Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has alleged that Great Britain is behind the recruitment of mercenaries for the war in Ukraine via the Adzuna job search portal.

In a comment on the Foreign Ministry website, Zakharova said Adzuna is a private company and, therefore, it solely bears responsibility for all content published on its website.

"At the same time, there is no doubt that British intelligence services are most likely behind this action. They are ready to pay large fees for hiring 'soldiers of fortune' for Ukraine at the expense of taxpayers of their own country," she said.

Zakharova said London has long used mercenaries to support Ukraine, noting former prime minister Liz Truss' remarks who replied, "absolutely" when asked if she would support anyone wanting to fight in Ukraine.

"In this regard, we have to remind you again that any armed activity against Russian servicemen will be immediately suppressed, and groups of foreign mercenaries and 'volunteers' will be destroyed," said Zakharova.

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1900 GMT — Death, injuries as Ukraine strikes Russian centre for displaced

One person has been killed and two others wounded in a Ukrainian bombardment on a centre for displaced people in Russia's border region of Belgorod, the regional governor said.

"Ukrainian armed forces fired artillery at a centre for displaced people housing elderly civilians and children... a security guard was killed and two people were injured," the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

1822 GMT — Burundi sticks to Ukraine neutrality as Russia's top diplomat visits

Burundi's foreign minister has reiterated that his country would not take sides in Russia's offensive against Ukraine, after a visit from Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his latest trip to drum up African support against Kiev.

"We have taken a position of abstainment, of neutrality and non-alignment, so that this conflict doesn't spread to other regions, in particular Africa," Burundi's foreign minister Albert Shingiro said at a press conference alongside Lavrov. "Nobody can win this war," he added.

"We fully appreciate Burundi's balanced and responsible position, and above all the fact that Burundi fully understands the root causes of this conflict," said Lavrov.

Burundi is among 22 of the 54 African Union nations that abstained in a February vote at the United Nations calling on Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine, with two countries, Mali and Eritrea, voting against the resolution.

1745 GMT — European leaders head to Moldova for symbolic summit on Ukraine's doorstep

More than 40 European leaders are set to meet in Moldova on Thursday in a show of support for the former Soviet republic and neighbouring Ukraine as Kiev prepares to launch a counter-offensive against the Russian forces.

The gathering of the EU's 27 member states and 20 other European countries at a castle deep in Moldovan wine country will touch on a range of strategic issues and launch a new EU partnership mission in the country. But the focus will be on a symbolic show of unity on Ukraine's doorstep.

"If you sit in Moscow and see 47 countries in your immediate or close neighbourhood meeting together, that's an important message," an EU official told reporters ahead of the summit, which takes place 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of the capital Chisinau.

1735 GMT — Ukraine's economy shows 'resilience' from Russian attacks: IMF

Ukraine's economy is showing “remarkable resilience” following Russian attacks on its electricity infrastructure, officials from the International Monetary Fund have said as they signed off on an initial loan of $900 million and raised their estimate for the country’s economic growth.

The outlook improved to 1 percent to 3 percent growth this year from an earlier assessment in March, said Gavin Gray, the IMF's mission chief to Ukraine.

Inflation is coming down and the hryvna currency is stable despite the massive disruption of the conflict, Gray said. But he warned that the economic outlook faces “exceptionally high risks.”

1544 GMT — US does not support attacks inside Russia: State Department

The US is still gathering information on drone strikes that hit the Russian capital earlier, but stressed it does not support Ukraine attacking Russian territory, a State Department spokesperson has said.

"We have been focused on providing Ukraine with the equipment and training they need to retake their own sovereign territory, and that’s exactly what we’ve done," the spokesperson said on condition of anonymity.

They also emphasised that Tuesday marked May's 17th round of Russian air strikes on the Ukrainian capital, "many of which have devastated civilian areas, as Russia continues its brutal attacks against the people of Ukraine."

"Russia started this unprovoked war against Ukraine. Russia could end it at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine instead of launching brutal attacks against Ukraine’s cities and people every day," the spokesperson added.

1501 GMT — More than 1,000 attacks on Ukraine health care system: WHO

More than 1,000 attacks on health care systems in Ukraine have been recorded since the start of the Russian offensive, more than in any other humanitarian emergency, the World Health Organization's European region office said.

"The 1,004 WHO-verified attacks over the past 15 months of full-scale war have claimed at least 101 lives, including both health workers and patients, and injured many more," the WHO said. The attacks reportedly impacted health providers, supplies, facilities and transport, including ambulances.

"Attacks on health care are a violation of international humanitarian law. They deprive people of the care they need and have wide-ranging, long-term consequences," said the WHO representative in Ukraine Jarno Habicht.

1404 GMT — Kiev seeks guarantees Black Sea grain deal will work

Ukraine seeks guarantees from Moscow and the United Nations that a deal on the safe export of Black Sea grain will work normally if Kiev allows Russian ammonia to transit Ukrainian territory.

Russia agreed to a two-month extension of the deal this month, but has said the initiative will cease unless an agreement aimed at overcoming obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports is fulfilled, including the resumption of the transit of ammonia from Russia via Ukrainian territory.

"We do not understand now - does the ammonia pipeline itself solve something or not? If it does not solve anything by itself, then there is no dialogue," Yuriy Vaskov, Ukraine's deputy renovation minister, told a grain conference.

"If it (ammonia) is a key issue, then they, the UN, must clearly say that if the ammonia pipeline resumes working, then Ukraine will have such opportunities (to export grain in a normal way) and then our top political leadership will decide whether it is in our interests or not."

1400 GMT — First IMF review of Ukraine loan facility paves way for $900M payout

An International Monetary Fund mission has completed its first review of a $15.6 billion loan programme for Ukraine and the country has met the required conditions, paving the way for a payout of around $900 million, the IMF said.

IMF staff have also raised their forecast for Ukraine's economic growth this year to a range entirely in the positive territory from a previous prediction that was between -3 percent and +1 percent, the IMF said in a statement on the review of the four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement approved in March.

"IMF staff and the Ukrainian authorities have reached staff-level agreement on the first review of the EFF. The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, with Board consideration expected in the coming weeks," the IMF said in its statement.

1315 GMT — Scholz condemns Russian strikes on Ukraine 'civilian targets'

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has slammed fresh Russian strikes on "Ukrainian civilian targets" in a call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his office said in a statement.

Scholz "condemns the latest Russian air raids on Ukrainian civilian targets and underlines our steadfast solidarity with Ukraine in the face of the Russian Federation's aggression," said the statement.

There was no mention of unprecedented drone strikes on residential buildings in Moscow.

1312 GMT — Ukrainian minister urges Britain, Germany to send Eurofighter jets

Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has demanded that Germany and Britain send his country Eurofighter Typhoon jets to combat Russian air attacks in an interview published by the Funke media group.

Germany and Britain have so far declined to send jets, saying they do not have the F-16s that Ukraine wants. They say the time required to train pilots and the substantial support crews needed to send their Eurofighter Typhoon jets meant they would be of little immediate use.

Reznikov, however, said these could also be helpful in Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion. "If Britain and Germany were to combine their Eurofighter supply capabilities, that would be an important step," he was quoted as saying.

1300 GMT — Russia gives passports to 1.5M people in annexed Ukraine

Russia has given passports to almost 1.5 million people living in the annexed parts of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions since last October, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.

Moscow claimed the four Ukrainian regions as its own last September, seven months after it launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour. It does not fully control any of the regions, and the annexations are not recognised internationally.

"Since last October, almost 1.5 million people from the new regions have received a Russian passport," Mishustin told a government meeting. Russian officials call the four territories "the new regions".

1201 GMT — Russia's Lavrov accuses West of 'supporting genocide' in Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the West of "supporting genocide" in Ukraine through its backing for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's peace plan, which he claimed would "destroy everything Russian" in east Ukraine and Crimea.

Lavrov, speaking during a trip to Africa, did not offer evidence to support his claim. Russia has long accused the West of ignoring what it says is Ukrainian persecution of Russian language speakers in the eastern Donbass region and elsewhere.

"The conclusion is very simple - the West directly supports genocide," Lavrov said.

Zelenskyy's peace plan envisages the withdrawal of Russian forces from all Ukrainian territory, including the Crimea peninsula, which Moscow forcibly annexed in 2014.

1116 GMT — Stoltenberg: No sign of Ukraine aid fatigue

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said he saw no signs of aid fatigue among Western democracies regarding supporting Ukraine.

The bloc's foreign ministers will seek to narrow divisions over Ukraine's membership bid at a meeting in Oslo this week, with allies at odds over calls to grant Kiev a road map to accession at their July summit.

NATO has not acceded to Ukraine's request for fast-track membership as Western governments such as the US and Germany are wary of moves that they fear could take the alliance closer to entering an active war with Russia.

1056 GMT — South Africa faces legal bid to force Putin's arrest

South Africa's leading opposition party has taken legal action to force the government to arrest Vladimir Putin if the Russian President were to attend a planned summit in the country.

Pretoria has been faced with a diplomatic dilemma since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin, who is supposed to visit the nation for a BRICS meeting in August.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) party said it launched a court application to ensure the government detains the Russian leader and hands him over to the ICC "should President Putin set foot in South Africa."

"This pre-emptive court action aims to ensure that South Africa upholds its obligations," DA shadow minister of justice Glynnis Breytenbach said in a statement.

Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court over accusations that Russia unlawfully deported Ukrainian children.

1045 GMT — Drones hit Moscow high-rises as Kiev 'struck' for third day: Russia

A swarm of drones hit Moscow on Tuesday in an unprecedented attack, while Russian drones struck Kiev for a third straight day as Ukraine gears up for a major offensive against Russian forces.

The Russian defence ministry blamed Kiev for the attacks that saw three drones crash into residential buildings in Moscow. Kiev has denied that it launched the attack.

Officials said no one was seriously injured and there was only "minor" damage to buildings.

The Russian defence ministry said that eight drones were used in the attack, adding that five of them were downed and three disabled.

1033 GMT — Russia expecting large-scale Ukraine offensive: Shoigu

Russian defence chief Sergei Shoigu has said that Western countries were stepping up supplies of equipment and weapons to Ukraine ahead of what he said would be a "large-scale offensive" by Kiev, Russian news agencies reported.

Shoigu also said Russia was monitoring the routes of these supplies and would strike them if they were detected, news agencies quoted him as saying.

His statement comes as Moscow said that an unprecedented drone attack on Moscow was a "response" by Kiev to a recent Russian hit in Ukraine.

"It is completely clear that we are talking about response acts by the Kiev regime to very effective strikes on a command centre (in Ukraine)," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, without clarifying where the Russian strike took place.

0938 GMT — Kremlin: Ukraine drone attack on Moscow retaliation for Russian strike

The Kremlin has claimed that the drone attack on Moscow was a “retaliation” by Kiev against a Russian strike on a Ukrainian decision-making centre on Sunday.

"It is clear that we are talking about the Kiev regime's response to our very effective strike on one of the decision-making centres. This strike took place on Sunday," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a press briefing.

Peskov claimed that the attack was “obviously” conducted by Ukraine, but refrained from details concerning where the drone attack was launched from, saying: “This information is for specialists, for the military, for special services.”

0841 GMT — Russian MP says three drones downed over near Putin's official residence

A senior Russian politician said three drones shot down over Moscow on Tuesday had been downed over the Russian capital's exclusive Rublyovka suburb, where President Vladimir Putin has an official residence.

The Russian defence ministry earlier said air defences had destroyed all eight of the drones used in the attack, which it blamed on Ukraine. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two people were injured in the attack but no deaths were reported.

In a post on Telegram, Alexander Khinshtein, a prominent member of Russia's parliament from the ruling United Russia bloc, said three drones had been downed over three Rublyovka villages, one of which is located just 10 minutes' drive from Putin's residence at Novo-Ogaryovo.

0808 GMT — Ukraine denies involvement in Moscow strike, predicts more attacks

A Ukrainian presidential aide has denied Kiev was directly involved in a drone attack on Moscow on Tuesday, but said Ukraine was enjoying watching the events and predicted an increase in such attacks.

Russia said Ukraine had launched its biggest drone attack on Moscow but that air defences destroyed all eight of the drones.

"…regarding the attacks: of course we are pleased to watch and predict an increase in the number of attacks. But of course we have nothing directly to do with this," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told the "Breakfast Show" YouTube channel.

0639 GMT — Russian Defence Ministry says Kiev targeted Moscow with eight drones

Russia's Defence Ministry said that Ukraine targeted Moscow with eight drones on Tuesday, but that all the drones involved in the incident were downed.

"This morning, the Kiev regime launched a terrorist drone attack on targets in the city of Moscow," the defence ministry said.

"Three of them were suppressed by electronic warfare, lost control and deviated from their intended targets. Another five drones were shot down by the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system in the Moscow region," it said.

0639 GMT — Ukraine says it downed 29 of 31 Russian drones

Ukraine air defence forces destroyed 29 of 31 drones in Russia-launched overnight air attacks on Kiev and the surrounding region, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said early on Tuesday.

Calling it a "massive" attack launched in several waves, Serhiy Popko, the head of Kiev's military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app that Russia conducted the assault using Iranian-made Shahed drones only.

It was the third attack on the city in 24 hours. It was not immediately known how many drones Russia launched.

0147 GMT —Russian drone attack kills one, injures three in Kiev – Ukraine

At least one person has died in Kiev and three were injured when falling debris from a destroyed Russia-launched drone hit a high rise apartment building, sparking fire, officials of the Ukrainian capital said.

Kiev's military administration officials said on the Telegram messaging app that two upper floors of the building were destroyed and there could still be people under the rubble.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that at least one person had died, one was hospitalised and two others were injured.

0038 GMT — Russia launches massive new air assault on Kiev - officials

Russia launched a fresh "massive" wave of attacks on Kiev in the early hours of Tuesday and air defence systems were engaging incoming targets, city officials said, as air raid sirens blared in several other regions.

"A massive attack!" Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app. "Do not leave shelters."

Kiev's military administration officials said that air defence systems were repelling the attacks. Falling debris hit several districts of the capital, including the Podil and Pecherskyi neighbourhoods.

Klitschko said that a 27-year-old woman was taken to hospital after sustaining injuries in southwestern Holosiivskyi district.

The Tuesday strikes were Russia's 17th air assault on the capital this month and came after the city was attacked twice on Monday, including a rare daytime strike.

For our live updates from Monday (May 29), click here.