Britain must continue to show support for Kyiv amid the risk of “Ukraine fatigue” as the war rages on, Boris Johnson has said.
“The Russians are grinding forward inch by inch and it is vital for us to show what we know to be true, which is that Ukraine can win and will win,” the Prime Minister told reporters upon his return from the Ukrainian capital.
“When Ukraine fatigue is setting in, it is very important to show that we are with them for the long haul and we are giving them the strategic resilience that they need.”
Mr Johnson visited Kyiv on Friday, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, and described the city as “far more lively” than it was during his first visit in April.
“People are much more confident. People are out in the streets eating in cafes and restaurants in a way that they weren’t even a few weeks ago,” he said.
It comes as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organisers of Eurovision, announced that the 2023 contest would not take place in Ukraine despite the country having won this year’s competition.
Instead, the EBU is in talks with the BBC over hosting the event in Britain, the 2022 runner-up.
Follow the latest updates below.
10:28 AM
Civilians trapped in Severodonetsk could be ‘forced’ to evacuate to Russian-controlled territory
Civilians trapped in the embattled Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk face being evacuated to areas deeper within Russian-occupied territory, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said.
In its daily intelligence update, the MoD said options to leave Severodonetsk are limited by the destruction of bridges, but Russia’s proposed route would lead people towards the town of Svatova.
“If trapped civilians don’t take up the offer of exiting via a corridor, Russia will likely claim justification in making less of a distinction between them and any Ukrainian military targets in the area,” the ministry said on Twitter.
It added that Russia has precedent – both earlier in the war in Ukraine and in Syria – of using unilaterally-declared ‘humanitarian’ corridors as a way of manipulating the battlespace and imposing the forced transfer of populations.
10:21 AM
‘Fierce battles’ rage near Severodonetsk, says local governor
Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday that “fierce battles” with Russian forces continue to rage on in villages outside the eastern city of Severodonetsk.
“Now the most fierce battles are near Severodonetsk. They [Russia] do not control the city entirely,” the governor of the Lugansk region, Sergiy Gaiday, said on Telegram.
“In nearby villages there are very difficult fights – in Toshkivska, Zolote. They are trying to break through but failing,” he said.
“Our defenders are fighting Russians in all directions. Recently, they shot down a plane and took captives.”
He also said that Lysychansk – a Ukrainian-controlled city across a river from Severodonetsk – is being “heavily shelled”.
“They cannot approach it and that’s why they are simply shooting at the city with air strikes,” he said. “It is very dangerous in the city.”
Gaiday also said there was “more destruction” at the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, where hundreds of civilians are sheltering.
09:41 AM
Russian forces free Ukrainian medic captured in Mariupol
Russian forces have freed a celebrated Ukrainian medic who used a body camera to record her team’s efforts to save the injured in the besieged city of Mariupol.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Yuliia Paievska, known as Taira, was “already home” after being freed on Friday, three months after she was taken captive on the streets of the city.
The day before she was captured on March 16, she gave the footage to Associated Press journalists, who were the last remaining international reporters in the embattled city, and one of them fled with it embedded in a tampon.
“We managed to liberate ‘Taira’, Ukrainian paramedic Yuliia Paievska, from captivity. I am grateful to everyone who worked for this result,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
“Taira is already home. We will keep working to liberate everyone.”
09:09 AM
Gazprom’s gas exports to Europe via Ukraine drop to 41.4 mcm
Gazprom said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen down to 41.4m cubic metres on Saturday, from 41.9mcm on Friday.
Reuters reported the Russian gas producer as saying an application to supply gas via another major entry point, Sokhranovka, was rejected by Ukraine.
08:56 AM
Lack of medics and arms supplies leaves Ukraine counting its losses
It was a cigarette that saved Serhii’s life. The Ukrainian soldier, who was a welder before he joined the army, was defending his position in a private home on the eastern front in Luhansk last week as Russian forces pounded the area with artillery.
“Nobody was counting the number of explosions per hour; it was constant fire. They were firing from everything, grenade launchers, mortars, artillery, tanks, missiles,” said the gunner, who had only a few days of training before heading to the front.
In the early evening, Serhii broke out of the stifling bunker where he and his comrades were sheltering from the nerve-shattering thuds of incoming shells to grab some fresh air.
“It was too windy to light up, so I went around the corner of the building, and just as I did so, a 120mm mine from a grenade launcher landed about 1.5 metres away from where I had been standing,” he said.
Ukraine’s hospitals are under pressure as the grinding war of attrition in the east kills up to 200 soldiers a day and leaves 500 more wounded.
Kyiv has pleaded with the West to drastically step-up supplies of weaponry and ammunition, or risk watching Ukraine’s armed forces “bleed out” in the carnage.
Read the full story by Nicola Smith and Illia Novikov here
08:26 AM
MoD: Russia likely to advance deeper into Donetsk region
It is likely that Russian forces have renewed their efforts to advance south of Ukraine’s eastern city of Izium in the past 48 hours, the Ministry of Defence has said.
In their daily intelligence update, posted on Twitter, the MoD said Russia’s goal is to advance deeper into the Donetsk region and envelope Severodonetsk, which has seen intense fighting in recent weeks, from the north.
