Vladimir Putin has hailed the “liberation” of Mariupol after his defence minister informed him that Moscow controlled the entire city apart from the Azovstal steel plant.
“Mariupol has been liberated,” Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin during a televised meeting.
“The remaining nationalist formations took refuge in the industrial zone of the Azovstal plant.”
Putin said the so-called “liberation” was a “success” for Russian forces, but ordered Shoigu to call off the planned storming of the Azovstal industrial area, dismissing it as “impractical”.
“I consider the proposed storming of the industrial zone unnecessary,” Putin told Shoigu. “I order you to cancel it.
“There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities… Block off this industrial area so that a fly cannot pass through.”
Putin also called on the remaining Ukrainian fighters in Azovstal to surrender, saying Russia would treat them with respect and would provide medical assistance to those injured.
Follow the latest updates below.
09:20 AM
Mayor of Ukraine’s Kharkiv says city is under intense bombardment
Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv was under intense bombardment on Thursday, its mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
“Huge blasts, the Russian Federation is furiously bombing the city,” Mr Terekhov said in a televised address.
He said that around one million people remain in the northeastern city, while about 30 per cent of the population have evacuated, mainly women, children and the elderly.
09:09 AM
Italy should cut off Russian gas ‘soon’, minister says
Italy is ethically obliged to stop buying Russian gas “soon” as the payments are funding the Ukraine war, the country’s Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani said in an interview Thursday.
“I think that we will have to stop supplies of gas from Russia soon for ethical reasons,” he told La Stampa newspaper.
The minister is currently on a two-day trip to Angola and Congo Republic seeking energy deals as Italy scrambles to reduce its dependency on Russia, which provides about 45 percent of Italian gas.
“We are diversifying our sources with great speed,” he said.
“It is clear that all of Europe is heavily dependent on Russia for gas, and this has been a major geopolitical mistake made over the past 20 years,” he said.
“It is useless to think that we can solve it in a month. From a certain point of view, however, this money is a lot… we are indirectly financing the war.”
08:58 AM
Russian tanker impounded by Greece will be released, Reuters source says
A Russian tanker impounded by Greek authorities off the island of Evia earlier this week will be released, a government source told Reuters on Thursday.
“The coast guard has been ordered by the anti-money laundering authority to release the vessel,” the source said.
The 115,500-deadweight tonnage Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, was seized near Karystos on the southern coast of Evia, as part of EU sanctions, Greek authorities had said on Tuesday.
08:49 AM
Russia and Belarus ‘will respond to Nato forces on borders’
Russia and Belarus will respond to the strengthening of Nato forces on the borders of their countries, TASS news agency reported on Thursday, citing a Russian diplomat.
“Together with Belarusian allies we have to respond to the military strengthening of Nato forces on the borders of the Union State (Russia and Belarus) and the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization), and to coordinate steps in the international arena,” Alexey Polishchuk, a diplomat in Russia’s Foreign Ministry told TASS in an interview.
08:45 AM
Denmark to deliver more weapons to Ukraine, Danish PM says during Kyiv visit
Denmark has pledged to deliver more weapons to Ukraine, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told broadcaster TV2 during a visit to Kyiv on Thursday with her Spanish counterpart.
Ms Frederiksen did not give any further detail about the weapon supply.
08:43 AM
Pictured: Ukrainians fire a multiple rocket launch system in Kharkiv
08:26 AM
Russia fines Google over YouTube “fakes”, TASS reports
Russia fined Alphabet Inc.’s Google 4 million roubles ($50,000) for failing to delete what it terms “fake” information about its special operation in Ukraine, the TASS news agency reported on Thursday.
Russia’s communications watchdog said earlier this month that it was taking steps to punish Google for “spreading fakes” on YouTube, and has previously warned the US company that it would be fined if it failed to comply.
08:10 AM
Your morning briefing
Here are the latest developments to get you up to speed this morning.
1. Russia tightens grip on Luhansk
The governor of Luhansk said Russian forces now control 80 per cent of the region, which is one of two regions that make up the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.
2. Ukraine offers peace talks in Mariupol
Senior Ukrainian negotiators have offered to hold special talks with Russia in Mariupol without conditions in a bid to evacuate troops and civilians from the besieged port city.
3. Johnson: Negotiations with Kremlin are doomed
Boris Johnson has said any peace talks over Ukraine are likely to fail as he compared holding talks with Vladimir Putin to negotiating with a crocodile.
4. Bodies of nine civilians found with ‘signs of torture’
The bodies of nine civilians, some showing signs of torture, have been found in the town of Borodyanka outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, a senior police official said.
5. Russian troops advancing towards Kramatorsk, MoD says
Russian forces are advancing from staging areas in the Donbas towards Kramatorsk, which continues to be hit by rocket attacks, the Ministry of Defence said.
08:00 AM
Russia says it hit 1,001 targets in Ukraine overnight
Russian missiles and artillery struck 1,001 military targets in Ukraine overnight, including 162 firing positions, the country’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
Russian forces and Russian-backed separatists have also taken full control of the town of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine, the ministry said.
07:55 AM
Watch: Putin tests ‘Satan II’ nuclear rocket that can hit ‘anywhere in the world’
[embedded content]
07:52 AM
Crypto exchange Binance limits services in Russia after EU sanctions
Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volumes, said on Thursday it is limiting services for Russian nationals that have crypto assets exceeding 10,000 euros ($10,912.00), in light of European Union’s (EU) latest sanctions against Russia.
Earlier this month, EU in its fifth package of sanctions against Moscow, had targeted crypto wallets, banks, currencies and trusts to close potential loopholes that could allow Russians to move money abroad.
Russian nationals or legal entities in Russia who have crypto account balances that exceed 10,000 euros will be given 90 days to close their positions, Binance said.
The exchange also said accounts affected by EU’s restrictions will be put into a withdrawal-only mode and no deposits or trading will be permitted.
The announcement comes after the company said last month cardholders of sanctioned Russian banks would not be able to use them on their platform and confirmed that sanctioned individuals have had their access restricted.
07:21 AM
Putin cancels Russian plans to storm Mariupol steel plant and opts for blockade instead
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered the Russian military to cancel plans to storm the Azovstal plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and said he wanted it to continue to be securely blockaded instead.
Putin gave the order to Sergei Shoigu, his defence minister, who had previously told Putin that more than 2,000 Ukrainian fighters were still holed up in the vast plant, which has a large underground component to it.
06:53 AM
Spanish and Danish PMs arrive in Kyiv
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen arrived in Kyiv on Thursday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Spanish government said.
Mr Sanchez on Wednesday said he would convey to Zelensky the European Union and Spain’s “clear engagement… for peace.”
06:36 AM
Warehousing firm Segro flags supply chain and cost pressures amid Ukraine war
Segro Plc said on Thursday the Russia-Ukraine crisis would increase pressure in its construction supply chain and costs as the warehousing specialist flagged rental levels to grow across the group’s portfolio.
Supply chain concerns and inflationary pressures would further “tighten the supply-demand imbalance” for its industrial assets, placing more upward pressure on rents, the company said.
06:27 AM
Ukraine says four buses carrying evacuees have left Mariupol
Four buses carrying evacuees from Mariupol have left the besieged and destroyed port city where Ukrainian forces are battling to retain control, the government said Thursday.
“Four evacuation buses managed to leave the city yesterday through the humanitarian corridor,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on social media, adding that evacuations of women, children and the elderly would continue Thursday.
06:23 AM
The latest pictures from Ukraine
06:17 AM
Ukraine says nine bodies found outside Kyiv, some ‘with signs of torture’
The bodies of nine civilians, some showing signs of torture, have been found in the town of Borodyanka outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, a senior police official said.
“These people were killed by the occupiers and some show signs of torture. I want to emphasise that these people were civilians. The Russian military knowingly shot civilians who did not put up any resistance,” the head of the police in the Kyiv region said overnight Wednesday to Thursday.
05:56 AM
‘Deadliest weapon ever’ a present for Nato
Vladimir Putin boasted last night that he had unleashed the first successful test of a new nuclear missile known as “Satan II”, which carries a dozen warheads and could be used to strike enemies around the world.
The “superheavy” 200-tonne intercontinental ballistic missile was a “present to Nato”, according to the Kremlin, and would make Moscow’s enemies “think twice”.
The new missile, officially known as Sarmat, was launched from a silo in Plesetsk, in Russia’s northwest, and delivered training warheads to a test range 6,000km away in the Kamchatka peninsula.
05:44 AM
Russian forces advancing towards Kramatorsk, says MoD
Russian forces are advancing from staging areas in Donbas towards Kramatorsk, which continues to be hit by rocket attacks, a British military update said on Thursday.
High levels of Russian air activity continue as it seeks to provide close air support to its offensive in eastern Ukraine, and to suppress and destroy Ukrainian air defence capabilities, the UK Ministry of Defence tweeted.
“Russia likely desires to demonstrate significant successes ahead of their annual 9th May Victory Day celebrations,” MoD said.
“This could affect how quickly and forcefully they attempt to conduct operations in the run-up to this date.”
05:35 AM
‘Moskva commanders left our conscript sons to die’
The parents of sailors missing since Russia’s Black Sea flagship sank last week have accused commanders of abandoning the vessel and leaving young conscripts to die.
[embedded content]
They said naval officers had lied to them about the fate of their sons and had tried to bully them into silence.
Tamara Grudinia’s 21-year-old son, Seryozha, had been serving on the Moskva when it was hit by two Ukrainian missiles on April 14. She told Current Time, a Russian language news website, that his commanding officer had since phoned to tell her he was missing.
Read the full story here.
05:00 AM
Putin ally says Russia will capture Mariupol around ‘lunchtime’
A top ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian forces would seize the last main stronghold of resistance in the besieged city of Mariupol on Thursday after Ukraine proposed talks on evacuating troops and civilians there.
Mariupol would be the biggest city to be seized by Russia since invading Ukraine eight weeks ago in an attack that has taken longer than some military analysts expected, seen over five million people flee abroad and turned cities to rubble.
“Before lunchtime, or after lunch, Azovstal will be completely under the control of the forces of the Russian Federation,” Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia’s republic of Chechnya, whose forces have been fighting in Ukraine, said of the steel plant.
04:36 AM
China reiterates opposition to sanctions
Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated China’s opposition to unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction” in a speech on Thursday, without directly mentioning the West’s punitive actions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
China has repeatedly criticised western sanctions, including those against Russia, but it has also been careful not to provide assistance to Moscow that could lead to sanctions being imposed on Beijing.
Delivering a video speech to the annual Boao Forum for Asia gathering on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, Mr Xi warned that economic “de-coupling” and pressure tactics such as severing supply chains would not work.
“China would like to put forward a global security initiative” that upholds “the principle of indivisibility of security”, he said.
“We should uphold the principle of indivisibility of security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the building of national security on the basis of insecurity in other countries.”
04:03 AM
More American support on the way for Ukraine
The US President is set to announce plans on Thursday to send additional military aid to help Ukraine fight back against the Russian invasion, according to a US official.
The official said Joe Biden would deliver a Thursday morning address at the White House detailing his plans to build on the roughly US$2.6 billion (£2 billion) in military assistance the administration had already approved.
The new package is expected to be similar in size to the US$800 million package Mr Biden announced last week. It includes much-needed heavy artillery and ammunition for Ukrainian forces in the escalating battle for the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
A senior US defence official said training of Ukrainian personnel on American 155mm howitzers had begun in a European country outside Ukraine.
Mr Biden yesterday lauded US military officials for “exceptional” work arming Ukraine.
03:31 AM
Djokovic slams Wimbledon’s decision to ban players
World number one Novak Djokovic said Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine is “crazy”.
Wimbledon announced on Wednesday that it had barred all Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s championships due to the invasion.
The grass court Grand Slam is the first tennis tournament to ban individual competitors from the two countries, meaning men’s world number two Daniil Medvedev from Russia and women’s fourth-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will be banned.
Djokovic, who grew up in war-torn Serbia, said the athletes had nothing to do with the ongoing conflict.
“I will always condemn war, I will never support war being myself a child of war,” Djokovic said.
“I know how much emotional trauma it leaves. In Serbia we all know what happened in 1999. In the Balkans we have had many wars in recent history.
“However, I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon, I think it is crazy.
“When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good.”
READ MORE: Novak Djokovic and Martina Navratilova lead furious backlash at Wimbledon’s ban of Russian players
03:07 AM
Putin tells children he dreams of peace in Donbas
Vladimir Putin has told schoolchildren he dreams of bringing peace to Donbas – just as Russian forces were intensifying their bombardment of Ukrainian soldiers.
A video of Putin meeting the children at the Kremlin showed them looking at him in awe as he told them he had invaded Ukraine in order to protect people living in two breakaway regions.
“[This] simply forced Russia to launch this military operation, which everyone is well aware of today,” he said.
“As I have said from the very beginning, the purpose of this operation is to help people living in the Donbas, our people living in the Donbas. Just like you.”
READ MORE: I dream of peace in Donbas, Vladimir Putin tells schoolchildren
02:33 AM
G20 walkout as Russia’s representative starts speaking
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Ukraine’s Finance Minister, Serhiy Marchenko, walked out of a Group of 20 meeting as Russia’s representative started talking.
Several finance ministers and central bank governors also left the room, according an official. Some ministers and central bank governors who attended the meeting virtually turned their cameras off when Russian President Vladimir Putin’s representative spoke, the person said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of Ms Yellen’s walkout: “Certainly we support her steps and it’s an indication of the fact that President Putin and Russia has become a pariah on the global stage.”
The incident came amid the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, in which finance leaders try to tackle the world’s most pressing issues. The brutal effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine have taken centre stage, and US Treasury Department officials said earlier this week that Ms Yellen would try to avoid contact with Russians who planned to attend some G20 virtually.
02:28 AM
Italy signs new gas deal in attempt to end dependence on Russia
Italy has penned a deal with Angola to ramp up gas supplies from the southern African country as it urgently scrambles to break away from Russian gas over the Ukraine war.
A declaration of intent was signed to develop “new” natural gas ventures and to increase exports to Italy, a statement from the Italian foreign minister announced.
“Today we have reached another important agreement with Angola to increase gas supplies,” Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said.
“Italy’s commitment to differentiate energy supply sources is confirmed.”
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi wants to add Angola and Congo-Brazzaville to a portfolio of suppliers to substitute Russia, which provides about 45 per cent of Italian gas.
“We do not want to depend on Russian gas any longer, because economic dependence must not become political subjection,” he said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“Diversification is possible and can be implemented in a relatively short amount of time – quicker than we imagined just a month ago.”
01:46 AM
Troops ignore Russian ultimatums
Remaining Ukrainian troops holed up in a vast steel works in Mariupol have ignored ultimatums by Russia to surrender and made clear on Wednesday that their stance had not changed.
David Arakhamia, a senior Ukrainian negotiator, said in an online post that he and fellow negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak were in constant contact with Ukrainian forces in the city.
“Today, in a conversation with the city defenders, a proposal was put forward to hold direct negotiations, on site, on the evacuation of our military garrison,” Mr Arakhamia said.
“For our part, we are ready to arrive for such negotiations at any time as soon as we receive confirmation from the Russian side.”
Inside the Azovstal steelworks: The sprawling underground city standing between Vladimir Putin and the fall of Mariupol
[embedded content]
01:40 AM
Ukraine offers to hold Mariupol talks with Russia
Senior Ukrainian negotiators have offered to hold special talks with Russia in Mariupol without conditions in a bid to evacuate troops and civilians from the besieged port city.
Negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on Wednesday that the talks could be “one on one. Two on two. To save our guys, (the far right) Azov (battalion), military, civilians, children, the living and the wounded”.
Ukraine accused Russian forces on Wednesday of failing to observe a local ceasefire agreement long enough to allow large numbers of women, children and elderly people to flee the city, which has been largely pounded to rubble by Russian forces.
01:25 AM
Vladimir Putin tests ‘Satan II’
Vladimir Putin on Wednesday night boasted that he had unleashed the first successful test of a new nuclear missile known as “Satan II”, which carries a dozen warheads and could be used to strike enemies around the world.
The “superheavy” 200-tonne intercontinental ballistic missile was a “present to Nato”, according to the Kremlin, and would make Moscow’s enemies “think twice”.
Putin’s sabre-rattling came at a moment of extreme geopolitical tension, coinciding with the first days of the next phase of Russia’s eight-week-old war in Ukraine as its troops began their assault on the eastern Donbas region.
