Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:
– Kyiv hit as UN chief visits –
Russia confirms it carried out an air strike on Kyiv, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the Ukrainian capital.
The Russian defence ministry says “high-precision, long-range air-based weapons… destroyed the production buildings of the Artyom missile and space enterprise in Kyiv.”
The city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says at least one person died and four were injured in Thursday’s strike. US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty says its journalist and producer Vera Gyrych died when a Russian missile hit the building where she lived.
Guterres and his team are unhurt. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the strikes are part of Russian attempts to humiliate the United Nations. Germany calls the strike “inhumane”.
– American killed, two UK aid workers ‘captured’ –
The US Defense Department warns Americans against going to Ukraine to join the fight against Russia’s invasion after a former marine was killed.
Willy Joseph Cancel’s mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN her 22-year-old son was killed on Monday in Ukraine while working with a private military contractor, having travelled there in mid-March.
And two British men working as aid volunteers in Ukraine have been taken captive by Russian forces on suspicion they are “spies”, according to Presidium Network, a humanitarian organisation.
– Mariupol plant evacuation to start –
The Ukrainian presidency says plans are in place to evacuate civilians on Friday from the besieged Azovstal steel plant where Ukrainian forces and civilians are encircled by Russian troops in the southern city of Mariupol.
Russia last week said it had gained full control of the strategic port city, except for the huge industrial area.
President Vladimir Putin ordered a blockade of the steelworks, where hundreds of civilians are sheltering with Ukrainian troops, according to Kyiv.
In an early morning statement on Telegram, defenders of the factory there said shelling had struck a field hospital inside the plant, causing it to collapse and killing some already wounded servicemen.
– Putin, Zelensky invited to G20 summit –
Putin will attend the G20 summit in November and Zelensky has also been invited, President Joko Widodo of host nation Indonesia says.
His announcement suggests a compromise had been reached following Western pressure to bar Russia from the event in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
– British exercises in Europe –
The UK government says it is deploying about 8,000 troops for exercises across eastern Europe in a show of strength after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Britain is deploying 72 Challenger 2 tanks and 120 armoured fighting vehicles along with artillery guns, helicopters and drones for the exercises, some of which are already underway.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace calls it “one of the largest shared deployments since the Cold War”.
– Russia pays debt in dollars –
Russia’s finance ministry says it has completed payments on two dollar-denominated bonds amid mounting fears that the sanctions-hit country may be forced to default on its foreign debt.
In early April, Moscow had attempted to make payments on these bonds in rubles after the United States barred Russia from making debt payments using dollars held by American banks in the wake of the Ukraine conflict
– Ukrainian grain exports resume –
A ship loaded with 70,000 tonnes of Ukrainian corn leaves a Romanian Black Sea port, allowing Kyiv to dodge a Russian blockade of its key grain exports.
Romania made the port of Constanta available to Ukraine after the country’s ports were effectively cut off from the world in the wake of Russia’s invasion. The ship’s destination was not immediately revealed.
– 13 million uprooted –
More than 5.4 million Ukrainians have fled their country since Russia invaded two months ago, with tens of thousands joining their ranks every day, the United Nations says.
Beyond the refugees, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates more than 7.7 million people have been displaced within Ukraine, meaning that more than 13 million people overall have been uprooted by the conflict.
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