, per CNBC.

The US defense department’s spokesperson, John Kirby, was also asked about reports that Ukrainian missiles have struck the Russian frigate Admiral Makarov.

Kirby told reporters at his briefing this afternoon:

We’ve been looking at this all day, and we have no information to corroborate those reports.

If true, the attack on the Makarov would mark the latest of Russia’s significant naval losses in its war against Ukraine, after the sinking of the Russian warship Moskva last month.

US officials confirmed yesterday that they provided Ukrainian leaders with information on the location of the Moskva before the missile strike on the ship, although it’s unclear how crucial that intelligence was in carrying out the attack.

US deflects questions about intelligence-sharing with Ukraine

The US defense department’s spokesperson, John Kirby, held a press conference this afternoon, and he was unsurprisingly asked about reports that the Pentagon has provided information with Ukrainian leaders to help them target and kill Russian generals.

Kirby would not corroborate the reports, emphasizing the importance of being careful when discussing intelligence-sharing with other countries.

Kirby told reporters:

We provide [Ukrainians] what we believe to be relevant and timely information about Russian units that could allow them to adjust and execute their self- defense to the best of their ability. ...

The Pentagon spokesperson also emphasized that other countries have provided Ukraine with information on Russian troop movements:

We are not the only sole source of intelligence and information to the Ukrainians. They get intelligence from other nations as well. And they have a pretty robust intelligence collection capability of their own. ...

And if they do decide to do something with that intelligence, then they make the decisions about acting on it.

This is Joan Greve in Washington, taking over for Léonie Chao-Fong.

The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, spoke to the French president, Emmanuel Macron, earlier today to congratulate him on his recent reelection and discuss the latest developments in Ukraine.

Johnson’s office said in a readout of the call:

On Ukraine, the Prime Minister and President Macron were united in their condemnation of Putin’s deadly folly and agreed to coordinate more closely on longer-term security and economic support for Ukraine, as well as measures to isolate Russia.

The Prime Minister updated on his visit to Kyiv last month and shared his conviction that Ukraine would win, supported with the right level of defensive military assistance. He urged against any negotiations with Russian on terms that gave credence to the Kremlin’s false narrative for the invasion, but stressed that this was a decision for the Ukrainian government.

Reading between the lines of the readout, it seems like Johnson sent a sharp message about the need to hold a firm line regarding peace terms in Ukraine, as noted by the Guardian’s Patrick Wintour:

Summary

It is 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

  • Three evacuation buses left the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Friday, according to Russian media reports. Buses carrying 25 civilians including children were brought out from the plant to a camp in the Russian-controlled town of Bezimenne. An estimated 200 civilians, along with Ukrainian resistance fighters, remained trapped in underground refuges at the huge industrial complex.
  • Russia’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Britain’s ambassador to Russia, Deborah Bronnert, adding that it strongly protested in relation to new UK sanctions on Russian media. Russia would continue to react “harshly and decisively” to all sanctions imposed by the UK, the ministry said in a statement.
  • Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the southern port city of Mariupol is “an example of torture and starvation used as a weapon of war”. In an address to Chatham House, he said he was “elected as president of Ukraine and not a mini-Ukraine”, and that Russia must first fall back to the territory it held before its invasion on 23 February if peace talks are to succeed.

That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, today as I hand the blog over to my US colleagues. Thank you for reading.

A third bus, carrying 23 civilian evacuees, left the Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, the Russian state-owned news agency Tass reported.

According to Tass, there are plans for a fourth bus to depart the plant before the humanitarian corridor is closed at 9pm local (1800 GMT).

Updated

Buses carrying civilians out of the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol have arrived in the Russian-controlled town of Bezimenne.

The coaches were seen arriving at the camp and evacuees were accompanied to the reception centre by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN, which have been helping to organise the evacuations, Reuters reports.

Evacuees from Azovstal steel plant arrive at a temporary accommodation centre in Bezimenne.
Evacuees from Azovstal steel plant arrive at a temporary accommodation centre in Bezimenne. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
A girl looks through the bus window as civilians arrive at a temporary accommodation centre in the village of Bezimenne.
A girl looks through a bus window as civilians arrive at a temporary accommodation centre in the village of Bezimenne. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
A woman evacuated from Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol walks accompanied by a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and a service member of pro-Russian troops.
A woman evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol walks accompanied by a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and a service member of pro-Russian troops. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

Officials at the centre said they expected several buses to arrive from the Azovstal plant, where hundreds of civilians and fighters are believed to be holed up.

Ukrainian officials had accused Russia of violating a ceasefire on Friday aimed at evacuating scores of civilians still trapped underground in the plant, after fighting thwarted efforts to rescue them the previous day.

Updated

Posters accusing famous Swedish figures of supporting Nazism have appeared in Moscow in a sign of worsening relations between Russia and Sweden, Reuters reports.

At a bus stop outside the Swedish embassy in the Russian capital, two photographs of Swedish King Gustaf V, writer Astrid Lindgren, film director Ingmar Bergman and Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad with the message: “We are against Nazism, they are not.” A third poster was spotted on a major thoroughfare in central Moscow.

A poster with a portrait of King Gustaf V of Sweden and the message “We are against Nazism, they are not” is installed at a bus stop near the Swedish embassy in Moscow, Russia.
A poster with a portrait of King Gustaf V of Sweden and the message ‘We are against Nazism, they are not’ at a bus stop near the Swedish embassy in Moscow, Russia. Photograph: Reuters Photographer/Reuters

Asked about the posters, Sweden’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Sweden “has no intention of engaging in a public polemic with the Russian organisation ‘Our Victory’, which is reportedly behind these posters”, adding:

In Russia, accusations of ‘Nazism’ have repeatedly been deployed against countries and individuals who express justifiable criticism of Russia’s actions.

Updated

US officials have said they shared information about the location of the Russian warship Moskva with Ukraine prior to its sinking last month, a fresh demonstration of the close intelligence support Kyiv is receiving from Washington.

It is unclear how far the US intelligence helped Ukraine launch an accurate double missile strike on the Moskva, and the US officials briefing the information insisted the targeting decision was a matter for the Ukrainians alone.

But the fact that the US was willing to confirm it had at least some involvement, three weeks after the Moskva went down on 14 April, shows how far Washington is willing to acknowledge its critical backseat role in the 10-week-long war, even at the risk of openly antagonising Moscow.

On Thursday US officials confirmed, first to NBC News, that they provided location information about the Moskva before it was struck. However, Ukraine has its own surveillance capacity, so it is not certain whether the US information was critical.

Tracking the location of Russian warships in the Black Sea, which have been threatening Odesa and have launched missile strikes against other Ukrainian cities, has been going on for some time, the officials added.

Last month Ukraine fired two Neptune cruise missiles at the Moskva, a missile cruiser with a crew of about 500. It sank after a fire. The number of casualties is not known, although the sinking is one of the biggest naval losses in war seen by any nation for decades.

A second evacuation bus has left the besieged Azovstal plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the Russian state-owned news agency Ria is reporting.

This is in addition to a previous bus carrying 12 civilians, including children, which reportedly left the plant earlier today.

The second bus is carrying 13 civilians, including one child, according to Ria.

Russia summons UK ambassador over sanctions

Russia’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Britain’s ambassador to Russia, Deborah Bronnert, adding that it strongly protested in relation to new UK sanctions on Russian media.

Russia would continue to react “harshly and decisively” to all sanctions imposed by the UK, the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the UK announced sanctions on individual journalists and media organisations in a bid to increase pressure on Moscow.

Updated

More than half a million Ukrainians ‘forced’ to go to Russia, says Zelenskiy

More than “500,000 Ukrainians have been deported to Russia” since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said during an address to Iceland’s parliament.

Zelenskiy said:

They were forced to go there. Their documents and means of communication are confiscated. They are sent to faraway regions of that foreign land in order to assimilate there.

In his speech to the Icelandic parliament, Zelenskiy underlined the centuries-old ties between the two countries and thanked Iceland for taking part in sanctions against Russia.

His address marked the first time a foreign head of state made a speech in Alþingi, Iceland’s parliament.

Iceland’s foreign minister, Thórdís Gylfadóttir, said the country “stands ready to do everything” within its power to help Ukraine.

Updated

The heavily damaged military housing site in Hostomel, Ukraine.
A heavily damaged military housing site in Hostomel, Ukraine. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The heavily damaged military housing site in Hostomel, Ukraine.

Updated

Ukraine’s finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko, called for a complete international embargo on Russian oil and gas over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine is struggling to balance its budget after 10 weeks of war, Marchenko told an online briefing, adding that he could not be satisfied with the speed at which financial assistance was arriving from abroad.

Due to what he called the “insufficiency of the sanctions” that have been introduced, Moscow still felt “quite comfortable” because of the high price of oil and natural gas, he said.

Marchenko said:

The main issue is a complete embargo on the purchase of gas and oil from the Russian Federation. This is something that needs to be worked on and that the Ukrainian authorities are actively working on.

This will make it possible to remove the possibility of financing the war.

A bus carrying 12 civilians, including children, has left the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the Russian state-owned news agency Ria is reporting.

The Guardian has not been able to verify this report.

Updated

War-torn Ukraine is the favourite to win next week’s Eurovision song contest, which is being hosted by Italy for the first time in more than 30 years.

Kalush Orchestra, a band that blends traditional folk and hip-hop, is competing in the event with the song Stefania, which has become an anthem at home.

Written by frontman Oleh Psiuk as a tribute to his mother, Stefania is also the most watched on YouTube among the 35 contenders.

Kalush Orchestra perform during the Eurovision in Concert event at the AFAS Live in Amsterdam.
Kalush Orchestra perform during the Eurovision in Concert event at the AFAS Live in Amsterdam. Photograph: Paul Bergen/EPA

In an interview with the Italian news agency Ansa, Psiuk said his band’s entry was tipped to do well even before Russia invaded in February.

“Some people are saying we could win because of the war, but our song was among the five favourites before the start of the conflict, which means people like it regardless,” he said.

Kalush Orchestra, a six-person band, was given special permission to travel to the northern Italian city of Turin, which is hosting the competition on 10-14 May, although Psiuk said one band member stayed in Ukraine to fight.

“Those of us here represent every Ukrainian,” he said. “After Eurovision we will return home to provide our contribution.”

Today so far...

It is almost 6.30pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

  • A third United Nations operation was under way on Friday morning to evacuate Ukrainian civilians from the Russian-besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. An estimated 200 civilians, along with Ukrainian resistance fighters, remained trapped in underground refuges at the huge industrial complex.
  • Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, says the southern port city of Mariupol is “an example of torture and starvation used as a weapon of war”. In an address to Chatham House, he said he was “elected as president of Ukraine and not a mini-Ukraine”, and that Russia must first fall back to the territory it held before its invasion on 23 February if peace talks are to succeed.
  • The Kremlin has declined to say whether the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, apologised to Israel’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett, for his foreign minister’s claims that Adolf Hitler had Jewish blood. In his briefing with reporters today, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said there was hostile rhetoric coming out of Poland, and that Warsaw could be “a source of threat”.

Good afternoon from London. I’m Léonie Chao-Fong and I will continue to bring you all the latest developments from the war in Ukraine. I’m on Twitter or you can email me.

Russian troops are attempting to encircle and storm Severodonetsk, the easternmost city in Ukraine held by Kyiv, a local official said.

Oleksandr Striuk, the head of the Severodonetsk military administration, said on national television:

The city is almost surrounded by Russian and (separatist) Luhansk People’s Republic troops. They are trying to storm the city through nearby villages.

Severodonetsk’s capture would be a major gain for the Russian army which has refocused its efforts on taking the whole of the eastern Donbas region, AFP reports.

Ongoing fighting was taking place in a village just north of the city, Striuk said. He said the Ukrainian army was so far “repelling these attacks” but the Russians were pressing on.

The city is holding on, but one can feel that they are trying to get around.

He said about 15,000 people remained in Severodonetsk, which had a population of around 100,000 before the war. Regional authorities have for weeks been urging people to leave the city.

Updated

Putin to send nuclear ‘doomsday’ warning on 9 May

Vladimir Putin will send a “doomsday” warning to the west when he leads celebrations on 9 May, marking the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the second world war, Reuters reports.

On Russia’s Victory Day on Monday, the president is expected to deliver a speech on Moscow’s Red Square before a parade of troops, tanks, rockets and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Russia’s defence ministry said supersonic fighters and Tu-160 strategic bombers will conduct a fly-past over St Basil’s Cathedral. For the first time since 2010, the Il-80 “doomsday” command plane, which would carry Russia’s top brass in the event of a nuclear war, will join the fly-past.

In the event of a nuclear war, the “doomsday” plane would become the roaming command centre for the Russian president. It is packed with technology but specific details are Russian state secrets.

Russian service members walk as military vehicles drive along a street during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow.
Russian service members walk as military vehicles drive along a street during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

Putin has repeatedly likened his war in Ukraine to the Soviet Union’s fight against the Nazis, casting Russia’s invasion as a battle to protect Russian speakers from persecution by Nazis. Ukraine and the west dismiss the claims as nonsense and say the Russian leader is waging an unprovoked war of aggression.

Ahead of 9 May, western officials have speculated that Putin could use the Victory Parade to announce an escalation of military action, perhaps an outright declaration of war.

The Kremlin has dismissed those suggestions, describing them as “nonsense”. It has not said what Putin may say in his speech on Monday.

Updated

A Ukrainian army officer inspects a grain warehouse earlier shelled by Russian forces near the frontlines of Kherson Oblast in Novovorontsovka, Ukraine.
A Ukrainian army officer inspects a grain warehouse earlier shelled by Russian forces near the frontlines of Kherson Oblast in Novovorontsovka, Ukraine. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images

Earlier today Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, took part in a live-streaming session hosted by the thinktank Chatham House. His next engagement is to address the Icelandic parliament, where he will become the first-ever foreign head of state to do so. There is a livestream of the event available here if you want to watch.

Updated

Our diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, was watching Ukraine’s president address an online forum hosted by Chatham House this afternoon:

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said not all diplomatic bridges with Russia are broken, but Russia must first fall back to the territory it held before its invasion on 23 February if peace talks are to succeed.

He said “I was elected as president of Ukraine and not a mini-Ukraine”, and said he could not let Ukraine’s population be reduced by 11 million by losing territory and including those who had fled abroad. He said he saw no Russian desire for peace.

Asked if he agreed with western leaders who called for Vladimir Putin to be defeated, he said: “For some it may be Putin’s defeat, and in our society there is a big proportion of people who think exactly like that. I don’t care where leaders end up, but what matters to me is Ukraine’s victory. Victory is for me not to lose 11 million people – 5 million that have left Ukraine.”

He added that a victory for Ukraine included bringing the country back economically to the situation where it had started from, and urged accession to the European Union, saying “that is the will of the Ukrainian people”.

He also accused the Russians of bestial brutality in trying to take Mariupol, adding he was deeply worried by the propaganda and hatred instilled in people by Moscow’s information machine, saying: “Goebbels was a child in comparison with the adults in the Kremlin. That is the scariest thing.”

He said Mariupol as a city cannot fall, because it is already devastated. “There is no place. There is no structure. It is all destroyed completely.” He warned the Russians that if they killed civilians or military personnel that could in theory be exchanged as PoWs, there can be no peace talks in the future. He promised Ukraine could block Russian advances, providing it was supplied with the necessary equipment.

He urged the west to do more to bring those responsible for war crimes to justice more quickly, saying: “Russian leaders believe responsibility can be postponed for decades if it ever comes.”

Russia, he said, “believed it had impunity because they have the power of the nuclear state and the nuclear blackmail”. He said Russian propaganda managers “are calculating how much time for a nuclear missile to hit European capitals. They talk about it openly about how they can make a nuclear blast in the ocean to wash away the British Isles. They boast about turning any state into nuclear ashes. They have this feeling of impunity.”

He urged the European Union to act together on energy sanctions, saying some states still play a dangerous game. He said if Europe failed to act, “when you realise they are at your borders, you will understand Nordstream 2 or 3 or Nordstream 100 are not worth anyone’s health and life. They will push your family and burn your household.”

He urged the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to come to Kyiv. Without naming any country he accused some of wanting to strike a balance. “They want to be in the grey area and stay in the shadow, walking between the drops of rain. But this is not a rain. It never rains but it pours. Everyone is soaking wet.”

Updated

Earlier today the Telegram channel of the Azov regiment that is holed up in Mariupol posted a claim that Russian forces fired on a car that was intended to be evacuating civilians. They posted:

During the ceasefire on the territory of the Azovstal plant a car was hit by Russians who used anti-tank guided weapon. This car was moving towards civilians in order to evacuate them from the plant. As the result of the shelling, one fighter was killed and six were wounded. The enemy continues to violate all agreements and fail to adhere to security guarantees of civilians evacuation.

The channel has just posted a video which purports to show the injuries sustained by one person, and still images of the aftermath of the attack. The claims have not been independently verified.

Updated

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, has issued a warning via Telegram against public gatherings in Kyiv over the weekend. Saying that a curfew will not be imposed, he nevertheless told residents: “Let me remind you, mass events are prohibited during martial law.”

The days following Orthodox Easter are often in Ukraine a time to visit the graves and last resting places of loved ones, but Klitschko warned: “If someone wants to go lay flowers, they can do so privately.”

Promising increased patrols in the city, the message continued:

I appeal to Kyivites: today is not the time for mass festivities or outdoor recreation in large groups. Be careful and follow the rules of security in wartime.

I would also like to remind you that visiting forests and forest park zones in the capital and suburbs is prohibited. Because in many of them there are still unexploded munitions.

Also, please do not ignore the air alarms and immediately follow to the shelter. In the coming days, there is a high probability of rocket fire in all regions of Ukraine.

Updated

Daniel Boffey reports for us from Ukraine that the wives of soldiers trapped in Mariupol have been dispersed by police at a Kyiv protest:

Wives of Ukrainian soldiers under siege in Mariupol gathering in Kyiv to demand the evacuation of their husbands have been dispersed by police who gave army conscription notices to the male protesters.

Around 50 people had defied a government ban on Friday morning to take part in a protest on the Ukrainian capital’s independence square where they called for negotiations with the Russians over the soldiers fate.

The UN has opened a fresh attempt to rescue the remaining 200 civilians trapped in the Russian-besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, which the UN secretary general has described as a series of “hellscapes”.

However, the negotiations with the Russian military have not included the fate of around 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers fighting at the sprawling works, leading to a series of protests in recent days by their relatives.

Police officers ordered the women at the latest protest to leave the square as the event had not been authorised and gave conscription orders to a number of men.

Yulia Girdvilis, the head of the communication department of Kyiv police, said: “There were no arrests. There were police officers at the event who explained that during the martial law mass events are not allowed and people dispersed on their own.

“There were military commissars present at the event who had the authority to check men’s documents. Some of the men in their 30s were taken to the draft boards [conscription offices] for further investigations.”

Read more of Daniel Boffey’s report here: Wives of Mariupol soldiers dispersed by police at Kyiv protest

Updated

Asked what the minimum he would accept in a peace deal with Russia would be, Zelenskiy replies:

I was elected by the people of Ukraine as the president of Ukraine, not as president of a mini-Ukraine.

Russian troops must fall back and withdraw so that Ukraine can reclaim all of its territories as of before Russia’s invasion, he says.

Updated

Zelenskiy: Mariupol is being ‘tortured to death’

Addressing Chatham House, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, says the devastated southern port city of Mariupol is “an example of torture and starvation used as a weapon of war”, adding that no international organisations can enter the city.

Zelenskiy says:

This inhumanity and cruelty is how the Russian military treats people.

Death is not caused by war. This is not a military event. This is torturing to death. This is terrorism and hatred.

Mariupol has been devastated, he says.

The entire city has been destroyed.

Ukraine needs weapons and equipment to break the blockade at the city’s Azovstal steelworks, Zelenskiy says. “Russia will keep attacking Ukraine until we stop them.”

Updated

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is addressing the foreign policy thinktank Chatham House, where he says Russia does not believe it will be held for war crimes in Ukraine because of “nuclear blackmail”.

Zelenskiy says:

Russia is openly talking about nuclear weapons. The time it takes for Russian missiles to reach European cities. They do this because of the sense of impunity.

Russia is blackmailing Europe through threats.

The invasion of Russia and its “cruelty” of its troops in Ukraine “has ignored all human rights norms and is something from the 18th century”, he said:

Russia believes it will not be held responsible for war crimes.

Nearly 25m tonnes of grain are stuck in Ukraine and unable to leave the country, because of infrastructure challenges and blocked Black Sea ports including Mariupol, a UN food agency said.

The blockages are seen as a factor behind the record-high food prices in March; Ukraine had been the world’s fourth largest exporter of maize (corn) and sixth largest wheat exporter, according to International Grains Council data.

The full silos could result in storage shortages during the next harvest in July and August, Josef Schmidhuber, a deputy director at Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said, adding:

Despite the war the harvest conditions don’t look that dire. That could really mean there’s not enough storage capacity in Ukraine, particularly if there’s no wheat corridor opening up for export from Ukraine.

Another concern is reports that some grain storage had been destroyed in the fighting in Ukraine, he added, without giving details.

Earlier this week, the head of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said she was “seriously worried” about spiralling food prices.

Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters:

It would really help the world if we could evacuate this grain (from Ukraine). There’s a serious risk of food prices going up and spiralling out of affordability that could lead to more hunger.

Updated

About 3.8m people left Russia in the first quarter of 2022, official statistics show, with most people going to Georgia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Finland.

Journalist Alex Luhn writes that the figure of 3.8m includes most of the pro-Western, opposition-minded people in Russia.

Updated

Germany will send seven self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, on top of five artillery systems the Dutch government has already pledged, the German defence minister, Christine Lambrecht, said.

The seven Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers, described by their manufacturer as “the most powerful tube artillery system in the world”, will be delivered over the next few weeks, Lambrecht told reporters. The PzH 2000 is one of the most powerful artillery weapons in the Bundeswehr inventories and can hit targets at a distance of 40km (25 miles).

Twenty Ukrainian troops will be given training on the howitzers next week in Germany, Lambrecht’s defence chief, Gen Eberhard Zorn, said. These troops have experience in operating Soviet-built howitzers, he said.

Berlin will also supply a first ammunition package for the howitzers built by German defence company KMW, Zorn said, with further ammunition purchases to be handled directly between Kyiv and the company.

Last week, Germany reversed its long-held policy of not sending heavy weapons to war zones following pressure from European allies and at home for being slow to help Ukraine in its defence against Russian forces.

Updated

G7 leaders will take part in a video conference with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Sunday, a spokesperson for the German government said.

The talks will cover “current issues, particularly the situation in Ukraine ... Zelenskiy will take part and report on the current situation in his country”, the spokesperson said, adding:

8 May is a historic date which marks the end of world war two in Europe which caused terror, destruction and death in Europe.

Updated

Russian troops committed ‘reckless shootings and torture’ near Kyiv, says Amnesty

Amnesty International said there was compelling evidence that Russian troops had committed war crimes, including extrajudicial executions of civilians, in the Kyiv area in February and March.

Civilians also suffered abuses such as “reckless shootings and torture” at the hands of Russian forces when they occupied an area outside Ukraine’s capital, including the town of Bucha, in the early stages of the invasion, the rights group said in a report.

Donatella Rovera, Amnesty’s senior crisis response adviser, said:

These are not isolated incidents. These are very much part of a pattern wherever Russian forces were in control of a town or a village.

A view of new graves for people killed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at a cemetery in Bucha, Kyiv region, Ukraine.
A view of new graves for people killed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at a cemetery in Bucha, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

The report concluded that Russian troops had committed a “host of apparent war crimes” in Bucha, including “numerous unlawful killings”, most of them near the intersection of Yablunska and Vodoprovidna streets.

It said it had documented 22 cases of unlawful killing by Russian forces – “most of which were apparent extrajudicial executions” – in Bucha and nearby areas.

Ukrainian authorities say they are investigating more than 9,000 potential war crimes by Russian troops. The international criminal court is also looking into alleged war crimes.

The Kremlin has denied its forces committed abuses in Ukraine, claiming “the Bucha story is a set-up and a fake”.

Updated

The Kremlin has declined to say whether the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, apologised to Israel’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett, for his foreign minister’s claims that Adolf Hitler had Jewish blood.

Israel said Putin made the apology during a call with Bennett yesterday. Bennett said he had accepted the apology from Putin, a rare concession from the Kremlin leader and a strong rebuke of his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.

Lavrov claimed this week in an interview that Hitler “had Jewish blood” and that “the most rabid antisemites tend to be Jews”. The incendiary remarks sparked outrage in Israel.

Some other lines from the Kremlin’s briefing with reporters today: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there was hostile rhetoric coming out of Poland, and that Warsaw could be “a source of threat”.

Peskov’s remarks came amid calls from Poland for the European Union to tighten sanctions and for Nato to arm Ukraine. Earlier this week, the Polish environment and climate minister, Anna Moskwa, said “Poland is proud to be on Putin’s list of unfriendly countries”.

Peskov also said he did not know whether there would be a parade in Mariupol on 9 May to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory in the second world war, adding: “The time will come to mark Victory Day in Mariupol.”

Hello, I’m Léonie Chao-Fong and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news 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.

Updated

Ukrainian refugee Victoria Bielova, 18 years old, plays with her 9-month daughter Vladyslava in Algeciras.
Ukrainian refugee Victoria Bielova, 18 years old, plays with her 9-month daughter Vladyslava in Algeciras. Photograph: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images
Ukrainian father of 9-month Vladyslava (R), speaks during a video call with his family in Algeciras.
Ukrainian father of 9-month Vladyslava (R), speaks during a video call with his family in Algeciras. Photograph: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images

Shaun Walker, our central and eastern Europe correspondent, reports for us today on how Victory Day became central to Putin’s idea of Russian identity:

The rhetoric of victory and of fighting Nazis, which has become gradually more twisted over the past two decades, plays a role. Of course, it takes a particular mindset to look at Russia’s expansionist war, with the executions, targeting of civilians, filtration camps and harassment of dissidents at home, and come to the conclusion that it is the Ukrainians who are the Nazis.

But already for some years, the victory cult has been referred to by critics as pobedobesie, a derogatory play on the Russian words for victory and obscurantism – “victorymania” is an approximate English translation.

As this pobedobesie metastasised year on year, the phenomenon took on forms that were ever more grotesque: schools put on performances in which the children dressed up as Soviet soldiers; people posing as captured Nazis were paraded through the streets. Ever more opponents of modern Russia were branded as Nazis, neo-Nazis or Nazi accomplices.

These days, almost any interview with a Russian official about current events will contain references to the second world war. The foreign ministry tweets about the conflict almost daily. Putin’s influential, hawkish confidant Nikolai Patrushev recently blamed the west for the rise of Hitler, and suggested today’s western world (and their Ukrainian “puppets”) are the true heirs to the Nazis.

“You should not be fooled by Anglo-Saxon respectability. Even a sharply tailored suit cannot hide hatred, anger and inhumanity,” he raged.

Read more of Shaun Walker’s report here: How Victory Day became central to Putin’s idea of Russian identity

Today so far …

  • Rescue operations to evacuate civilians trapped in besieged Mariupol are set to resume today as Russia’s assault on the Azovstal steel works plant continues. The Mariupol local authority has posted on its Telegram channel to thank those who have been carrying out evacuations from the city.
  • Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential staff in Ukraine, said this morning a new attempt was under way to evacuate civilians trapped in the Azovstal steelworks. He said “The next stage of rescuing our people from Azovstal is under way at the moment. Information about the results will be provided later.”
  • Russian forces have continued their ground assault on the Azovstal steelworks for a second day, despite Russian statements claiming they would seek only to seal it off, the UK’s ministry of defence has said in its latest intelligence report.
  • The UN secretary general, António Guterres, described the war zone in Mariupol as appearing to be “hellscapes”. The UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross have so far helped nearly 500 civilians flee the steel plant area in the southern port city during two operations in the past week.
  • Reports suggest the European Commission has amended a proposal for an embargo on Russian oil to extend the period before it takes effect for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Under the tweaked proposal, Hungary and Slovakia will continue to be able to buy Russian oil from pipelines until the end of 2024, whereas the Czech Republic could continue until June 2024.
  • Russia’s defence ministry said its missiles destroyed a large ammunition depot in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. It also said its air defences shot down two Ukrainian warplanes, an Su-25 and a MiG-29, in the eastern Luhansk region.
  • The US defense department has denied that it provided intelligence on the locations of Russian generals on the battlefield so that Ukraine forces could kill them. However, the US did provide intelligence that helped Ukrainian forces locate and strike the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet last month, according to US officials.

That is it from me, Martin Belam, for now. I will be back later. I am handing you over to my colleague Léonie Chao-Fong.

Updated

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been speaking at a conference hosted by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, and Reuters reports she said “I am confident that we will get this [sanctions] package on track – if it takes a day longer, it takes a day longer – but we are moving in the right direction.”

EU to allow Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic longer to implement oil ban – reports

Reuters is claiming that two sources have told it the European Commission has amended a proposal for an embargo on Russian oil to extend the period before it takes effect for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Under the tweaked proposal, Hungary and Slovakia will continue to be able to buy Russian oil from pipelines until the end of 2024, whereas the Czech Republic could continue until June 2024, provided that it does not get oil via a pipeline from southern Europe earlier, the sources said.

Ukraine celebrates 6 May as Infantry Day, and earlier Lt Gen Serhii Shaptala, who is chief of the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine, posted this message to social media:

Being an infantryman is not easy, but it is honourable. That is why Ukrainians value and respect the infantry. Every day and every hour our warriors are in the thoughts, prayers and hearts of millions of people. Russian executioners in Ukraine should not be spared. We will not stop until the last occupier leaves our land.

I want to thank all the infantry, men and women who defend the will of our country and defend the entire civilised world in fierce battles with the enemy. I am proud to be an infantryman. Let’s win together!

Updated

Russia’s defence ministry said that its missiles destroyed a large ammunition depot in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.

Reuters reports it also said its air defences shot down two Ukrainian warplanes, an Su-25 and a MiG-29, in the eastern Luhansk region.

It was not possible to independently verify the claims.

Today we are carrying an interview with Oxana Lytvynenko, as told to Weronika Strzyżyńska, in which the rights activist tells of her shock at hearing accounts of rape and murder in Ukraine:

When women at the border started talking to me about rapes and murders happening inside Ukraine, I thought these were just rumours; I wouldn’t let myself believe it. I told myself that it was just people sharing scare stories or that women were just trying to rationalise their feelings of guilt about leaving their husbands and sons. Maybe my psyche was trying to defend itself.

Then a woman in her 70s, who said she was from one of the occupied areas close to Irpin and Bucha, crossed the border with her daughter and great-granddaughter. The daughter, who was in her 50s, had cancer and was very sick. The medics could not believe that someone like this, with a hole in her stomach and no bandages, was so desperate to leave that she would risk travelling for so many hours with no medical support.

The woman told me that her grandson served in a military brigade that had been the first to go into recently liberated areas. She said he took photos of what he had seen. She showed them to me, and it was only then I understood it was worse than I could have ever imagined.

One of the photos she showed me was the hanging body of a young girl. She couldn’t have been more than 14. She said her grandson told her he was walking through the woods looking for dead bodies left by the Russians and lifted his head and saw these girls strung from the trees, all of them very young. They were naked and torn up. She said he had passed on the photos to investigators in Ukraine who were gathering evidence of war crimes. I was not ready to see something like this.

Read more here: ‘I didn’t believe stories of atrocities in Ukraine. But then I saw the photos’

Here are some of the latest images from Ukraine that we have been sent over the newswires today.

Displaced Ukrainians take part in a class by experts on how to deal with explosives in Lviv.
Displaced Ukrainians take part in a class by experts on how to deal with explosives in Lviv. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Members of a demining team of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine prepare to destroy an unexploded missile near the village of Hryhorivka, Zaporizhzhia region.
Members of a demining team of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine prepare to destroy an unexploded missile near the village of Hryhorivka, Zaporizhzhia region. Photograph: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images
Service members of pro-Russian troops fire from a tank in Mariupol near the Azovstal steel plant.
Service members of pro-Russian troops fire from a tank in Mariupol near the Azovstal steel plant. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
New images of the destroyed Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo aircraft seen at Hostomel airfield.
New images of the destroyed Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo aircraft seen at Hostomel airfield. Photograph: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
Didenko Ekaterina, 93, from the Ukrainian city of Vuhledar, waits for her daughter as people stay in line for registration at the aid distribution center for displaced people in Zaporizhia.
Didenko Ekaterina, 93, from the Ukrainian city of Vuhledar, waits for her daughter as people stay in line for registration at the aid distribution center for displaced people in Zaporizhia. Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

In the last few moments, the Mariupol local authority has posted on its Telegram channel to thank those who have been carrying out evacuations from the city. They posted:

Thank you for saving our people. We hope to expand the mission and increase the scale of the evacuation. After all, tens of thousands of civilians remain in Mariupol. They all live in difficult conditions of humanitarian catastrophe. There is a total shortage of food, drinking water and medicine in the city. Therefore, the evacuation must continue.

Reuters reports Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential staff said this morning a new attempt was under way “at the moment” to evacuate civilians trapped in the Azovstal steelworks.

It quotes him saying: “The next stage of rescuing our people from Azovstal is under way at the moment. Information about the results will be provided later.”

Updated

UN plans third evacuation from Azovstal steelworks

Rescue operations to evacuate civilians trapped in besieged Mariupol are set to resume today as Russia’s assault on the Azovstal steel works plant continues.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday a rescue convoy was already on its way while speaking at a Ukraine donor conference in Warsaw.

A convoy is proceeding to get to Azovstal by tomorrow morning hopefully to receive those civilians remaining in that bleak hell... and take them back to safety.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed to AFP “that a safe passage operation is ongoing” in coordination with the UN.

The two organisations already worked together to evacuate some 100 civilians from the plant at the weekend.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also confirmed the planned evacuation his latest address.

More than 150 people from Azovstal and more than 300 people from Mariupol and its suburbs who were evacuated by the humanitarian corridor this week are already receiving all the help they need. Medical, document renewal, financial assistance, communication with relatives, friends and families.

Currently, Russian shelling and assault of Azovstal do not stop.

But civilians still need to be taken out - women, children. Many children who are still there. Just imagine this hell! And there are children! More than two months of constant shelling, bombing, constant death nearby...”

The mayor of Mariupol estimates around 200 civilians remain sheltering in dismal conditions in the plant’s Soviet-era underground tunnels.

An estimated 200 civilians are thought to remain sheltering in dismal conditions in the Azovstal steel works plant underground tunnels.
An estimated 200 civilians are thought to remain sheltering in dismal conditions in the Azovstal steel works plant underground tunnels. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

Meanwhile, the US Defense Department has denied that it provided intelligence on the locations of Russian generals on the battlefield so that Ukraine forces could kill them.

Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby said it was true that the United States supplies Kyiv’s forces with military intelligence “to help Ukrainians defend their country” but Ukraine makes its own decisions on whether to target a Russian leader or not.

We do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military,” Kirby said.

“Ukraine combines information that we and other partners provide with the intelligence that they themselves are gathering on the battlefield.

Then they make their own decisions, and they take their own actions.”

The White House National Security Council slammed the New York Times report as “irresponsible.”

“The United States provides battlefield intelligence to help the Ukrainians defend their country,” NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.

“We do not provide intelligence with the intent to kill Russian generals.”

US provided intel that helped Ukraine target Russian warship, sources say

The United States provided intelligence that helped Ukrainian forces locate and strike the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet last month, according to US officials.

The targeting help, which contributed to the eventual sinking of the Moskva is part of an ongoing classified effort by the Biden administration to provide real-time battlefield intelligence to Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces, having spotted a Russian warship in the Black Sea, called their American contacts for confirmation that it was in fact the Moskva, sources familiar with the events told CNN. The US reportedly responded that it was, and provided intelligence about its location.

Russian flagship Moskva sinks in Black Sea after being struck by Ukrainian missiles last month.
Russian flagship Moskva sinks in Black Sea after being struck by Ukrainian missiles last month. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

It is not clear whether the US knew Ukraine would move to strike the ship, however, and the US was not involved in that decision, the sources said.

Two senior American officials told the New York Times that Ukraine already had obtained the Moskva’s targeting data on its own, and that the United States provided only confirmation. But other officials said that the American intelligence was crucial to Ukraine’s sinking of the ship.

The ship sank after it was struck by two Ukrainian cruise missiles on 14 April in what was a major blow to the Russian military.

Russia renews assault on Azovstal plant, UK MoD says

Russian forces in Mariupol have continued their ground assault on the Azovstal steel works plant for a second day, despite Russian statements claiming they would seek only to seal it off, the UK’s ministry of defence has said in its latest intelligence report.

The renewed effort by Russia to secure Azovstal and complete the capture of Mariupol is likely linked to the upcoming 9 May Victory Day commemorations and Putin’s desire to have a symbolic success in Ukraine,” the report reads.

This effort has come at personnel, equipment and munitions cost to Russia. Whilst Ukrainian resistance continues in Azovstal, Russian losses will continue to build and frustrate their operational plans in southern Donbas.”

Updated

British prime minister Boris Johnson has lauded Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy as “truly one of the most incredible leaders of modern times” during a fundraising event in London.

Johnson said the UK will “continue to intensify” efforts to assist Ukraine for as long as the help is needed and insisted Russian president Vladimir Putin will “never break” the spirit of the Ukrainian people, Downing Street said.

No 10 said the aim of the event, titled ‘Brave Ukraine’, was to raise vital funds for the humanitarian response to the conflict, according to a report from PA Media.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praises Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyiy at the Tate Modern on Thursday in London, England.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praises Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyiy at the Tate Modern on Thursday in London, England. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

The PM said it was “a blessing for Ukraine and for the world” and “a disaster for Putin” that Zelenskiy was leading in Kyiv, describing the Ukrainian president as “truly one of the most incredible leaders of modern times”.

“No matter what Putin tries to do to Ukraine’s people ... he will never break their spirit ... He will never overcome those indomitable armed forces, who have already repelled the Russian army from the gates of Kyiv, and therefore achieved the greatest feat of arms of the 21st century,” he said.

That is why I’m more certain than ever that Ukraine will win. Ukraine will be free, and a sovereign Ukraine will rise again.

And it’s because this struggle is so clear cut, and without any moral ambiguity that I can see, a struggle between freedom and oppression, between democracy and tyranny, independence and imperialism, light and darkness, good and evil, that is why I think it speaks so deeply to us.”

“I want you to know, and I told Volodymyr this earlier on today in our conversation, we will continue to intensify this effort for as long as Ukraine wants and needs our help,” he added.

Summary

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.

A third evacuation is hoped for civilians currently trapped sheltering in underground tunnels beneath the Azovstal steel works plant in besieged Mariupol, though Ukrainian defenders at the site claim Russia violated its promise of a ceasefire and has prevented the evacuation of civilians.

It is 8am in Ukraine. Here is everything you might have missed:

  • A third United Nations operation is under way to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. “A convoy is proceeding to get to Azovstal by tomorrow morning hopefully to receive those civilians remaining in that bleak hell ... and take them back to safety,” the UN humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, said. The mayor of Mariupol estimates around 200 civilians remain sheltering in underground tunnels.
  • The UN secretary general, António Guterres, described the war zone in Mariupol as appearing to be “hellscapes”. The UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross have so far helped nearly 500 civilians flee the steel plant area in the southern port city during two operations in the past week.
  • A Ukrainian commander said “heavy, bloody fighting” continues at Azovstal and Russia violated its promise of a ceasefire, preventing the evacuation of civilians. Svyatoslav Palamar, a commander of the Azov regiment that is defending the site, said in a video on Telegram: “Russians violated the promise of a truce and did not allow the evacuation of civilians who continue to hide from shelling in the basement of the plant.” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also said Russian shelling and assault of Azovstal “do not stop” in his latest address.
  • The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, demanded that Ukraine order its fighters holed up in Azovstal to surrender, the Kremlin said. In a call with Israel’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett, Putin claimed Russia was still ready to provide safe passage for civilians from the plant, according to the Kremlin.
  • The US says it shared intelligence with Ukraine about the location of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva prior to the strike that sank the warship, but the decision to attack was taken by the Ukrainians. US officials also reportedly confirmed they are providing intelligence that has helped Ukrainian forces target and kill many of the Russian generals.
  • German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock will visit Ukraine shortly amid reports Zelenskiy has also invited the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to visit him in Kyiv.
  • The UK government has placed sanctions on Evraz, the multinational steelmaker part-owned by the billionaire Roman Abramovich. The company was formerly counted among Britain’s biggest companies. The Foreign Office said on Thursday that the action would “further chip away at Putin’s financial reserves and siege economy, and support Ukraine’s continued resistance”.
  • The European Union plans to impose sanctions on Alina Kabaeva, long rumoured to be Vladimir Putin’s girlfriend, and Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox church. Two sources said the EU has proposed sanctions on Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast whose appearance on a draft sanctions list was first reported by Bloomberg.
  • EU countries are “almost there” in agreeing the bloc’s proposed new package of sanctions against Russia, including an oil embargo, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday.
  • Naftali Bennett said Vladimir Putin had apologised for the Russian foreign minister’s claims that Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins. The Israeli prime minister, after a call with Putin, said he had accepted the apology and thanked the president for clarifying his position.
  • Putin hopes to claim Mariupol as key prop in Victory Day celebrations, according to Ukrainian intelligence. “Mariupol, according to [Russia’s] plans, should become the centre of celebrations,” Ukraine’s defence intelligence agency said. “A large-scale propaganda campaign continues, during which Russians will be shown stories about the ‘joy’ of local residents from meeting with the invaders.”
  • British prime minister Boris Johnson lauded Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy as “truly one of the most incredible leaders of modern times” during a fundraising event in London. Johnson said the UK will “continue to intensify” efforts to assist Ukraine for as long as the help is needed and insisted Russian president Vladimir Putin will “never break” the spirit of the Ukrainian people, Downing Street said.
  • Poland and the Baltic states have inaugurated a new gas pipeline that links the north-eastern EU with the rest of the bloc, a crucial step towards reducing dependence on Russian gas. The 508 km-long (316-mile) pipeline linking Poland and Lithuania’s gas networks will eventually be able to transport around two billion cubic meters of gas per year in either direction.
  • A $300 million yacht belonging to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov has been seized by Fijian authorities at the request of the United States Department of Justice.
  • A court in Spain ordered the provisional release of Anatoly Shariy, a Ukrainian politician and blogger who was arrested after being accused of treason in Ukraine. Shariy was arrested on Wednesday near the coastal city of Tarragona under an international arrest warrant issued by Ukraine, according to Spain’s National Court and as reported by the Associated Press.
Service members of pro-Russian troops ride an infantry combat vehicle through the streets of Mariupol on Thursday.
Service members of pro-Russian troops ride an infantry combat vehicle through the streets of Mariupol on Thursday. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
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