Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces hit apartments in Kyiv with overnight drone attack, officials say
Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire on Wednesday after Trump spoke separately to Putin and Zelensky
Russia has launched an overnight drone attack on Kyiv, hitting apartment buildings and sparking several fires throughout Ukraine’s capital despite agreeing to a limited ceasefire, officials have said.
Emergency services were dispatched to Kyiv’s historic Podil district after drones hit two high-rise apartment buildings there and started fires, said Timur Tkachenko, the head of the capital’s military administration.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged people to stay in shelters, but said there were no immediate reports of injuries. Kyiv, its surrounding region and the eastern half of Ukraine were under air raid alerts on Saturday night.
It came a day after Vladimir Putin’s forces launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing three members of the same family and wounding 14 others, according to officials, who said residential buildings, cars and communal buildings were set on fire.
Kyiv and Moscow agreed in principle on Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after US president Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders, though it remains to be seen what possible targets would be off limits to attack.
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Top Russian official thanks Kim Jong Un for support
Russia’s Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu thanked Kim Jong Un for North Korea’s ongoing support in its war against Ukraine during a visit today, Russian state-owned news agency Tass reported.
North Korea has supplied vast amounts of weapons to Russia including artillery and ballistic missiles, and has sent up to 12,000 troops to support Russia’s army in its war with Ukraine, according to intelligence officials from the US, South Korea and Ukraine.
In late February, South Korea's spy agency said North Korea appeared to have sent additional troops to Russia. South Korean media put the number of newly sent North Korean soldiers at about 1,000 to 3,000.
Tass quoted Mr Shoigu as saying: "I would like to express my gratitude to our Korean friends for solidarity with Russia’s position on all critical geopolitical issues and on the Ukrainian issue in particular," when speaking with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday.
Mr Shoigu emphasised that Russia “highly values the achieved level of strategic relations between the countries and is committed to deepen them."
Talks on Ukraine peacekeepers will accelerate next week, with 'nothing off the table'
Western military planning to enforce a potential ceasefire in Ukraine is set to intensify in London next week as Downing Street said "nothing is off the table" over possible troop deployment for Kyiv.
Number 10 said "thousands" of personnel would be required to support any operation whether by "sea, on land or in the air" as allies prepare "for all eventualities" amid diplomatic efforts to end the war.
Officials from the so-called coalition of the willing will "accelerate the pace and scale" of work to consolidate proposals for possible troop deployment across land, air or sea to safeguard any peace deal, a No 10 spokesman said.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer warned Vladimir Putin would face "severe consequences" for breaching any truce as he met defence planners for the first stage of talks at the UK's Northwood military headquarters on Thursday.
Downing Street on Friday said officials from allied countries will meet again at the same site next week to firm up a strategy to protect Kyiv as plans enter an "operational phase".
Ukrainian president tours site of fierce battle
Volodymyr Zelensky visited the site of one of the initial battles in the war with Russia today, alongside the president of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel.
Heavy fighting in Moshchun lasted for most of March 2022 before Ukraine successfully repelled Russian forces, less than 30 kilometres from Kyiv. Zelensky said the village was a symbolic and “deeply memorable” place for Ukrainians.
“The battles for Moshchun against the Russian occupiers played a crucial role in the defense of Kyiv, and therefore the defence of our entire country,” Zelensky said on X
“Together, we honoured the memory of our fallen warriors who fought for Ukraine’s freedom, and expressed our gratitude to all the heroes — thanks to whom we are here today – in Ukrainian Kyiv, in our independent state. And it will always be this way – we will definitely preserve Ukraine’s independence.”
French President reiterates support for Ukraine
Emmanuel Macron has reiterated his support for Ukraine following continued Russian bombardments.
“Once again last night, Russia showed that it sincerely does not want peace. Full support for the Ukrainian people,” he wrote on X, along with a picture of a building on fire.
His tweet followed an earlier post from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who shared video footage of firefighters battling large blazes and called for tougher sanctions on Russia.
“It is joint pressure on Russia, along with tougher sanctions and stronger defence support for our country, that paves the way to ending this kind of terror and Russia’s prolongation of the war,” Zelensky said.
“We expect real pressure on Russia from the United States, Europe, and all our partners. This is what will enable diplomacy to work. “
Germany seizes tanker belonging to Russian 'shadow fleet'
Germany has seized a tanker believed to be part of a shadow fleet used by Russia to circumvent oil sanctions.
Spiegel magazine cited German security services who said the decrepit Panama-flagged ship, called Eventin, was found adrift off its northern coast in January.
The tanker is believed to have been heading from Russia to Egypt with cargo of around 100,000 metric tons of oil, worth some 40 million euros.
The German government declined to comment in detail but said "Customs measures are currently under way,” and the local customs authority said in a statement that the measures had not yet been made legally binding, without commenting further on the case.
Moscow has no information about the ship and no knowledge about its owner or reasons for its seizure, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, responding to a Reuters query.
Top Russia official discussed Ukraine with Kim Jong Un - Russian media
Putin’s top security adviser discussed Ukraine with Kim Jong Un on Friday, Russian media has reported.
Sergei Shoigu also discussed talks between Russia and the US with the North Korean leader, TASS news agency reported.
The top Russian official has visited North Korea on Friday as security ties between the countries advances.
The Independent View: Starmer's ‘coalition of the willing’ is a rallying cry
Editorial: Convened by the British prime minister, the meeting of military leaders from more than 20 countries to discuss a peacekeeping force for Ukraine may have jumped the gun. If they are to work together, the UK and EU must first negotiate some key differences:
Sir Keir’s ‘coalition of the willing’ is principled – and a rallying cry for Ukraine
£25bn Russian assets frozen by UK since start of Ukraine war, Treasury says
Some £25 billion worth of Russian assets have been frozen by the UK Government since the start of the Ukraine war, newly-released figures have revealed.
A report released by the Treasury on Friday revealed the total, which accounts for all assets that have been sanctioned by the UK since February 2022 when the invasion of Ukraine began.
Some 2,001 individuals and entities have been sanctioned under the regime as of March 2024, according to the Treasury.
France restores gunpowder production due to Ukraine war
France has restored its gunpowder production, which it scrapped in 2007.
Explosives manufacturer Eurenco is set to produce some 1,200 tonnes of gunpowder pellets a year, rising to 1,800 tonnes, which would feed into about 100,000 artillery shells,
Most of these French-made artillery shells will head to Ukraine.
Backed by the government and with an investment of 100 million euros of which half came from an EU programme to support the bloc's defence industry, the firm put together new infrastructure in less than a year.
France has a tradition of producing gunpowder dating back to the 14th Century, and a long history of pride in being self sufficient in arms production.
Eurenco produced gunpowder as far back as World War One. But after the end of the Cold War, weapons production and supply chains were no longer a priority and governments scaled back.
Russia accuses Ukraine of bombing gas pumping station
Russia accused Ukraine of being behind the attack on the Sudzha gas pumping station, saying it had been under the control of Kyiv's forces "until now" who had used it as a logistics base.
"The blowing up of an important Russian energy facility by Ukrainian army units retreating from the Kursk region is a deliberate provocation by the Kyiv regime," the defence ministry said in a statement.
"(This) should be viewed as part of a series of recent strikes against the energy infrastructure of the Russian Federation aimed at discrediting the peace initiatives of the president of the United States."
The region has been the focus of fierce fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in recent weeks, with Moscow’s troops recapturing much of the region which held by Kyiv since August last year.
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