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UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he’s ready to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said “we must find an agreement,’’ – but with no ultimatum as a condition.
Zelensky told Italian RAI state TV in an interview: “We want the Russian army to leave our land, we aren’t on Russian soil”.
“We won’t save Putin’s face by paying with our territory. That would be unjust.”
In another comment, Zelensky said of the future: “We have to think of the future of Russia. I, as president of Ukraine, say these are our neighbours. There will be other presidents, other presidents and other generations” of Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s spy chief last night claimed that a coup to remove Vladimir Putin is already under way and that Russia would lose the war by the end of this year.
Major General Kyrylo Budanov, 36, said he believed a turning point in the conflict will come later this summer and will eventually see Putin ousted from office.
“The breaking point will be in the second part of August,” General Budanov told Sky News.
“Most of the active combat will have finished by the end of this year. It will eventually lead to the change of leadership of the Russian Federation. This process has already been launched.
“As a result, we will renew Ukrainian power in all our territories.”
Follow our Russia-Ukraine live blog below for up-to-the-minute updates…
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Russia’s threats over use of Satan-2 hypersonic nuclear missile on Britain
Russia has today made new threats to use its deadly Satan-2 hypersonic nuclear missile to strike Britain in just “200 seconds”.
The warning comes from Russia’s defence committee deputy chairman, Aleksey Zhuravlyov.
“If Finland wants to join this bloc, then our goal is absolutely legitimate – to question the existence of this state. This is logical,” Mr Zhuravlyov said in an interview with state TV Russia 1.
“If the United States threatens our state, it’s good: here is the Sarmat [known Satan-2] for you, and there will be nuclear ashes from you if you think that Russia should not exist. And Finland says that it is at one with the USA. Well, get in line.”
Asked if Russia would now rebase nuclear weapons onto its border with Finland, he said: “What for? We don’t need to.
“We can hit with a Sarmat from Siberia, and even reach the UK. And if we strike from Kaliningrad… the hypersonic’s reaching time is 200 seconds – so go ahead, guys.”
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G7 ‘will never recognise’ borders changed by force by Russia
The Group of Seven industrialised nations said today they would never recognise the borders Russia is trying to shift in its war against Ukraine and pledged enduring support for Kyiv.
“We will never recognise borders Russia has attempted to change by military aggression, and will uphold our engagement in the support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea, and all states,” the G7 foreign ministers said in a statement after three days of talks in northern Germany.
They also vowed to expand sanctions to include sectors on which Russia is dependent and keep supplying Ukraine with weapons to help it repel Russia’s invasion.
“We reaffirm our determination to further increase economic and political pressure on Russia, continuing to act in unity,” they said.
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Russian troops reportedly withdrawing from Kharkiv
Ukraine’s military says Russian troops are withdrawing from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city.
Ukraine’s general staff said Russian troops were pulling back and focusing on guarding supply routes, as mortar, artillery and air strikes were launched against the Donetsk region further south.
Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine is “entering a new – long-term – phase of the war”.
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Kyiv intel chief: Ukraine could win war by year-end
The war in Ukraine could reach a “breaking point” by August and end in defeat for Russia before the end of the year, Kyiv’s head of military intelligence told the UK’s Sky News today.
Major General Kyrylo Budanov, 36, told the news network that he was “optimistic” about the current trajectory of the conflict.
“The breaking point will be in the second part of August,” he said.
“Most of the active combat actions will have finished by the end of this year.
“As a result, we will renew Ukrainian power in all our territories that we have lost including Donbas and the Crimea,” he said.
Budanov also added that that Ukraine knows “everything about our enemy. We know about their plans almost as they’re being made.”
The intelligence chief also made unverified claims that a coup was already under way in Moscow to depose President Vladimir Putin, and that the Russian leader was “very sick” with cancer.
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Russia suspends electricity to Finland
Russia suspended electricity supplies to Finland overnight after its energy firm RAO Nordic threatened to cut off supplies over payment arrears, an official for Finland’s grid operator told AFP on Saturday.
The supplies “are zero since midnight,” Timo Kaukonen said. RAO Nordic had Friday said it would suspend supplies, citing problems with payments, as Helsinki prepares to announce its application for NATO membership in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Zelensky on Russian losses
President Volodymyr Zelensky has given a video update on the number of Russia’s losses, according to Ukraine’s intelligence.
He says that Vlaidmir Putin’s military has lost 200 airplanes, 27,000 soldiers and 3,000 tanks, armoured vehicle and drones.
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Russia has ‘lost’ the battle for Kharkiv
Russia has “lost” the battle for Kharkiv, according to an American think tank.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says Moscow’s forces have been pushed back from the city in northeastern Ukraine.
Yesterday’s ISW report said: “The Russian military has likely decided to withdraw fully from its positions around Kharkiv City in the face of Ukrainian counter offensives and the limited availability of reinforcements.
“Russian units have generally not attempted to hold ground against counter attacking Ukrainian forces over the past several days, with a few exceptions.”
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Moscow will respond if NATO moves nuclear forces closer to Russia’s border
Moscow will take adequate precautionary measures if NATO deploys nuclear forces and infrastructure closer to Russia’s border, Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying today.
“It will be necessary to respond … by taking adequate precautionary measures that would ensure the viability of deterrence,” Interfax agency quoted Grushko as saying.
Moscow has no hostile intentions towards Finland and Sweden and does not see “real” reasons for those two countries to be joining the NATO alliance, Grushko added.
He also reiterated the Kremlin’s earlier statement that Moscow’s response to NATO’s possible expansion will depend on how close the alliance moves military assets towards Russia and what infrastructure it deploys.
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Russian dead gathered to be sent home
The bodies of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine were brought to a rail yard outside Kyiv and stacked with hundreds of others in a refrigerated train.
“Most of them were brought from the Kyiv region, there are some from Chernihiv region and from some other regions too,” Volodymyr Lyamzin, the chief civil-military liaison officer, told Reuters on Friday as stretcher-bearers in white, head-to-toe protective suits lifted bodybags into the box cars.
He said refrigerated trains stationed in other regions across Ukraine were being used for the same grim purpose.
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Help those fleeing conflict with The Sun’s Ukraine Fund
Many of you want to help the five million caught in the chaos — and now you can, by donating to The Sun’s Ukraine Fund.
Give as little as £3 or as much as you can afford and every penny will be donated to the Red Cross on the ground helping women, children, the old, the infirm and the wounded.
Donate here to help The Sun’s fund
Or text to 70141 from UK mobiles
£3 — text SUN£3
£5 — text SUN£5
£10 — text SUN£10Texts cost your chosen donation amount (e.g. £5) +1 standard message (we receive 100%). For full T&Cs visit redcross.org.uk/mobile
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Putin sparks claims his head is ‘PHOTOSHOPPED’
VLADIMIR Putin’s bizarre latest appearance has sparked rumours that footage of the Russian president has been edited while he undergoes treatment for cancer.
Putin’s head appeared “bloated” according to some commenters during Friday’s virtual meeting of Russia’s security council.
Some even claimed his head had been artificially attached to his body in manipulated footage.
The video has sparked further speculation about his condition, and whether the Kremlin is keeping the Russian people in the dark about 69-year-old mad Vlad.
One comment under the clip read: “His face and head look so bloated, especially his cheeks and around the back of his head.
“He looks photoshopped onto his body. It’s clearly him, but what a strange look.”
Another wrote: “Either his clothing is too tight around the neck, or he sits in an unfortunate position.”
It comes amid widespread rumours about Putin’s health, with some claiming he is due to have cancer surgery any day now.
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Moscow will respond if NATO moves nuclear forces closer to Russia’s border
Moscow will take adequate precautionary measures if NATO deploys nuclear forces and infrastructure closer to Russia’s border, RIA news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying today.
Moscow has no hostile intentions towards Finland and Sweden and does not see “real” reasons for those two countries to be joining the NATO alliance, Grushko added.
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More than 700,000 Ukrainian refugees recorded in Germany
More than 700,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine have been recorded in Germany thus far, Welt am Sonntag newspaper has reported, citing Interior Ministry data.
Around 40% of Ukrainian refugees were minors and women make 81% of the adult refugees registered, Welt added.
The Russian invasion has triggered a massive displacement of people, including more than 8 million Ukrainians within the country, according to the latest International Organization for Migration (IOM) report.
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Two Russa Today journalists injured in rocket attack
Two journalists for Kremlin-backed television channel RT were injured Friday during a rocket attack in eastern Ukraine the channel blamed on Ukrainian forces.
A TV crew of RT’s correspondent Valentin Gorshenin came under Ukrainian troops’ rocket fire near the town of Dokuchaevsk in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, the channel said in a statement on messaging app Telegram.
“Cameramen Vladimir Batalin and Viktor Miroshnikov received shrapnel wounds to their legs and back,” the statement said. “They are being taken to the hospital now.”
The correspondent himself was not injured.
There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities.
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What happened last night?
Here’s a recap of all the main events that happened last night:
- Breakthrough talks have taken place between Russia’s defence minister and the US defence secretary
- More than 700,000 Ukrainian refugees have registered in Germany, according to Welt am Sonntag newspaper
- The Ukrainian military has claimed to have destroyed at least 73 Russian tanks
- Alongside this, other equipment was also destroyed during a battle over a river in the Donbas region
- Russian state media reported the country’s senior lawmaker had visited Kherson in Ukraine to discuss social and healthcare needs
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UK: Russia to include Ukraine’s Kherson in its territory
The military-civilian administration imposed by Russia in Kherson is set to include the southern city Kherson into its fold, the British defence ministry claimed today.
“The Russian-imposed military-civilian administration in Kherson announced they will ask Russia to include Kherson Region in the Russian Federation. A central part of Russia’s original invasion plan was highly likely to use rigged referendums to place the majority of Ukraine’s regions under long-term pro-Russian authority,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.
It added: “The fact that Russia has only succeeded in imposing a pro-Russian local leadership in Kherson highlights the failure of Russia’s invasion to make progress towards its political objectives in Ukraine.”
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Russia to suspend electricity supplies to Finland this weekend
Russia will suspend electricity supplies to Finland this weekend, a supplier said on Friday as tensions rise over Helsinki’s NATO bid amid Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.
“We are forced to suspend the electricity import starting from May 14,” said RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of Russian state energy holding Inter RAO.
It added: “RAO Nordic is not able to make payments for the imported electricity from Russia.”
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Coup to remove Putin already under way
Ukraine’s spy chief last night claimed that a coup to remove Vladimir Putin is already under way and that Russia would lose the war by the end of this year.
Major General Kyrylo Budanov, 36, said he believed a turning point in the conflict will come later this summer and will eventually see Putin ousted from office.
“The breaking point will be in the second part of August,” General Budanov told Sky News.
“Most of the active combat will have finished by the end of this year. It will eventually lead to the change of leadership of the Russian Federation. This process has already been launched.
“As a result, we will renew Ukrainian power in all our territories.”
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Zelensky ‘ready to talk’ with Putin
UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he’s ready to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said “we must find an agreement,’’ – but with no ultimatum as a condition.
Zelensky told Italian RAI state TV in an interview: “We want the Russian army to leave our land, we aren’t on Russian soil”.
“We won’t save Putin’s face by paying with our territory. That would be unjust.”
In another comment, Zelensky said of the future: “We have to think of the future of Russia. I, as president of Ukraine, say these are our neighbours. There will be other presidents, other presidents and other generations” of Russia.
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Good morning, Milica Cosic with you until 2pm today. I’ll be bringing you the latest news and updates on the Russia-Ukriane war.
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Russia suffers heavy losses in failed river crossing, say officials
Russia suffered heavy losses when Ukrainian forces destroyed the pontoon bridge enemy troops were using to try to cross a river in the east, Ukrainian and British officials said in another sign of Moscow’s struggle to salvage a war gone awry.
Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, opened the first war crimes trial of the conflict. The defendant, a captured Russian soldier, stands accused of shooting to death a 62-year-old civilian in the early days of the war.
The trial got underway as Russia’s campaign in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland of the Donbas made faltering progress.
Ukraine’s airborne command released photos and video of what it said was a damaged Russian pontoon bridge over the Siversky Donets River and several destroyed or damaged Russian military vehicles nearby.
Ukrainian news reports said troops thwarted an attempt by Russian forces to cross the river earlier this week, leaving dozens of tanks and other military vehicles damaged or abandoned.
The command said its troops drowned the Russian occupiers.
Britains Defense Ministry said that Russia lost significant armored maneuver elements” of at least one battalion tactical group as well as equipment used to deploy the makeshift floating bridge.
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Putin’s ex-wife & family members slapped with UK sanctions
The mistress, ex-wife and family members of Russian president Vladimir Putin have been added to the ever-growing UK sanctions list as Liz Truss looks to target the “shady network propping” up the leader.
The Foreign Office said Friday’s announcement of further measures would see members of Mr Putin’s close and inner circle hit as the UK Government continues to seek new ways of punishing Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Putin’s official assets are modest, according to the Foreign Office, with his lifestyle “funded by a cabal of family, friends and elites”.
Foreign Secretary Ms Truss said: “We are exposing and targeting the shady network propping up Putin’s luxury lifestyle and tightening the vice on his inner circle.
“We will keep going with sanctions on all those aiding and abetting Putin’s aggression until Ukraine prevails.”
One of the most high-profile figures on the list is Alina Kabaeva, a retired Olympic gymnast who is widely reported to be Mr Putin’s mistress.
A UK official described her as having a “close personal relationship” with the former KGB officer.
Unconfirmed reports suggest the 2004 Athens gold medallist has been engaged to the Russian leader and has had his children.
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Russia advises against UK travel because of ‘unfriendly’ visa stance
Russia said on Friday it was recommending its citizens not to travel to Britain, complaining that authorities there were making it “virtually impossible” for Russians to obtain visas.
The Russian Foreign Ministry alleged Russian applications were being delayed because Britain was giving higher priority to Ukrainian refugees. It said Russians were also unable to pay on the British website via Mastercard and Visa, which have both suspended their operations in Russia.
“Taking into account the extremely unfriendly course of the UK towards our country, in order to avoid financial losses and other possible problems, we recommend that Russian citizens refrain, if possible, from travelling to the UK and trying to obtain British visas,” it said.
“Until the situation normalises, we will act in the same way with respect to the British.”
The British actions were “a politically motivated infringement of the rights of Russian citizens”, the ministry said.
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Russia poses the ‘most direct threat’ to ‘world order’
RUSSIA is the ‘most direct threat to world order’, says EU’s Ursula Von der Leyen.
The European Commission President met with meeting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, along with European Council President Charles Michel today.
Von der leyen said that Russia “is today the most direct threat to the world order with the barbaric war against Ukraine, and its worrying pact with China”.
Kishida, whose government has joined tough sanctions on Moscow, also said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not just a matter for Europe, but it shakes the core of the international order including Asia. This must not be tolerated”.
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Swedish review: NATO membership would deter conflict
Swedish membership in NATO would reduce the risk of conflict in northern Europe, a security policy review by parties in Sweden’s parliament said Friday.
“Swedish NATO membership would raise the threshold for military conflicts and thus have a deterrent effect in northern Europe,” the report presented at a press conference in Stockholm said.
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