Ukraine war latest: Ukraine 'destroys Russian Black Sea minesweeper' (2024)

This week kicks off with all eyes on northeastern Ukraine, after Russia opened a second front when it invaded across the border from the Belgorod region into the Kharkiv region.

Our coverage remains paused today, but you can find an overview of the war as it stands below.

Second front

Russian forces have advanced between five and 10km into the Kharkiv region, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Moscow is prioritising the seizure of Vovchansk -the largest settlement near the border - said the Institute of the Study of War, which could provide Russian forces with a staging ground to launch a second phase of the offensive.

The objectives of this phase are unclear, but Russian officials have previously identifiedLyptsi as a target.

Vladimir Putin has claimed capturing the city of Kharkiv is not part of the plan, but a former Ukrainian president said he cannot be trusted.

The offensive has been deadly for civilians - with 10 people killed in Russian strikes on Sunday, local governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Russian forces have also captured 40 civilians from a town in Kharkiv, the head of the investigative department of the Kharkiv regional police, Serhii Bolvinov, said.

Meanwhile, anti-Putin Russian paramilitary soldiers have joined Ukrainian troops to defend the new frontier.

Crimea

The Black Sea and the occupied Crimean peninsula remain targets for Ukrainian forces.

They attacked Belbek airfield on Tuesday, destroying elements of an air defence missile battery, including a radar system and launchers.

This comes after three successful attacks between 16 April and 12 May, the UK defence ministry said.

Ukrainian Defence Forces also destroyed a Black Sea fleet minesweeper, the Ukrainian navy said.

Elsewhere on the frontline

Ukrainian troops reported the war was entering a critical phase and they remain desperate for ammunition.

Colonel Pavlo Palisa, fighting near Chasiv Yar, said Russia was preparing for a major push to break Ukrainian lines in the east.

Ukrainian gun commander Oleksandr Kozachenko said his unit's US-supplied howitzer, which once hurled 100 shells a day, is now reduced to fewer than 10.

Beyond the battlefield

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the French president's call for a truce between Russia and Ukraine during the Paris Olympics, saying it could give Russia the upper hand.
• Poland said it would invest £2bn to make its eastern border "impossible to pass for a potential enemy", prime minister Donald Tusk said.
• Russia's ambassador to the UK said the UK was a de facto participant in the war. Moscow said it saw the US and UK as responsible for recent attacks on Russian soil because they were allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons against targets there.

Putin in China

The Russian president was in Beijing last week, meeting leaderXi Jinping.

They agreed to expand military drills, warned against the risk of nuclear conflict and talked up the idea of weakening the West.

The pair signed an agreement for "new era" strategic cooperation, criticising the US and marking support for Russia's "sovereignty and territorial integrity".

We're pausing our coverage of the Ukraine war for the moment.

Scroll through the blog below to catch up on today's developments.

Russian forces likely intend to launch the second phase of their offensive following their anticipated seizure of Vovchansk, three miles from the Russian border, according to the latest analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that Russian forces advanced between five and 10 kilometres in the northern Kharkiv region before Ukrainian forces stopped Russian advances.

The ISW says Russian forces are currently prioritising the seizure of Vovchansk because it is likely one of the remaining tactical objectives of the first phase, noting it is the largest settlement immediately on the border that would provide Russian forces with a staging ground to prepare for and launch the second phase.

The Russian objectives of the second phase are not yet clear, the ISW says. It could be to expand the "buffer zone" further in width along the border, or to advance closer to Kharkiv city.

Russian forces have also recently intensified efforts to seize the operationally significant town of Chasiv Yar, the ISW says, seeking to exploit the pressure on stretched Ukrainian forces.

The number of people killed in Russian strikes on a Kharkiv recreation area has risen from five to six, with an employee of the resort still unaccounted for.

At least 27 people were injured in the two airstrikes, which came about 20 minutes apart, according to an update from the Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office on Telegram.

The missing employee was fishing by a reservoir when the attack happened, the update said.

Two police officers are among the injured, it added.

The UK's defence secretary has confirmed the military aid that has been "rushed" to Ukraine.

Grant Shapps said the "world cannot wait" as he urged nations to "step up" and support Kyiv's fight against Russia.

Among the items sent by the UK are 80 defence missiles, one million rounds of ammunition and 20 Viking amphibious protected vehicles.

Mr Shapps' tweet comes after he urged allies to give permission to Ukraine to use the weapons they have supplied against targets in Russian-annexed Crimea.

"We have been very, very clear with the world and helpful to Ukraine - for example, providing permissions for our weapons to be used throughout the whole of Ukraine ... that includes Crimea, which was taken by Putin in 2014," he told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg:

"Now, we do not get into how we would allow targeting with our weapons to be used outside of that. But we do provide our weapons to Ukraine in order for them to defend their country."

Pressed on Volodymyr Zelensky's calls for weapons to be available for strikes inside Russia, Mr Shapps said: "I can't go into the specifics of those private conversations about how the weapons are precisely used."

Finland will propose a law that would see it turn back migrants to Russia withoutprocessing their asylum applications - despite this potentially breaching its international human rights commitments.

Finland shut its border with Russia last year to stop a growingnumber of arrivals from countries including Syria and Somalia.

It accused Moscow of weaponising migration against Finland and theEuropean Union, an assertion the Kremlin denies.

"As this phenomenon is in Russia's hands - who comes, wherefrom and when, to Finland's border - we cannot permit it," Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters.

"Therefore we have to augment our legislation."

The bill would allow border authorities to turn back asylumseekers who cross from Russia, with or without using force. Butit would not apply to children and disabled people.

The proposal will go toparliament next week, where it will be submitted to theconstitutional committee for review.It will need five-sixths of votes cast in parliament to pass- the high bar required for constitutional matters - and successis not certain.

The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces have published their daily operational update...

It says "intense" fighting is ongoing along almost the entire frontline, with 78 "combat clashes" already today, compared to 110 for the entirety of yesterday.

The Russian forces became increasingly active on the Kharkiv front, with seven clashes reported so far today.

The situation in Kharkiv is "dynamic", it says, with Russian troops trying to push back the Ukrainian units near Vovchansk, Starytsia and Lyptsi.

Russia said on Saturday its forces had captured the villageof Starytsia, bringing the total number of villages it has taken in the Kharkiv region to 13.

Russia has been pushing ahead with a ground offensive in recent days that opened a new front in northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region and put further pressure on Kyiv's overstretched military.

Russian forces have also increased their activity on theSiverskfront andare attempting to break through Ukrainian defences in Bilohorivka, Verkhnokamianske and Rozdolivka, the update says.

Oleksandr Usyk defeated British boxing star Tyson Fury to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world on Saturday night.

But Fury says the outcome was down to the Ukraine war.

He disputed his loss after the match, saying: "I believe I won that fight. I think he won a few rounds but I won the majority of them.

"His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war. Make no mistake, I won that fight in my opinion."

In response, Ukrainian Usyk said he was "ready for rematch," but later added: "I don't think about rematch now, I want to rest."

After today's attacks President Volodymyr Zelenskyy againcalled on Western allies to supply Kyiv with additional airdefence systems to protect Kharkiv and other cities.

He said there were reports "every hour" of fresh attacks.

"Missiles, bombs, artillery are the only things that allow Russia to continue its aggression," he said on Telegram.

"The world can stop Russian terror - and to do so, the lackof political will among leaders must be overcome."

"Two Patriots for Kharkiv will make a fundamentaldifference," he said, referring to Patriot missile defencesystems.

Air defence systems for other cities and sufficientsupport for soldiers on the front line would ensure Russia'sdefeat, the president added.

This morning, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the delay in giving aid to Ukraine gave Russia a window of opportunity for its new offensive.

Five people have died in strikes on two villages in the Kupiansk district in Kharkiv, local officials say.

It brings the number of people killed in the Kharkiv region today to 10, after five people died in strikes on a recreation area in a northern suburb of the city of Kharkiv.

Local governor Oleh Syniehubov said Russian forces shelledtwo villages with a self-propelled multiplerocket launcher.

At least nine people were injured in the attacks.