the key:
"The Russian news outlet Kommersant reported that two Russian fighter
jets and two military helicopters had been shot down on Saturday close
to the Ukrainian border."

from
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/may/13/russia-ukraine-war-live-russian-retreat-in-bakhmut-highlights-shortage-of-credible-combat-units-say-uk-officials

Ukraine war live
Ukraine
Russia-Ukraine war live: two Russian jets and two helicopters reportedly
shot down – as it happened
Russian reports suggest two warplanes and two helicopters downed on
Saturday, though unclear if due to friendly fire or Ukrainian attacks

Zelenskiy meets pope as Ukraine retakes ground in Bakhmut
What we know on day 444 of the invasion
Updated 6h ago
6h ago
A summary of today's developments
6h ago
Russian fighter jets and military helicopters 'shot down close to the
Ukrainian border'
8h ago
Summary
8h ago
Zelenskiy meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican
9h ago
Two Russian jets and two helicopters reportedly downed
9h ago
Zelenskiy to visit Germany
9h ago
Italy promises Ukraine full support
10h ago
Summary
10h ago
UK-supplied missiles used to attack occupied Luhansk, Russia claims
11h ago
Ukraine regains at least 1km in Bakhmut
12h ago
Zelenskiy arrives in Italy
14h ago
Summary
15h ago
Zelenskiy arrives in Rome
16h ago
Three injured in Russian strikes on Mykolaiv
17h ago
Russian retreat in Bakhmut highlights 'shortage of credible combat
units', says UK MoD
17h ago
Opening summary

Ukrainian troops fire a Partyzan multiple launch rocket system in
Zaporizhzhia region. Photograph: Reuters
Nadeem Badshah (now) , Geneva Abdul,Adam Fulton (earlier)
Sat 13 May 2023 13.31 EDT
From 8h ago
10.18 EDT

Two Russian jets and two helicopters reportedly downed
Luke Harding
Luke Harding
Guardian foreign correspondent Luke Harding reporting from Kyiv.

There are unconfirmed reports that another plane and helicopter has
crashed, in what appears to be a disastrous day for Russian aviation.
Moscow Telegram channels reported that an SU-35 warplane had been shot
down too, together with a second Mi8 helicopter.

Another military helicopter crashed on Friday in Crimea. It was unclear
whether the two aircraft and two helicopters were downed on Saturday
because of friendly fire, or if the Ukrainians targeted them with missiles.

Updated at 10.29 EDT
6h ago
13.31 EDT
A summary of today's developments

The Russian news outlet Kommersant reported that two Russian fighter
jets and two military helicopters had been shot down on Saturday close
to the Ukrainian border. Kommersant said on its website that the Su-34
fighter-bomber, Su-35 fighter and two Mi-8 helicopters had made up a
raiding party, and had been “shot down almost simultaneously” in an
ambush in the Bryansk region, adjoining northeast Ukraine.
A 15-year-old girl was among two people killed and ten people were
injured in a Russian shelling attack, Ukraine’s defence ministry said.
The eastern city of Kostyantynivka was targeted by Smerch rocket
launchers, it added.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy held talks in Italy with the prime minister, Giorgia
Meloni, President Sergio Mattarella and Pope Francis. The trip is
Zelenskiy’s first to Italy since Russia invaded on 24 February last year.
Ukrainian forces have regained at least a kilometre of territory in
Bakhmut amid a Russian withdrawal that reflects Moscow’s “severe
shortage of credible combat units”, the UK Ministry of Defence has said
in its latest intelligence briefing. It said elements of a Russian
brigade withdrew “in bad order” from their positions on the southern
flank of the eastern Ukrainian city, the scene of the war’s longest
battle. The brigade had been “dogged with allegations of poor morale and
limited combat effectiveness”.
Zelenskiy will be received in Berlin on Sunday, German government
sources told Reuters on Saturday, as the leader seeks to shore up
support from key allies against Russia’s invasion. The Ukrainian leader
last visited Germany for the Munich security council in February last
year just before the war broke out.
The German government will provide further military equipment worth
€2.7bn (£2.4bn) to Ukraine in what would be the biggest Berlin has
provided since Russia’s invasion. The package includes 20 Marder
infantry fighting vehicles, 30 Leopard 1 tanks, 15 Gepard anti-aircraft
tanks, 200 reconnaissance drones, four additional Iris-T anti-aircraft
systems including ammunition, additional artillery ammunition and more
than 200 armoured combat and logistics vehicles, according to Der Spiegel.
Russian attacks injured three people in the southern Ukrainian city of
Mykolaiv, the city’s mayor said. The strikes occurred early on Saturday,
Oleksandr Sienkevych said on his Telegram channel. Russian forces
targeted a local factory, also damaging nearby residential buildings,
causing fires in three apartments and damaging an educational
institution, he said.
Russian-installed officials in Luhansk have said missiles fired by
Ukrainian forces injured six children and a Russian parliamentarian and
damaged two disused factories in the eastern Ukrainian region’s main
city, about 100km (60 miles) behind the frontlines.
A Russian SU-34 warplane crashed in the Bryansk region bordering
Ukraine, Tass news agency reported, quoting emergency services, in the
second such incident on Saturday after a helicopter was seemingly downed
in the same region.
Two Russian pilots were killed when a Russian Mi-28 military helicopter
crashed in the annexed peninsula of Crimea, Russian news agencies
reported, citing the defence ministry. It said it believed the reason
for Friday’s crash was equipment failure, Tass reported.
An unidentified object that entered Polish airspace from the direction
of Belarus was probably an observation balloon, the defence ministry
said on Saturday on Twitter. A spokesperson for Poland’s territorial
defence force told Reuters a search for the object was under way.
Russian and Belarusian authorities were not immediately available for
comment.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday two industrial sites in the
occupied city of Luhansk have been struck with Storm Shadow long-range
cruise missiles supplied by Britain.
Zelenskiy has thanked the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, for the
provision of long-range cruise missiles. The UK defence secretary, Ben
Wallace, earlier confirmed it would send the Storm Shadow missiles,
prompting a threat from the Kremlin of a military response.
Police in the Russian city of St Petersburg have created an anti-drone
unit to detect unmanned drones after a suspected attack on the Kremlin
last week. The unit was launched on Tuesday during the annual second
world war Victory Day celebrations on St Petersburg’s Palace Square, the
city’s interior ministry said.
South Africa’s foreign ministry has summoned the US ambassador over
allegations he made that the country had provided arms and ammunition to
Russia for its war in Ukraine. Reuben Brigety said on Thursday that
South Africa had loaded weapons and ammunition on to a Russian vessel,
which is under sanctions, at the Simon’s Town naval base near Cape Town
in December last year and that the arms were then transported to Russia.
Russia’s defence ministry has said Ukrainian forces carried out
“offensive operations” along the entire line of contact near Soledar,
the ministry’s official Zvezda news outlet reported. More than 1,000
troops and up to 40 tanks were used in Thursday’s assault, it said on
Friday, adding that the attacks were “repulsed”.
The UN nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, plans to present an
agreement with Russia and Ukraine on protecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear
power plant to the UN security council this month, indicating a deal is
close, four diplomats have told Reuters. Grossi has been trying for
months to secure an agreement to reduce the risk of a catastrophic
accident from shelling at the Russian-occupied nuclear power station,
Europe’s biggest.
Rishi Sunak expressed disappointment at a decision to block Zelenskiy’s
request to speak via video at Saturday’s Eurovision grand final. The
European Broadcasting Union, which produces the event, said the
Ukrainian president had “laudable” intentions but rejected the request
over fears it could politicise the event.
6h ago
13.21 EDT
A 15-year-old girl was among two people killed and 10 people were
injured in a Russian shelling attack, Ukraine’s defence ministry said.

The eastern city of Kostyantynivka was targeted by Smerch rocket
launchers, it added.

Updated at 13.25 EDT
6h ago
13.10 EDT
Ukrainian troops are advancing in two directions in the eastern city of
Bakhmut but the situation in the city centre is more complicated, deputy
defence minister Hanna Malyar said.

“The enemy is not able to take control of the city,” Malyar wrote on the
Telegram messaging app.

6h ago
12.57 EDT
Russian fighter jets and military helicopters 'shot down close to the
Ukrainian border'
The Russian news outlet Kommersant reported that two Russian fighter
jets and two military helicopters had been shot down on Saturday close
to the Ukrainian border.

Kommersant said on its website that the Su-34 fighter-bomber, Su-35
fighter and two Mi-8 helicopters had made up a raiding party, and had
been “shot down almost simultaneously” in an ambush in the Bryansk
region, adjoining northeast Ukraine.

“According to preliminary data ... the fighters were supposed to deliver
a missile and bomb attack on targets in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine,
and the helicopters were there to back them up – among other things to
pick up the ‘Su’ crews if they were shot down.”

The Russian state news agency Tass said a Russian Su-34 warplane had
crashed in that region but did not specify a cause.

Tass also cited an emergency services official as saying an engine fire
in a helicopter had caused it to crash near Klintsy, which is about 40
km (25 miles) from the border.

It made no mention of the Su-35 or of a second helicopter.

Updated at 13.01 EDT
6h ago
12.45 EDT
President Zelensky has tweeted details of his meeting today with the
Pope at the Vatican.

7h ago
12.23 EDT
Japan has expressed concern about Russian and Chinese military
co-operation in Asia and believes the two countries are “strengthening”
their joint exercises.

Foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said the security situation in Europe
and the Indo-Pacific region was indivisible since the war in Ukraine
started, Sky News reports.

Russia’s invasion has “shaken the very foundation of the international
order” and Vladimir Putin must face a united response from the worldwide
community, he told international ministers in Sweden.

“In addition, China and Russia are strengthening their military
collaboration, including joint flights of their bombers and joint naval
exercises in the vicinity of Japan,” Hayahshi said.

7h ago
11.56 EDT
Emma Graham-Harrison
Emma Graham-Harrison
A ballad about ethnic cleansing was an unusual choice for Eurovision, a
competition best known for glam, kitschy pop. But seven years ago
Crimean Tatar singer Jamala swept Ukraine to its second victory in the
song contest with 1944.

It told the story of the deportation of her entire people – hundreds of
thousands of women, children and men – from their ancestral home to
central Asia on Stalin’s orders.

The Tatars’ exile lasted decades, and when they were finally allowed to
return, their centuries-long history had been all but erased. Russians
had moved into their homes, and the peninsula’s geography had been
rewritten, with towns and villages all given new Russian names.

Music is particularly important to Crimean Tatars because the brutality
of the deportations means an entire people have been left with very few
physical heirlooms.

Families were given just 15 minutes to pack for their long journey
crammed into cattle wagons, could take only what they could carry and
ended up selling almost everything of value to survive in exile.

‘I was born to do this’: Ukraine’s 2016 Eurovision winner Jamala on why
Putin fears her people, the Tatars
Read more
Updated at 12.28 EDT
7h ago
11.37 EDT
The head of Russia’s federal crime agency suggested that key sectors of
the economy should be returned to state ownership to support Moscow’s
war in Ukraine.

Moscow has already seized assets or acquired them at a heavy discount
from some western firms that have quit Russia or scaled back their
activities since the invasion, Reuters reports.

“We are essentially talking about economic security in a war,” Alexander
Bastrykin, head of the investigative committee, told a conference that
was streamed online.

“Let’s go along the path of nationalising the main sectors of our economy.”

Updated at 11.45 EDT
8h ago
11.11 EDT
Ukraine has regained at least a kilometre of territory in the eastern
city of Bakhmut amid an alleged Russian withdrawal from the area, as the
Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy flew to Rome to meet Pope
Francis for the first time since Russia’s invasion, writes Lorenzo Tondo
and Luke Harding.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence said that over the past four days, Russian
troops from the 72nd separate motor rifle brigade (72 SMRB) had possibly
withdrawn “in bad order” from their positions on the southern flank of
the Bakhmut operation. The move, according to British intelligence,
reflected Moscow’s lack of effective combat units.

In its latest intelligence briefing posted on Twitter, the MoD wrote:
“72 SMRB is an element of Russia’s 3rd Army Corps, a formation created
in autumn 2023 [sic] and dogged with allegations of poor morale and
limited combat effectiveness”.

Zelenskiy and pope discuss peace in Ukraine as Russia retreats in Bakhmut
Read more
Updated at 11.22 EDT
8h ago
10.58 EDT
Summary
It’s approaching 6pm in Ukraine, here’s a look at the latest news.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Italy on Saturday for talks with the
prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, President Sergio Mattarella and Pope
Francis. The trip is Zelenskiy’s first to Italy since Russia invaded on
24 February last year.

Meloni, has promised Italy’s full support to Ukraine in its efforts to
repel Russia’s “brutal and unjust aggression.”

Speaking alongside Zelenskiy on Saturday, Meloni said Italy would
continue to supply Ukraine with weapons and back his country for as long
as is necessary.

“We are betting on Ukraine’s victory,” Meloni said.

In other developments:

Ukrainian forces have regained at least a kilometre of territory in
Bakhmut amid a Russian withdrawal that reflects Moscow’s “severe
shortage of credible combat units”, the UK Ministry of Defence has said
in its latest intelligence briefing. It said elements of a Russian
brigade withdrew “in bad order” from their positions on the southern
flank of the eastern Ukrainian city, the scene of the war’s longest
battle. The brigade had been “dogged with allegations of poor morale and
limited combat effectiveness”.
Zelenskiy will be received in Berlin on Sunday, German government
sources told Reuters on Saturday, as the leader seeks to shore up
support from key allies against Russia’s invasion. The Ukrainian leader
last visited Germany for the Munich security council in February last
year just before the war broke out.
The German government will provide further military equipment worth
€2.7bn (£2.4bn) to Ukraine in what would be the biggest Berlin has
provided since Russia’s invasion. The package includes 20 Marder
infantry fighting vehicles, 30 Leopard 1 tanks, 15 Gepard anti-aircraft
tanks, 200 reconnaissance drones, four additional Iris-T anti-aircraft
systems including ammunition, additional artillery ammunition and more
than 200 armoured combat and logistics vehicles, according to Der Spiegel.
Russian attacks injured three people in the southern Ukrainian city of
Mykolaiv, the city’s mayor said. The strikes occurred early on Saturday,
Oleksandr Sienkevych said on his Telegram channel. Russian forces
targeted a local factory, also damaging nearby residential buildings,
causing fires in three apartments and damaging an educational
institution, he said.
Russian-installed officials in Luhansk have said missiles fired by
Ukrainian forces injured six children and a Russian parliamentarian and
damaged two disused factories in the eastern Ukrainian region’s main
city, about 100km (60 miles) behind the frontlines.
A Russian SU-34 warplane crashed in the Bryansk region bordering
Ukraine, Tass news agency reported, quoting emergency services, in the
second such incident on Saturday after a helicopter was seemingly downed
in the same region.
Two Russian pilots were killed when a Russian Mi-28 military helicopter
crashed in the annexed peninsula of Crimea, Russian news agencies
reported, citing the defence ministry. It said it believed the reason
for Friday’s crash was equipment failure, Tass reported.
An unidentified object that entered Polish airspace from the direction
of Belarus was probably an observation balloon, the defence ministry
said on Saturday on Twitter. A spokesperson for Poland’s territorial
defence force told Reuters a search for the object was under way.
Russian and Belarusian authorities were not immediately available for
comment.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday two industrial sites in the
occupied city of Luhansk have been struck with Storm Shadow long-range
cruise missiles supplied by Britain.
Zelenskiy has thanked the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, for the
provision of long-range cruise missiles. The UK defence secretary, Ben
Wallace, earlier confirmed it would send the Storm Shadow missiles,
prompting a threat from the Kremlin of a military response.
Police in the Russian city of St Petersburg have created an anti-drone
unit to detect unmanned drones after a suspected attack on the Kremlin
last week. The unit was launched on Tuesday during the annual second
world war Victory Day celebrations on St Petersburg’s Palace Square, the
city’s interior ministry said.
South Africa’s foreign ministry has summoned the US ambassador over
allegations he made that the country had provided arms and ammunition to
Russia for its war in Ukraine. Reuben Brigety said on Thursday that
South Africa had loaded weapons and ammunition on to a Russian vessel,
which is under sanctions, at the Simon’s Town naval base near Cape Town
in December last year and that the arms were then transported to Russia.
Russia’s defence ministry has said Ukrainian forces carried out
“offensive operations” along the entire line of contact near Soledar,
the ministry’s official Zvezda news outlet reported. More than 1,000
troops and up to 40 tanks were used in Thursday’s assault, it said on
Friday, adding that the attacks were “repulsed”.
The UN nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, plans to present an
agreement with Russia and Ukraine on protecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear
power plant to the UN security council this month, indicating a deal is
close, four diplomats have told Reuters. Grossi has been trying for
months to secure an agreement to reduce the risk of a catastrophic
accident from shelling at the Russian-occupied nuclear power station,
Europe’s biggest.
Rishi Sunak expressed disappointment at a decision to block Zelenskiy’s
request to speak via video at Saturday’s Eurovision grand final. The
European Broadcasting Union, which produces the event, said the
Ukrainian president had “laudable” intentions but rejected the request
over fears it could politicise the event.
Updated at 11.13 EDT
8h ago
10.38 EDT
Zelenskiy meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican
Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has met Pope Francis at the
Vatican, who said in late April the Holy See is involved in a peace
mission to end the war with Russia.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy with his hand on his heart shakes hands with Pope
Francis as he arrives at the Vatican.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy shakes hands with Pope Francis as he arrives at the
Vatican. Photograph: Vatican Media/Reuters
Earlier the president met his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella,
and then prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, before he was due to head to
the Vatican.

Both Mattarella and Meloni reiterated Italy’s full support for Ukraine
in terms of military, financial, humanitarian and reconstruction aid in
the short and long term.

At a news conference after her meeting with Zelenskiy, Meloni condemned
Russia’s “brutal and unjust aggression,” pledged Italy’s support for
Ukraine for “as long as is necessary,” and urged Russia to immediately
withdraw.

“You can’t achieve peace through a surrender,” she said, echoing a
previous comment by Mattarella. “It would be a very grave precedent for
all nations of the world.”

She emphasised Italy’s support for Ukraine’s membership of the European
Union and the “intensification” of a partnership with Nato.

Pope Francis and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sit around a table at the
Vatican.
Pope Francis and Zelenskiy meet at the Vatican. Photograph: Vatican
Media/Reuters
Updated at 10.47 EDT
9h ago
10.25 EDT
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has arrived at the Vatican for a private audience
with Pope Francis.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy waves as he arrives. Standing
next to him is the prefect of the pontifical house.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy is welcomed by the prefect of the pontifical house.
Photograph: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images
Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives in a car for a private audience with the pope.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives for a private audience with the pope.
Photograph: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 10.46 EDT
9h ago
10.18 EDT
Two Russian jets and two helicopters reportedly downed
Luke Harding
Luke Harding
Guardian foreign correspondent Luke Harding reporting from Kyiv.

There are unconfirmed reports that another plane and helicopter has
crashed, in what appears to be a disastrous day for Russian aviation.
Moscow Telegram channels reported that an SU-35 warplane had been shot
down too, together with a second Mi8 helicopter.

Another military helicopter crashed on Friday in Crimea. It was unclear
whether the two aircraft and two helicopters were downed on Saturday
because of friendly fire, or if the Ukrainians targeted them with missiles.

Updated at 10.29 EDT
9h ago
10.05 EDT
Zelenskiy to visit Germany
Volodymyr Zelenskiy will be received in Berlin on Sunday, German
government sources told Reuters on Saturday, as the leader seeks to
shore up support from key allies against Russia’s invasion.

Zelenskiy will arrive from Italy where he was meeting with Italian
officials and Pope Francis on Saturday.

The Ukrainian leader last visited Germany for the Munich security
council in February last year just before the war broke out.

Germany on Saturday announced €2.7 bn of military aid to Ukraine, its
biggest such package yet since the Russian invasion, and pledged further
support for Kyiv for as long as necessary.

The country has also taken in around a million Ukrainian refugees.

Christian Mölling, deputy director at the German council on foreign
relations said Zelenskiy will probably want to know directly from
Chancellor Olaf Scholz how he sees the war ending.

Mölling said:

Does Germany want a Ukrainian victory or is it enough for the war to
end? It will be important for Zelenskiy to hear directly from the
chancellor how he thinks … Ukraine needs financial assistance to pay its
debt so it doesn’t go bankrupt and Germany plays a big role there.

He added: “And Ukraine is seeing that in Germany other topics are
beginning to move into the foreground.”

Updated at 10.11 EDT
9h ago
09.55 EDT
Italy promises Ukraine full support
Prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has promised Italy’s full support to
Ukraine in its efforts to repel Russia’s “brutal and unjust aggression.”

Speaking alongside Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday, Meloni said Italy
would continue to supply Ukraine with weapons and back his country for
as long as is necessary.

“We are betting on Ukraine’s victory,” Meloni said.

Earlier in the day Zelenskiy met Italy’s head of state, Sergio
Mattarella, in the president’s Quirinale palace and he will shortly head
to the Vatican for talks with Pope Francis.

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni listens during a joint press
conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni listens during a joint press
conference with Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Photograph:
Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 10.00 EDT
10h ago
09.13 EDT
Here are the latest images from Ukraine and elsewhere:

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, welcomes Volodymyr Zelenskiy for
a meeting at Palazzo Chigi in Rome.
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, welcomes Volodymyr Zelenskiy for
a meeting at Palazzo Chigi in Rome. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential
Press Ser/AFP/Getty Images
Citizens of Ukraine wait for Zelenskiy’s procession in Piazza Barberini,
Rome.
Citizens of Ukraine wait for Zelenskiy’s procession in Piazza Barberini,
Rome. Photograph: Francesco Fotia/Shutterstock
Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, with Zelenskiy before their
meeting at the Quirinale presidential palace in Rome.
Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, with Zelenskiy before their
meeting at the Quirinale presidential palace in Rome. Photograph:
Ukrainian Presidential Press Ser/AFP/Getty Images
A memorial service for Ukrainian Armed Forces Sgt Oleksii Khabatiuk, who
died in Bakhmut.
A memorial service for Ukrainian Armed Forces Sgt Oleksii Khabatiuk, who
died in Bakhmut. Photograph: Aleksandr Gusev/Sopa Images/Shutterstock
A woman walks past a poster made as a postage stamp depicting President
Vladimir Putin appearing in an orange jumpsuit before judges of the
international criminal court in The Hague.
A woman walks past a poster made as a postage stamp depicting President
Vladimir Putin appearing in an orange jumpsuit before judges of the
international criminal court in The Hague. Photograph: Roman
Pilipey/Getty Images
Updated at 09.40 EDT
10h ago
09.03 EDT
Summary
It’s 4pm in Ukraine, here’s a look at the latest news.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Italy on Saturday for talks with the
prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, President Sergio Mattarella and Pope
Francis. The trip is Zelenskiy’s first to Italy since Russia invaded on
24 February last year.

Italy is fully supporting Ukraine in its resistance against Russia’s
invasion, the Italian head of state said in welcoming Zelenskiy to his
residence in Rome on Saturday.

“It is an honour to have you here in Rome,” Mattarella told Zelenskiy,
in remarks aired on Italian television.

In other developments:

Ukrainian forces have regained at least a kilometre of territory in
Bakhmut amid a Russian withdrawal that reflects Moscow’s “severe
shortage of credible combat units”, the UK Ministry of Defence has said
in its latest intelligence briefing. It said elements of a Russian
brigade withdrew “in bad order” from their positions on the southern
flank of the eastern Ukrainian city, the scene of the war’s longest
battle. The brigade had been “dogged with allegations of poor morale and
limited combat effectiveness”.
The German government will provide further military equipment worth
€2.7bn (£2.4bn) to Ukraine in what would be the biggest Berlin has
provided since Russia’s invasion. The package includes 20 Marder
infantry fighting vehicles, 30 Leopard 1 tanks, 15 Gepard anti-aircraft
tanks, 200 reconnaissance drones, four additional Iris-T anti-aircraft
systems including ammunition, additional artillery ammunition and more
than 200 armoured combat and logistics vehicles, according to Der Spiegel.
Russian attacks injured three people in the southern Ukrainian city of
Mykolaiv, the city’s mayor said. The strikes occurred early on Saturday,
Oleksandr Sienkevych said on his Telegram channel. Russian forces
targeted a local factory, also damaging nearby residential buildings,
causing fires in three apartments and damaging an educational
institution, he said.
Russian-installed officials in Luhansk have said missiles fired by
Ukrainian forces injured six children and a Russian parliamentarian and
damaged two disused factories in the eastern Ukrainian region’s main
city, about 100km (60 miles) behind the frontlines.
A Russian SU-34 warplane crashed in the Bryansk region bordering
Ukraine, Tass news agency reported, quoting emergency services, in the
second such incident on Saturday after a helicopter was seemingly downed
in the same region.
Two Russian pilots were killed when a Russian Mi-28 military helicopter
crashed in the annexed peninsula of Crimea, Russian news agencies
reported, citing the defence ministry. It said it believed the reason
for Friday’s crash was equipment failure, Tass reported.
An unidentified object that entered Polish airspace from the direction
of Belarus was probably an observation balloon, the defence ministry
said on Saturday on Twitter. A spokesperson for Poland’s territorial
defence force told Reuters a search for the object was under way.
Russian and Belarusian authorities were not immediately available for
comment.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday two industrial sites in the
occupied city of Luhansk have been struck with Storm Shadow long-range
cruise missiles supplied by Britain.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has thanked the British
prime minister, Rishi Sunak, for the provision of long-range cruise
missiles. The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, earlier confirmed it
would send the Storm Shadow missiles, prompting a threat from the
Kremlin of a military response.
Police in the Russian city of St Petersburg have created an anti-drone
unit to detect unmanned drones after a suspected attack on the Kremlin
last week. The unit was launched on Tuesday during the annual second
world war Victory Day celebrations on St Petersburg’s Palace Square, the
city’s interior ministry said.
South Africa’s foreign ministry has summoned the US ambassador over
allegations he made that the country had provided arms and ammunition to
Russia for its war in Ukraine. Reuben Brigety said on Thursday that
South Africa had loaded weapons and ammunition on to a Russian vessel,
which is under sanctions, at the Simon’s Town naval base near Cape Town
in December last year and that the arms were then transported to Russia.
Russia’s defence ministry has said Ukrainian forces carried out
“offensive operations” along the entire line of contact near Soledar,
the ministry’s official Zvezda news outlet reported. More than 1,000
troops and up to 40 tanks were used in Thursday’s assault, it said on
Friday, adding that the attacks were “repulsed”.
The UN nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, plans to present an
agreement with Russia and Ukraine on protecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear
power plant to the UN security council this month, indicating a deal is
close, four diplomats have told Reuters. Grossi has been trying for
months to secure an agreement to reduce the risk of a catastrophic
accident from shelling at the Russian-occupied nuclear power station,
Europe’s biggest.
Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister, has expressed disappointment at
a decision to block Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s request to speak via video at
Saturday’s Eurovision grand final. The European Broadcasting Union,
which produces the event, said the Ukrainian president had “laudable”
intentions but rejected the request over fears it could politicise the
event.
Updated at 09.35 EDT
10h ago
08.53 EDT
UK-supplied missiles used to attack occupied Luhansk, Russia claims
Russia’s defence ministry says two industrial sites in the occupied city
of Luhansk have been struck with Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles
supplied by Britain.

On Thursday, the UK became the first country to say it had started
supplying Kyiv with long-range cruise missiles, which will allow it to
hit Russian troops and supply dumps far behind the frontlines as Ukraine
prepares a major counteroffensive.

On Saturday, Russia said:

Storm Shadow air-to-air missiles supplied to the Kyiv regime by Britain
were used for the strike.

The British defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said the missiles could be
used within Ukrainian territory, implying that he had received
assurances from Kyiv that they would not be used to attack targets
inside Russia’s internationally accepted borders.

The Russian ministry said the missiles had hit a plant producing
polymers and a meat-processing factory.

Updated at 09.07 EDT
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