Russia-Ukraine live news: Zelenskyy says situation ‘difficult’ | Russia-Ukraine
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says conditions in Kharkiv and Donbas are difficult and Ukraine is in “the fight for our lives”.
- An operation to evacuate civilians trapped in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant has stalled, as the situation inside the plant remains “dire”.
- Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told Chinese state media that in peace talks with Ukraine, Russia has called for sanctions to be lifted.
- The US defence department has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “brutality” and “depravity” in his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Here are the latest updates:
Russia expects trade with China to reach $200bn by 2024
Russia’s foreign ministry said it expected commodity flows with China to grow and trade with Beijing to reach $200 billion by 2024, the Interfax news agency reported, as Moscow looks east in the face of growing western isolation.
The ministry said Chinese companies must be wary of the risk secondary sanctions pose, but said Beijing was ready to expand its cooperation with Moscow, Interfax reported.
Russia hit Kharkiv region overnight: local authority
Kharkiv’s regional governor, Oleg Synegubov, has given on social media an update on the overnight shelling in the region:
- Russian artillery continued, hitting the eastern residential area of Saltivka.
- One person was injured.
- Ukrainian forces pushed back a Russian attempt to advance near the villages Sulyhivka and Dovhenke.
Russia says strategic stability dialogue with US formally ‘frozen’
Dialogue between Moscow and Washington on strategic stability is formally “frozen”, the TASS news agency cited a Russian foreign ministry official as saying.
Vladimir Yermakov, head of nuclear non-proliferation and controls at the foreign ministry, told TASS those contacts could be resumed once what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine was complete.
Shelling continues in Luhansk region: SES
Russian shelling hit overnight the towns of Orikhovo, Rubizhne and Novodruzhesk in the eastern Luhansk region, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) has said.
“Numerous fires of residential buildings occurred in Rubizhne and Novodruzhsk,” it said on social media, adding that there were “possible victims”.
SES also said that 15 houses in Gorsky and Orikhovo where destroyed.
Nearly 390 Ukrainian targets hit overnight: Russian ministry
Russia’s ministry of defense said it has hit overnight 389 Ukrainian targets, including 35 control points,
169 areas where Ukrainian soldiers and military equipment were concentrated, Interfax news agency reported.
It added that 15 arms and ammunition depots and four military facilities were destroyed.
Poland’s PGNiG says gas flowing after Russia cut off
Poland’s biggest gas company PGNiG said that it had started delivering gas to 10 different towns and regions across Poland that had had their gas cut off earlier in the week.
The move comes a day after PGNiG said its two subsidiaries – Polska Spolka Gazownictwa and PGNiG Obrot Detaliczny – would provide gas to customers in areas affected by a halt in deliveries from Russian company Novatek Green Energy.
Several towns across Poland had their gas supplies cut by the Russian-owned supplier hit by sanctions.
Shelling in Russia’s Bryansk hits parts of oil terminal: regional governor
Two strikes hit the Russian village of Zhecha in Starodubsky district, Bryansk regional governor Alexander Bogomaz has said on his telegram channel.
The shelling struck parts of an oil terminal and the surrounding area, he said, adding that there were no victims.
The incident took place at 6.50am local time (3.50am GMT), Bogomaz said, as Russian air defence prevented an Ukrainian aircraft from entering the Bryansk region.
Ukraine says Russia stole ‘several hundred thousand tonnes’ of grain
Russian forces have stolen “several hundred thousand tonnes” of grain in the areas of Ukraine they occupy, Ukraine’s deputy agriculture minister has said.
Speaking to Ukrainian national TV, Taras Vysotskiy expressed concern that most of what he said was 1.5 million tonnes of grain stored in occupied territory could also be stolen by Russian forces.
Russia forced to merge, redeploy depleted units: UK
Britain says Russia has been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate units from failed advances in northeast Ukraine.
“Shortcomings in Russian tactical coordination remain. A lack of unit-level skills and inconsistent air support have left Russia unable to fully leverage its…
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