Ukraine-Russia news – live: Kyiv says it destroyed own drone as US denies involvement in Kremlin attack

Ukraine’s air force destroyed one of its own drones seen flying over Kyiv to prevent “undesirable consequences”.

“On 4 May at about 8pm during a planned flight in Kyiv region, control was lost over a Baykartar TV2 drone,” the air force said in a statement on Telegram.

“As the uncontrolled flight of the drone in skies over the capital could have led to undesirable consequences, the decision was taken to use mobile fire groups. The target - destroyed!”

The drone, that likely suffered a technical snag, flew for about 20 minutes over Kyiv as locals present at the spot witnessed gunfire and explosions.

The shoot down comes two days after two drones exploded over the Kremlin, where Vladimir Putin resides. Russia initially blamed Ukraine, but has now shifted blame to the US.

Washington has denied the accusations.

“I can assure you that there was no involvement by the United States in this,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.

Key Points

• Russia’s claims of US involvement in drone attack are false, White House says

• Russia attacks Ukraine regions with drones inscribed ‘for Kremlin’

• Former Russian president calls for ‘elimination of Zelensky’

• Russia may have ‘staged’ Kremlin drone attack

• Kremlin accuses Ukraine of attempt to kill Putin

Russian mercenary chief Prigozhin says his forces will leave Bakhmut next week

09:38 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russia‘s Wagner Group mercenary force, said in a sudden and dramatic announcement on Friday that his forces would leave the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut that they have been trying to capture since last summer.

Prigozhin said they would leave on May 10 because of heavy losses and inadequate ammunition supplies.

“I declare on behalf of the Wagner fighters, on behalf of the Wagner command, that on May 10, 2023, we are obliged to transfer positions in the settlement of Bakhmut to units of the defence ministry and withdraw the remains of Wagner to logistics camps to lick our wounds,” Prigozhin said in a statement.

“I’m pulling Wagner units out of Bakhmut because in the absence of ammunition they’re doomed to perish senselessly.”

Wagner has been spearheading Russia‘s attempt to capture Bakhmut since last summer, in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war in Ukraine.

It was not clear if Prigozhin’s statement could be taken at face value, as he has frequently posted impulsive comments in the past. Only last week he withdrew one statement he said he had made as a “joke”.

His latest one followed an expletive-filled video published early on Friday in which Prigozhin, surrounded by dozens of corpses he said were Wagner fighters, yelled and swore at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. He said they were to blame for Wagner’s losses because they had starved it of ammunition.

Ukraine delegate punches Russian at Black Sea nations assembly in Ankara

07:51 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A Ukrainian delegate punched a Russian delegate in the face during a gathering of Black Sea nations in the Turkish capital on Thursday, after his Ukrainian flag was snatched away to stop him photobombing a video interview with Russia‘s lead delegate.

Olesandr Marikovski posted a video of himself thumping the Russian and retrieving the blue and yellow flag on his Facebook page. The incident took place in a hallway of the parliament building, where the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) assembly was being held.

Earlier in the day, some Ukrainian delegates scuffled with security officers who had tried to pull them away as they staged a protest, shouting and holding their flags next to Russia‘s lead delegate as she tried to address the assembly.

Pictures of the disturbance were posted by the Turkish parliament on its website, and Mustafa Sentop, the parliament’s head, issued a stiff rebuke.

“I condemn this behaviour that disrupts the peaceful environment that Turkey is trying to establish,” he said.

Watch: Moment fist fight erupts between Russian and Ukrainian delegates in Turkey

10:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Dramatic footage captures the moment a Ukrainian delegate punched his Russian counterpart in the face during a meeting of Black Sea nations in Turkey on Thursday, 4 May.

The brawl broke out after MP Oleksandr Marikovski unfurled the Ukrainian flag behind Russian politician Olga Timofeeva, as she was being interviewed at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC).

Earlier during the assembly, a scuffle broke out between Ukrainian and Russian delegations as Ukrainians tried to stage a protest next to Ms Timofeeva as she was due to speak.

Moment fist fight erupts between Russian and Ukrainian delegates in Turkey

Russia says high waters threaten dam near Ukrainian nuclear plant - Tass

10:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Record high water levels could overwhelm a major dam in southern Ukraine and damage parts of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, a Russian official told Tass agency on Thursday.

Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the general director of nuclear energy firm Rosenergoatom, said if the Nova Kakhovka dam did rupture, the power cable line for the Zaporizhzhia plant’s pumping stations would be flooded.

“This (would create) functional problems for the operation of the plant and risks for nuclear safety,” he told Tass.

Last November, after Russian forces withdrew from the nearby southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, satellite imagery showed significant new damage to the dam.

Both sides have accused each other of planning to breach the dam using explosives, which would flood much of the area downstream and would likely cause major destruction around Kherson.

Karchaa’s comments represent a significant contrast from those made in late March by Ukrainian officials, who said they feared the Zaporizhzhia facility could face a shortage of water to cool reactors by late summer because Russian forces had let water out of a reservoir that supplied the plant.

Russian troops took over the plant as they invaded parts of Ukraine last year. It is at the centre of a nuclear security crisis due to near-constant shelling in its vicinity which Kyiv and Moscow blame on each other.

Russia's Lavrov says Kremlin drone incident was 'hostile act'

09:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Wednesday’s drone incident at the Kremlin was a “hostile act” and Russia would respond with “concrete actions”.

Russia has accused Ukraine of firing drones at the Kremlin in an attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin, and said the United States was behind the purported attack. Ukraine has denied that, and the White House has dismissed Russian “lies”.

“It was clearly a hostile act, it is clear that the Kyiv terrorists could not have committed it without the knowledge of their masters,” Lavrov told a press conference in India.

“We will not respond by talking about ‘casus belli’ or not, we will respond with concrete actions,” he said.

“Casus belli” is a Latin term for an action that provides justification for war. Russia‘s war in Ukraine is now in its 15th month, though Moscow continues to describe it as a “special military operation”.

What’s the latest from the frontline?

09:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

* Ukrainian military command said in its Friday morning report that 18 out 24 drones launched by Russian forces had been shot down. It said the Russian military had launched 10 missile strikes on the cities of Kramatorsk and Zaporizhzhia, and also carried out 75 airstrikes and dozens of rocket attacks.

* Nearly 50 Russian attacks were repelled along the main sectors of the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Thursday evening. The heaviest fighting is still in Bakhmut and in Maryinka, further south in Donetsk region, it said.

* Reuters was not able to verify the battlefield accounts.

* Record high water levels could overwhelm a major dam in southern Ukraine and damage parts of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, a Russian official told TASS news agency.

Russia's Wagner chief Prigozhin says his forces will leave Bakhmut on May 10

09:06 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russia‘s Wagner Group mercenary force, said in a statement on Friday that his forces would leave Bakhmut on May 10.

More details to follow.

Surrounded by corpses, Wagner's Prigozhin blasts Russian defence minister in expletive-laden video

08:43 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Standing in a field of corpses, Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday published an expletive-ridden video personally blaming top defence chiefs for losses suffered by his Wagner Group fighters in Ukraine.

Prigozhin’s tirade reignited and escalated a long-running feud with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, whom he has repeatedly accused of starving his forces of ammunition.

Prigozhin appeared next to dozens of bloodied corpses that he said were those of Wagner fighters. His expletives were bleeped out in the video published by his press service.

“We have a 70% shortage of ammunition. Shoigu! Gerasimov! Where is the ******* ammunition?” he yelled into the camera.

Those responsible would go to hell, Prigozhin shouted, before saying that Wagner’s losses would be five times smaller if it was adequately supplied.

“These are Wagner lads who died today. The blood is still fresh,” Prigozhin said, pointing to the corpses around him. “They came here as volunteers and they’re dying so you can get fat in your offices.”

Prigozhin, whose Wagner Group has spearheaded Russia‘s months-long assault on the east Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, began publicly feuding with defence chiefs last year, accusing them of incompetence, and of deliberately depriving Wagner of ammunition out of personal animosity towards him.

In recently weeks, Prigozhin had refrained from public attacks on Shoigu, even as he continued to suggest that deliberate ammunition shortages had exacerbated Wagner casualty figures.

Ukrainian MP hits Russian leader in Turkey after scuffle over flag

06:54 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian leader Oleksandr Marikovski struck a Russian delegation member in a physical altercation after the latter ripped Ukraine’s flag out of his hands at a summit in Turkey yesterday.

The widely circulated video on social media shows Mr Marikovski unfurling Ukraine’s national flag behind a member of the Russian delegation in the middle of her interview. On seeing this, the Russian team member Valery Stavitsky is seen approaching Mr Marikovski and ripping the flag out of his hands and damaging it.

As he walks away, the Ukrainian MP then charges at him and lands a couple of blows on Mr Stavitsky as other people present at the spot try to intervene in the altercation.

The Russian team member is then seen being taken away from the spot.

The leaders have gathered in Turkey for a Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC).

China will promote peace talks on Ukraine crisis, says minister

06:31 , Arpan Rai

China will persist in promoting peace talks for the Ukraine crisis, and is “willing to maintain communication and coordination with Russia to make tangible contributions to the political settlement of the crisis”, China’s foreign minister Qin Gang said today.

The statement referred to Qin’s meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Goa, India.

Kyiv says destroyed own drone suffering from technical snag

05:20 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian air force says destroyed one of its own drones seen flying over Kyiv after it suffered a likely technical snag.

“On 4 May at about 8pm during a planned flight in Kyiv region, control was lost over a Baykartar TV2 drone,” the air force said in a statement on Telegram.

“As the uncontrolled flight of the drone in skies over the capital could have led to undesirable consequences, the decision was taken to use mobile fire groups. The target - destroyed!”

High waters threaten dam near Ukrainian nuclear plant, says Russia

05:01 , Arpan Rai

Record high water levels could overwhelm a major dam in southern Ukraine and damage parts of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, a Russian official said.

If the Nova Kakhovka dam ruptures, the power cable line for the Zaporizhzhia plant’s pumping stations would be flooded, said Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the general director of nuclear energy firm Rosenergoatom.

“This (would create) functional problems for the operation of the plant and risks for nuclear safety,” he told Tass.

Last November, after Russian forces withdrew from the nearby southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, satellite imagery showed significant new damage to the dam.

Russian troops took over the nuclear facility shortly after they invaded parts of Ukraine last year.

Wagner chief films dozens of his soldiers dead in a day: ‘Where the f**k is ammunition'

04:13 , Arpan Rai

Wagner group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin shared a damning video of dozens of his soldiers killed in the past 24 hours as he abused the Russian defence leaders for not providing the private military group with ammunition.

The two-minute-long video shared on the press service channel of Prigozhin in the early hours today showed him standing next to 3-4 rows of dead mercenary forces as he abused defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian chief of staff Valery Gerasimov.

Several social media accounts shared the video in which Mr Prigozhin is heard shouting: “Shoigu, Gerasimov, where the f**k is ammunition”.

He is seen flashing a light on the deceased mercenary fighters who he claimed died in just a 24-hour span yesterday, blaming their deaths on Moscow for not giving ample ammunition.

Russia unlikely to face criticism at Central Asian meeting

03:30 , Martha Mchardy

Russia is unlikely to face backlash over its war in Ukraine at an upcoming meeting of Central Asian foreign ministers and instead could flex its influence with the regional group.

The meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization ministers on Friday in India’s picturesque state of Goa is the latest avenue for the host nation to burnish its geopolitical credentials as it seeks to cement itself as a consequential global player.

Read the full story:

Russia unlikely to face criticism at Central Asian meeting

Artists to Russia: ‘Our Fire is Stronger Than Your Bombs’

02:30 , Martha Mchardy

As Ukrainian artists Jenya Polosina and Anna Ivanenko watched missiles descend on their country, the two decided to use their creativity to push back against Russia‘s invasion. Working in the early days of the war from bunkers or sometimes without electricity and water in Kyiv, they and other artists started drawing.

Some of their war posters are now on display in New Hampshire. In the exhibit entitled “Our Fire is Stronger Than Your Bombs,” posters from Ivanenko show children studying in a bomb shelter and Ukrainians fleeing the country soon after the war started. Polosina’s drawings celebrate a female gymnast and a young mathematician who were killed in missile strikes.

Artists to Russia: ‘Our Fire is Stronger Than Your Bombs’

EU wants to ramp up ammunition production to help Ukraine

01:30 , Martha Mchardy

The European Union announced fresh plans to ramp up the large-scale production of ammunition, seeking to both benefit Ukraine while the country is at war with Russia and to improve the bloc’s geopolitical credentials.

Ukraine is poised to launch a planned spring counteroffensive to recover Russian-occupied territory, but the country has burned through ammunition at a furious rate, according to analysts. Western allies have provided ammunition, and the government in Kyiv has asked them to supply much more.

“Let’s give first, let’s deliver first, what Ukraine needs immediately. Because again, we know exactly what’s happening on the ground,” Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, said.

EU wants to ramp up ammunition production to help Ukraine

Convoy taking fire vehicles and life-saving kit to Ukraine leaves Liverpool

Friday 5 May 2023 00:30 , Martha Mchardy

A convoy taking UK fire and rescue vehicles and other life-saving equipment is on its way to Ukraine.

Fire minister Chris Philp said he was “immensely proud of our continued contributions”, which included 21 fire and rescue vehicles as well as a further 8,000 pieces of equipment, with the convoy expected to arrive in Poland on Friday.

The donations will be received by the head of Ukraine’s fire and rescue service and this shipment takes contributions by England and Wales’s fire services to support Ukraine to 86 fire and rescue vehicles and more than 100,000 items of equipment.

Convoy taking fire vehicles and life-saving kit to Ukraine leaves Liverpool

Trump claims he would end war in Ukraine in one day: ‘It would be easy’

Thursday 4 May 2023 23:30 , Martha Mchardy

Donald Trump has claimed he would end the Russia-Ukraine war in “one day” if he was president.

The former president described the situation as “a disaster” as he spoke to GB News in an interview aired on Wednesday evening (3 May).

“If I were president, and I say this, I will end that war in one day, it would take 24 hours,” Mr Trump said.

“I know [Volodymyr] Zelensky well, I know [Vladimir] Putin well. I would get that ended in a period of 24 hours. It would be easy, that deal would be easy.”

Trump claims he would end war in Ukraine in one day: ‘It would be easy’

What we know about the drone attack on Kremlin

Thursday 4 May 2023 22:30 , Martha Mchardy

Viral videos of two drones exploding over the Kremlin, the residence of the president in Moscow and symbol of Russian power, have set off a frenzied cycle of claims and counterclaims, with the suggestion that Ukraine attempted to assassinate Vladimir Putin sparking both shock and skepticism.

Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out what it called a “planned terrorist act” in an attempt to eliminate Mr Putin, saying two unmanned aerial vehicles deployed in the mission were neutralised by the Kremlin’s defence systems.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has denied the allegations, saying “we don’t attack Putin” and “we fight on our territory”.

Shweta Sharma reports:

What we know about the blast Russia claims was a Putin assassination attempt

Don’t expect an end to sabotage and retribution during the war in Ukraine

Thursday 4 May 2023 22:00 , Martha Mchardy

Alongside the fighting on the frontlines there have been clandestine campaigns against both infrastructure and people, writes Kim Sengupta.

Don’t expect an end to sabotage and retribution during the Ukraine war | Kim Sengupta

Ukrainian air force says destroyed own drone

Thursday 4 May 2023 22:00 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine’s air force said on Thursday it had destroyed one of its own drones after it had begun flying out of control over Kyiv region.

“On 4th May at about 8 p.m. during a planned flight in Kyiv region, control was lost over a Baykartar TV2 drone,” the air force said in a statement on Telegram.

“As the uncontrolled flight of the drone in skies over the capital could have led to undesirable consequences, the decision was taken to use mobile fire groups. The target - destroyed!”

The statement said the drone had probably suffered a technical failure.

With Sudan, the world cannot afford another Ukraine in the making

Thursday 4 May 2023 21:30 , Martha Mchardy

Our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

Letters: The world cannot afford another Ukraine in the making

Zelensky says world has ‘historic responsibility’ to prosecute Putin for war crimes

Thursday 4 May 2023 20:30 , Martha Mchardy

Vladimir Putin has to face justice for war crimes in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has declared during a visit to The Hague – the home of International Criminal Court (ICC).

“We all want to see a different Vladimir here in The Hague, the one who deserves to be sanctioned for his criminal actions here, in the capital of international law,” the Ukrainian president said, referring to the Russian leader. “The aggressor must feel the full power of justice. This is our historical responsibility.” Mr Zelensky added that he was sure “we will see that happen when we win... And we will win”.

In March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin over the suspected deportation of children from Ukraine, a war crime. Russia, which is not a member of the ICC, has called the charges meaningless, but, the warrant does make Mr Putin’s foreign trips more difficult – with nations signed up to the court obliged to obey.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Zelensky says it is a ‘historic responsibility’ to prosecute Putin for war crimes

Russian authorities target play in latest sign of crackdown

Thursday 4 May 2023 20:19 , Martha Mchardy

Russian authorities detained artists involved in a play staged in Moscow on Thursday, demonstrating again that they are widening their crackdown on dissent.

The human rights group OVD-Info reported on Telegram that theatre director Zhenya Berkovich was detained in Moscow on a charge of justifying terrorism because of her play “Finist, the Brave Falcon.”

Her mother reported that her apartment was being searched in St. Petersburg. Playwright Svetlana Petriychuk was also detained and interrogated as a suspect in the case, according to OVD-Info. The director of the theatre that staged the play was also reported to have been questioned.

Justifying terrorism is a criminal offence in Russia, punishable by up to seven years in prison.

The Latvia-based news outlet Meduza says the play is about women who “decided to virtually marry representatives of radical Islam and go to live with them in Syria.”

Since invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has increased punishments and widened the scope of a years-old crackdown on criticism of government policies, other forms of dissent and actions that his government considers to be supporting terrorism. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Russians have been fined, jailed or fled the country because of the crackdown.

At least one drone downed in new air attack on Kyiv

Thursday 4 May 2023 20:16 , Martha Mchardy

At least one drone was downed after the fourth attack on Kyiv in as many days, officials said.

Drones attacked Kyiv on Thursday evening, subjecting residents to spasms of gunfire and explosions.

At least one drone was downed after anti-aircraft units went into action during the raid, which began just after 8 p.m. and lasted about 20 minutes.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said there had been two impacts from downed drones.

“During the last air alert, an unmanned aerial vehicle was spotted over Kyiv. The object was shot down by air defence forces,” Kyiv city military administration head Serhiy Popko said on Telegram.

Popko said a fire was brought under control in a building where the drone was brought down in Solomyanskyi district west of the city centre. He said there were no injuries.

A small fire also broke out in Pechersk district to the east.

Reuters witnesses heard gunfire and repeated heavier explosions near the city centre.

Local authorities had declared an alert for the capital and the surrounding area. Residents who had gone to air raid shelters said the drones had arrived more quickly than usual after the alerts were declared.

One witness said a drone was seen going down in an area near Dynamo soccer stadium and the bank of the Dnipro River just outside the city centre.

In pictures: Ukrainian first lady visits UK

Thursday 4 May 2023 19:30 , Martha Mchardy

US envoy to UN urges Brazil to see Ukrainian side to the war

Thursday 4 May 2023 18:57 , Martha Mchardy

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield has encouraged Brazil to include Ukraine in any efforts to negotiate an end to “Russia’s war of aggression,” she said on Thursday at the end of a visit to the South American country.

Ms Thomas-Greenfield said she expressed U.S. disappointment in Brasilia over the statements made regarding the war, referring to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s comments calling on the West to stop arming Ukraine to allow peace talks to start.

“We are not telling Brazil not to engage on peace,” the ambassador told a news conference.

“What we said is that any engagement has to take Ukraine into account, and it cannot be a negotiation based on rewarding Russia for taking territory during their unprovoked war on Ukraine,” she said.

Ms Thomas-Greenfield said she encouraged Brazilian officials to visit Ukraine and confirmed that Lula’s foreign policy adviser, Celso Amorim, plans to travel to Kyiv though he gave no date.

“My assumption is that it is going be soon,” she told reporters.

Fighting climate change, defending democracy and promoting racial equality and inclusion were on her agenda of discussions with Brazilian officials during the three-day visit that included a trip to former colonial capital Salvador in the northern state of Bahia, which she called “the heart of Black Brazil.”

The relations between the two largest democracies in the Western Hemisphere are “enduring and built on shared values,” she said.

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield recalled that at the United Nations Brazil supported an early U.N. resolution in the General Assembly condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and more recently a U.N. peace resolution.

White House denounces Kremlin 'lies' on alleged drone attack

Thursday 4 May 2023 18:43 , Martha Mchardy

The White House on Thursday dismissed Russian “lies” alleging U.S. responsibility for a purported drone attack against the Kremlin.

John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, said there still was no conclusive evidence as to the authenticity of a video showing the alleged drone attack.

Zelensky meets wounded Ukrainian soldiers in Netherlands

Thursday 4 May 2023 18:39 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky handed out watches to wounded Ukrainian soldiers at a Dutch military base on Thursday as part of his surprise visit to the Netherlands.

President Zelensky had earlier met the king and prime minister and called for a new international tribunal to be set up in The Hague to try Russia’s leadership for the crime of aggression over its invasion of Ukraine.

In his visit to the military base in Soesterberg, near Utrecht, the president met a handful of soldiers who are undergoing rehabilitation treatment in the Netherlands after suffering severe wounds in fighting against Russian forces.

He also met dozens of others who are being trained by the Dutch military, including in learning to use Patriot missile defence systems.

“Here we see what help is,” president Zelensky said at the base, where weapons and military equipment destined for use in the war are being prepared for dispatch.

“Help with weapons that protect lives, with treating soldiers, teaching them the military skills needed and with investigating Russian war crimes,” he said.

Zelensky viewed equipment including armoured howitzers, military cranes and mobile hospitals.

Dutch defence minister Kajsa Ollongren said the Netherlands will provide the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating alleged war crimes in Ukraine, with a mobile laboratory for forensic research.

It is “crucial for bringing those responsible to justice,” she said.

Air raid alert for Kyiv, gunfire and explosions in city

Thursday 4 May 2023 18:37 , Martha Mchardy

Drones attacked Kyiv on Thursday evening, subjecting residents to spasms of gunfire and explosions in the fourth attack on the capital in as many days.

Reuters witnesses heard gunfire and repeated heavier explosions near the city centre just after 8 p.m.

One witness said a drone was seen going down in an area near Dynamo soccer stadium and the bank of the Dnipro River - just outside the city centre.

Local authorities declared an alert for both the capital and the surrounding area and anti-aircraft units went into operation.

The gunfire and explosions went on for about 20 minutes.

In pictures: Ukrainian first lady visits No. 10

Thursday 4 May 2023 18:30 , Martha Mchardy

Watch live as Ukraine’s first lady arrives at No 10 for meeting with Akshata Murty Oliver Browning 2 hours ago 1

Thursday 4 May 2023 17:46 , Martha Mchardy

Watch live as Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska arrives at Downing Street for a meeting with Akshata Murty, the wife of Rishi Sunak.

The pair previously met in London back in November 2022 and they exchanged a hug before walking inside No 10.

Ms Zelenska’s arrival on Thursday (4 May) comes after Russia claimed Ukraine was involved in a drone attack on the Kremlin that was intended to kill Vladimir Putin.

Watch live as Ukraine’s first lady arrives at No 10 for meeting with Akshata Murty

Ukraine says it's seized $280 million of exiled billionaire's assets

Thursday 4 May 2023 17:32 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine has seized assets worth more than $280 million belonging to an exiled billionaire it accuses of aiding Russia, Ukraine’s domestic security service said on Thursday.

It is the second time this year that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has announced the seizure of property belonging to billionaire Vadym Novynskyi. It said in April that it had seized assets of his worth around $96 million.

Representatives for Novynskyi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the previous property seizure last month they said the seized assets no longer belonged to Novynskyi, and described him as a Ukrainian patriot.

His representatives have previously denied the accusation that Novynskyi has aided Russia.

The SBU said in a statement that it had seized assets worth more than 10.5 billion hryvnias ($284.40 million), including the Ochakiv seaport in southern Ukraine.

Kyiv imposed sanctions on Novynskyi in December along with several leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a minority church accused by Kyiv of retaining deep ties to Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The billionaire is a prominent supporter of the church, which says it severed all links to Russia last year and that it is the victim of a political witch hunt.

US ambassador to UN discusses Ukraine war in trip to Brazil

Thursday 4 May 2023 17:20 , Martha Mchardy

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday she had discussed the war between Ukraine and Russia in a trip to Brazil, adding that peace negotiations could “not be based on rewarding Russia”.

Thomas-Greenfield said Brazil’s top foreign policy advisor Celso Amorim will “soon” visit Ukraine and that relations between the United States and the South American country were “enduring and built on shared values”

US envoy to Russia visits detained American Paul Whelan in prison

Thursday 4 May 2023 17:06 , Martha Mchardy

The U.S. ambassador to Russia visited detained American citizen Paul Whelan in prison in Russia, the U.S. embassy said.

Ambassador Lynne Tracy visited Mr Whelan on Thursday in prison in Mordovia in eastern Russia.

“Paul has been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than 4 years, and his release remains an absolute priority. The U.S. government will continue to engage Russian authorities on his case so Paul can come home as soon as possible,” the embassy said in a tweet.

Mr Whelan, a former U.S. marine, was arrested in December 2018, held for 18 months in Lefortovo prison in Moscow and jailed for 16 years in June 2020 on spying charges. He has denied the accusations.

The United States has designated Mr Whelan as “wrongfully detained”, a term that effectively says the charges are bogus and the case is politically driven.

Ukraine hopes to protect Kyiv with Israeli alert system by summer

Thursday 4 May 2023 17:00 , Martha Mchardy

An Israeli-designed missile detection system that would give Ukrainians more time to take shelter from Russian missile attacks is being tested in Kyiv and may be activated within two months, Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel said on Thursday.

Israel, which has been honing its own air defences since coming under Iraqi Scud salvoes in the 1991 Gulf war, agreed to share technologies with Ukraine last year even though it held off on meeting Kyiv’s requests for weaponry.

One of those requests had been for the Iron Dome, a short-range interceptor that Israel regularly uses to shoot down rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

Mindful of their government’s efforts to maintain good relations with Moscow, Israeli officials have not provided details on the detection system being developed for the Ukrainians.

Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk said the system, fed with data from Ukrainian radars, is now being tested in the capital.

“It allows for identifying the different objects, including ballistic missiles, and calculates where they will go and basically that allows us to close certain parts of the country rather than the whole country,” he told Reuters, referring to the air-shelter orders current being issued when under attack.

When complete, the system will warn residents of areas about to be struck by Russian missiles or drones, either by sounding sirens nearby or with alerts on cellphones, he said.

The system would allow more precisely tailored messages that would sound the alarms in individual neighbourhoods under threat. “It will allow us to close Kyiv sectorially,” Korniychuk said.

“Some residents will be told on their phones how much time they have to jump into their shelter, while in other parts of Kyiv people will be able to sit and have coffee.

“What I know from our experts is that they have already started work and I do hope that, in accordance with our internal schedule, it will take another month or two to get it working in Kyiv,” he said, adding that five other cities would follow.

The account appeared to track with the missile detection system used in Israel, which, according to one official, divides the country into around 1,700 zones, with Tel Aviv and Jerusalem subdivided into four or five zones each.

The alerts, delivered over cellphone, automatic loudhailers and websites, give “times to shelter” in accordance with the distance of the target to the source of the launch, the official said. The shortest is 15 seconds, the longest three minutes.

The alerts appear on the cellphones of Israelis who download the relevant military app - but only if they are in the impact zone. The app does not otherwise track users’ cellphones and is only activated if they happen to be in the impact zone.

Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutors detain Odesa mayor

Thursday 4 May 2023 16:30 , Martha Mchardy

The mayor of Odesa has been detained by Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutors after being under investigation since 2017.

Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutors said on Thursday that Odesa mayor Hennadii Trukhanov had been detained in connection with an investigation into suspected corruption. Trukhanov was elected mayor of the Black Sea port city in 2014 and has been under investigation since 2017 over embezzlement allegations which he has denied.

The prosecutors said on the Telegram messaging app that Trukhanov was set to be detained for 60 days for failing to pay 30.866 million hryvnias ($836,590.32) in bail.

Trukhanov faces charges of embezzling 92 million hryvnias. He was acquitted of the charges in 2018 but an investigation into the purchase of an administrative building in an old industrial factory in Odesa was reopened in 2021.

Russia ‘very unlikely' to use nuclear weapons, US intel chief claims

Thursday 4 May 2023 16:26 , Martha Mchardy

Russia is very unlikely to use its nuclear weapons, the top U.S. intelligence official said on Thursday, suggesting restraint by Moscow even as it takes heavy casualties in the war in Ukraine.

“It’s very unlikely, is our current assessment,” Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Donald Trump claims he could end war in Ukraine in a day if re-elected to White House

Thursday 4 May 2023 16:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Donald Trump said he would be able to end the war in Ukraine in a single day if re-elected president.

In an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News, the former White House resident said he “got along great” with Russian president Vladimir Putin and criticised Joe Biden’s handling of the war in Ukraine.

He said: “If I were president, I [would] end that war in one day. It’ll take 24 hours. I will get that ended. It would be easy.

“That deal would be easy. A lot of it has to do with the money. That war has to be stopped. It is a disaster.”

Liam James reports:

Donald Trump claims he could end war in Ukraine in a day if re-elected to White House

Dutch PM says talks on F-16s for Ukraine progressing

Thursday 4 May 2023 15:42 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Talks on a potential donation of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine are progressing, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Thursday during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to The Hague, but no decision has been made.

Answering a question at a press conference alongside Zelenskiy and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Rutte said “On the F-16’s: no taboos.”

“We are working closely with our partners Belgium, others, UK, Denmark, on getting that debate somehow to a conclusion. We are not there yet,” he said.

Earlier this week in Helsinki, Finland, Zelenskiy renewed his requests for the West to supply Kyiv with modern fighter jets and added he was “sure we will soon have aircraft”.

Rutte has previously said the Netherlands would consider any kind of military support for Ukraine as long as it would not trigger open conflict between NATO and Russia.

He said on Thursday said that discussions on F-16s would “take time” as did previous discussions on donating Leopard 2 tanks and armoured howitzers.

“But at this moment the panzer-howitzers are in Ukraine, (and) the Leo 2s are being delivered to Ukraine,” he noted. “So we will work on this diligently, on the F-16s, and clearly there is support in parliament for this government to work on that.”