Ukraine has “broken the backbone” of the Russian army, Volodymr Zelensky has said, insisting that the Russians will not get back on their feet in the years to come.
In a wide-ranging interview marking his three years as Ukraine’s president, Mr Zelensky said he was confident of victory, saying there were no alternatives, but noted that it may not come on the battlefield.
“We did not start this war. But we have to finish it,” he said. “Victory will be bloody in battle. But the end will be in diplomacy. We want everything back. Russia does not want to give anything away.”
Mr Zelensky also vowed to rescue the Ukrainian defenders of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, who surrendered this week after holding out for months against Russian bombardment.
“We will bring them home,” he said of the fighters who are now held by Russia.
Follow the latest updates below.
02:48 PM
Ukraine-Russia in pictures:
02:32 PM
Comment: Putin has unleashed catastrophe on the world – and the West could get the blame
We are only at the start of understanding the series of catastrophes unleashed by Vladimir Putin’s war.
Governments get justifiably jumpy when their energy supplies are threatened. But when food supplies are in doubt, governments fall.
Mercifully for us, the UK does not depend for food on any country or trade route directly affected by the war.
Although price rises will hit British households, for most the grocery shop is a lighter burden than the utility bill. Outside the developed world, neither factor holds.
Read the full story from Juliet Samuel here
02:01 PM
Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev hit by sanctions from Canada
Canada has imposed sanctions on Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, a former KGB officer, in the latest wave of penalties against rich Russians for their alleged ties to the Kremlin.
Melanie Joy, Canada’s foreign minister, announced the sanctions on Friday, saying her country would also ban the import of luxury goods from Russia including caviar and the export of jewelry, art and kitchenware to Russia.
Canada has ordered visa bans and asset freezes against 15 Russian nationals for their ties to the Kremlin including Mr Lebedev, 62, who bought the Independent and the Evening Standard newspapers in 2010 before transferring the ownership to his son.
Read the full story from Nataliya here
01:53 PM
Scholz overtaken by leaders of Green Party in polls over Ukraine handling
Olaf Scholz has seen his approval rating sink in the wake of his handling of the Ukraine crisis.
The German chancellor was this week overtaken in the opinion polls by the charismatic leaders of his coalition partner, the Green Party.
Following disastrous regional election results last week, some in Berlin are now openly describing Robert Habeck, the Green vice-chancellor, as “a better chancellor”.
Read more from Justin Huggler here
01:39 PM
Finland’s president held “open and direct” talks with Turkey’s Erdogan
Sauli Niinisto, the Finnish President, said he had held “open and direct” talks with Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan to discuss Finland’s bid for Nato membership.
Mr Erdogan has publicly questioned whether Finland and Sweden should be allowed to join the military alliance.
“I stated that as Nato allies Finland and Turkey will commit to each other’s security and our relationship will thus grow stronger,” Mr Niinisto tweeted after the call.
“Finland condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Close dialogue continues.”
Read: President Erdogan prepares diplomatic blitz to oppose Sweden and Finland joining Nato
01:04 PM
Vladimir Putin is goading the West into joining the war by creating global food meltdown
In his desperation to achieve some semblance of a victory in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has demonstrated that he is perfectly willing to employ far from conventional military force to achieve his aims, writes Con Coughlin.
The Russian president began the conflict by threatening to cut off Europe’s energy supply if it continued providing military support to Ukraine; a form of blackmail he has subsequently applied against Finland following Helsinki’s decision this week to apply for Nato membership.
He has also made threatening noises about the deadly capabilities of Russia’s nuclear arsenal. And Russian hackers even launched a clumsy attempt to disrupt voting during the Eurovision song contest, which was eventually won by Ukraine.
Read the full piece from Con here
12:42 PM
Pictured: An aerial view of a residential area ruined by the Russian shelling in Irpin close to Kyiv
12:03 PM
Russia declares travel ban on Biden and Blinken
Russia has banned entry to 963 Americans including US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA chief William Burns.
The travel bans have only symbolic impact but form part of a constant downward spiral in Russia’s relations with the United States.
11:46 AM
Zelensky thanks Biden for supporting ‘fight against Russian aggressor’
Grateful to @POTUS for signing the law on additional support for ????????. The leadership of ????????, President Biden & the American people in supporting ????????’s fight against the Russian aggressor is crucial. Look forward to new, powerful defense assistance. Today it is needed more than ever.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 21, 2022
11:12 AM
Russia putting ‘millions at risk of hunger’ by blocking ports, says Kuleba
Russia puts millions of people at risk of hunger by blocking our ports. Together with partners, Ukraine has established two alternative land routes to deliver food exports and save Africa and other regions from hunger. Russia must end its blockade to allow full and free export.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) May 21, 2022
11:03 AM
Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev sanctioned by Canada, according to reports
Alexander Lebedev, a former KGB agent, has been sanctioned by Canada in a fresh wave of penalties against those with alleged links to the Russian president’s regime, it has been reported.
Mr Lebedev, the Russian-born billionaire, was reportedly one of 14 people hit with sanctions, according to The Globe and Mail.
The new tranche of measures, announced yesterday, includes a ban on imports of Russian caviar, vodka, and diamonds.
Mr Lebedev’s son, Evgeny Lebedev, is a friend of Boris Johnson and sits in the House of Lords.
The peer owns the British newspapers The Independent and the Evening Standard.
11:02 AM
Biden signs $40 bn aid bill for Ukraine’s war effort
Joe Biden, the US President, has signed a $40 billion bill set to ensure a steady supply of weaponry and economic support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, the White House said.
Biden signed the bill passed earlier by Congress while visiting Seoul on his first trip to Asia as president. The bill, which will funnel support to Ukraine for about the next five months, includes around $6 billion budgeted for armoured vehicles and air defences.
09:43 AM
Semi-naked Ukraine protester storm Cannes red carpet
A semi-naked activist has stormed the red carpet at the Cannes film festival to protest against sexual violence in Ukraine.
The woman ripped off her dress to reveal a Ukrainian flag painted on her torso along with the words ‘stop raping us’.
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09:09 AM
‘Forced evacuation’ of civilians to Russia, says Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister
09:05 AM
Russia alleges it destroyed ‘large’ shipments of Western weapons to Ukraine
Moscow’s forces claimed they destroyed a large shipment of Western-supplied weapons in northwestern Ukraine with long-range missiles.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed: “High-precision long-range sea-based Kalibr missiles destroyed a large batch of weapons and military equipment near the Malin railway station in Zhytomyr region delivered from the United States and European countries”.
09:02 AM
Comment: Vladimir Putin is still flooding social media with dangerous lies
For President Putin, there’s no such thing as being a “former KGB man”. Secrecy and lies are legitimate government tools; international politics a constant zero-sum game. Given the impressive response of Western nations to Mr Putin’s Ukrainian “special military operation”, it’s no surprise the Kremlin has intensified its international disinformation campaign.
We have seen this before: from early 2012, the Kremlin, through its media proxy RT, smeared opposition to President Assad, promoting baseless conspiracy theories surrounding the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons.
Read the full piece from Robert Buckand here
08:41 AM
On the last ‘road of life’ to Severodonetsk as fighting rages around Ukraine’s final frontier town
The last road of life to Severodonetsk ends at a deathly silent crossroads framed by earthworks and tank traps.
A few hundred metres away, a child herds a small group of cows, ignoring the distant artillery thumps.
But the ribbon of pot-holed tarmac disappearing into the green summer haze is deserted. And with good reason.
Read the full piece from Roland Oliphant here
08:23 AM
US and others walk out of APEC talks over Russian invasion
Representatives of the United States and several other nations walked out of an Asia-Pacific trade ministers meeting in Bangkok on Saturday to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, officials said.
The walkout was “an expression of disapproval at Russia’s illegal war of aggression in Ukraine and its economic impact in the APEC region,” one diplomat said.
Representatives from Canada, New Zealand, Japan and Australia joined the Americans, led by Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in walking out of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, two Thai officials and two international diplomats told Reuters.
Another diplomat said the five countries that staged the protest wanted “stronger language on Russia’s war” in the group’s final statement to be issued on Sunday.
08:07 AM
Zelensky: Ukraine war will ‘only end through diplomacy’
The war in Ukraine can only be resolved through “diplomacy”, Volodymyr Zelensky said today, amid a deadlock in negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.
“The end will be through diplomacy,” he told a Ukrainian television channel. The war “will be bloody, there will be fighting but will only definitively end through diplomacy”.
07:55 AM
Russia could rename McDonald’s ZBurger or Rusburger amid rush for last Big Macs
Instead of biting into a Big Mac from McDonald’s, Russians may soon be queuing up to enjoy the taste of a patriotic ZBurger.
The American chain pulled out of Russia in March following the invasion of Ukraine and its 850 restaurants are now poised to undergo a rebrand after being bought by Russian businessman Alexander Govor this week.
Many Russians don’t seem too enthusiastic about losing their Big Macs and apple pies – video footage showed hundreds of people in Moscow queuing up for a final taste, echoing images of huge crowds when the first McDonald’s opened there at the end of the Cold War.
Read the full story from James Kilner here
07:47 AM
Russia likely facing Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles shortage, UK says
Russia is likely experiencing a shortage of appropriate reconnaissance Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which it has attempted to use to identify targets to be struck by combat jets or artillery, the British Defence ministry said on Saturday.
Russia is likely experiencing a shortage of appropriate reconnaissance UAVs, which is exacerbated by limitations in its domestic manufacturing capacity resulting from sanctions, the report said.
If Russia continues to lose UAVs at current rate, Russian Forces intelligence, surveillance reconnaissance capability will be further degraded negatively impacting operational effectiveness, Britain said in a regular bulletin.
07:39 AM
Russia-Ukraine conflict in pictures
07:33 AM
‘It warms my heart to see Russian tanks blown up – it means our NLAW was a success’
On May 21, 2002, Baron Bach, the UK’s then Minister for Defence Procurement, gave a speech in which he announced the Swedish defence company, Saab Bofors, had won the £400 million British contract for the Next Generation Light Anti Armour Weapon, or NLAW.
“NLAW is an extremely potent man-portable, short-range, fire-and-forget, anti-armour weapon,” Bach told reporters. “It can destroy the most advanced tanks now envisaged, and is highly effective against other military targets such as armoured vehicles and buildings.”
Read the full story from Ed Cumming here
07:32 AM
Russia halts gas supplies to Finland
Russia has stopped providing natural gas to Finland, which has angered Moscow by applying for Nato membership, after the Nordic country refused to pay supplier Gazprom in rubles.
Following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has asked clients from “unfriendly countries” – including EU member states – to pay for gas in rubles, a way to sidestep Western financial sanctions against its central bank.
Gazprom said in a statement Saturday that it had “completely stopped gas deliveries” as it had not received ruble payments from Finland’s state-owned energy company Gasum “by the end of the working day on May 20”.
Gazprom said it had supplied 1.49 billion cubic metres of natural gas to Finland in 2021, equal to about two thirds of the country’s gas consumption.
07:30 AM
Liz Truss: We’ll give Moldova weapons to stop an invasion by Vladimir Putin
Liz Truss has revealed that she wants to send modern weaponry to Moldova to protect it from the threat of invasion by Russia.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the Foreign Secretary said Vladimir Putin was determined to create a “greater Russia” despite defeat in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
Moldova, to the south-west of Ukraine, is not a Nato member and there are fears it could be Putin’s next target after Ukraine as he seeks territorial expansion.
Read the full story from Ben Riley-Smith, Roland Oliphant, and James Kilner here
