Russia-Ukraine war latest: explosions shake Kyiv; Ukraine counterattacks have blunted Russian gains, says UK – live

Ukraine counterattacks blunt Russian momentum, says UK defence ministry

Britain’s Ministry of Defence says Ukraine has counterattacked in the contested city of Sievierodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, “blunting the operational momentum Russian forces previously gained through concentrating combat units and firepower”.

The intelligence report backs up claims by Ukrainian officials on Saturday that their forces had recaptured parts of the city.

The MoD said on Sunday morning:

Over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have counterattacked in the contested city of Sieverodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, likely blunting the operational momentum Russian forces previously gained through concentrating combat units and firepower.

https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1533319150172524559

An update on the explosions that shook Kyiv in the early hours of this morning – Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said that so far there have been no deaths reported. The mayor said on Telegram on Sunday morning:

Friends! Regarding the morning explosions in Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi districts of the capital. There are currently no casualties from missile strikes on infrastructure. One victim was hospitalized. Services are still working in the affected areas

This morning, Kyiv Regional Military Administration said that as well as the missiles that hit, one “enemy missile was shot down over Obukhiv district by air defense forces”. It asked residents to remain in shelters during air raids.

Ukraine counterattacks blunt Russian momentum, says UK defence ministry

Britain’s Ministry of Defence says Ukraine has counterattacked in the contested city of Sievierodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, “blunting the operational momentum Russian forces previously gained through concentrating combat units and firepower”.

The intelligence report backs up claims by Ukrainian officials on Saturday that their forces had recaptured parts of the city.

The MoD said on Sunday morning:

Over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have counterattacked in the contested city of Sieverodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, likely blunting the operational momentum Russian forces previously gained through concentrating combat units and firepower.

https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1533319150172524559

Explosions shake Kyiv, says mayor

Several explosions shook the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

“Several explosions in Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi districts of the capital,” Klitschko wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “Services are already working on site. More detailed information – later.”

A Reuters witness saw smoke in the city after the explosions.

Air raid sirens had gone off earlier across much of Ukraine, including in the Kyiv region

Welcome

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

If you’re just waking up, or just dropping in to find the latest information, here’s a summary of the main points of the past few hours.

  • Powerful explosions were heard early on Sunday in Kyiv, a Reuters witness said. Smoke was seen in the Ukrainian capital following the explosions. Earlier, air raid sirens were going off across much of Ukraine, including in the Kyiv region.
  • Ukrainian forces have been managing to push back against Russian troops in fierce fighting in Sievierodonetsk despite Moscow “throwing all its power” into capturing the key eastern city, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday. In an interview aired online, the Luhansk regional governor, Sergiy Gaiday, said the Russian army has taken control over most of Sievierodonetsk, but that Ukrainian forces were still pushing them back.
  • But the Russian army claimed some Ukrainian military units have been withdrawing from Sievierodonetsk. “Some units of the Ukrainian army, having suffered critical losses during fighting for Sievierodonetsk, are pulling out towards Lysychansk”, Sievierodonetsk’s twin city, which sits just across a river, the defence ministry said in a statement.
  • The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has said Moscow’s anti-aircraft forces have shot down dozens of Ukrainian weapons and are “cracking them like nuts”, in an interview that aired on Saturday. According to Reuters, Russian news agency RIA, which first cited the comments, quoted Putin as responding to a question about US-supplied arms by saying Russia was coping easily and had already destroyed the weapons by the dozen.
  • Kyiv has rebuked the French president, Emmanuel Macron, for saying it was important not to “humiliate Russia”. The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted in response: “Calls to avoid humiliation of Russia can only humiliate France and every other country that would call for it. Because it is Russia that humiliates itself. We all better focus on how to put Russia in its place. This will bring peace and save lives.”
  • Western sanctions would not have an effect on Russia’s oil exports, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said. Lavrov also predicted a significant increase in profits from energy shipments this year, Russian news agency Tass reported.
  • A EU decision to extend sanctions against Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko to his wife is “irrational” because she has never held Russian citizenship or resided in Russia, a representative for the couple said. The EU sanctioned Melnichenko’s wife on Friday as part of a sixth round of sanctions against Russia for waging a war against Ukraine.
  • Negotiations with Russia will only resume after new weapons arrive from the west and Ukraine’s position is “strengthened”, said David Arakhamia, a member of Ukraine’s negotiation group with Russia. Another negotiator, Mykhailo Podolyak, said there was no point in talks with Russia until Moscow’s forces are pushed back as far as possible towards Ukraine’s borders.
  • Ukraine’s intelligence services are in communication with hundreds of captured Azovstal steelworks fighters and Kyiv is doing all it can to ensure their release, according to Ukraine’s interior minister, Denys Monastyrskiy. Ukraine wants the fighters to be returned in a prisoner swap. However, some Russian officials have said forces could be tried or executed.
  • The US expressed support for international investigations into war crimes committed in Ukraine, the US embassy in Kyiv announced. “Those responsible for war crimes – including direct perpetrators and those who ordered them – must face justice,” the embassy tweeted on Saturday.
  • A famous monastery in eastern Ukraine, Svyatohirsk Lavra, caught fire after it was hit by Russian shelling. The monastery is affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, which is run by Putin’s ally Patriarch Kirill. There were reports that four monks were killed as a result of the attack .
  • The Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, and other officials commemorated 261 children killed by the Russian war against Ukraine by hanging bells near St Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. The bells symbolise the voices of killed children, Euromaidan Press reported.

source: theguardian.com