Ukraine news – live: At least 11 dead as Russian missile strikes Kremenchuk mall
Volodymyr Zelensky said it’s ‘impossible to even imagine’ how many killed
G7 leaders focus on helping Ukraine and punishing Russia
At least 11 people have died and more than 40 people were injured after a missile hit a crowded shopping centre in Ukraine.
The updated death toll at the mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk was revealed by the Poltava region’s governor Dmytro Lunin.
But scores of people are feared to have been killed in the missile attack that Ukraine said Russia was responsible for.
President Volodymyr Zelensky that more than 1,000 people were in the shopping centre at the time of the attack.
He said: “It is impossible to even imagine the number of victims.”
Footage posted on social media showed a large fire and smoke billowing into the sky as people were fleeing from the burning building.
Following the attack, Boris Johnson condemned Vladimir Putin’s “cruelty and barbarism”.
The PM added: “Once again our thoughts are with the families of innocent victims in Ukraine.
“Putin must realise that his behaviour will do nothing but strengthen the resolve of the Ukraine and every other G7 country to stand by the Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Putin to travel away from Russia for first time during Ukraine invasion
Vladimir Putin will tomorrow be making his first public trip away from Russia since he launched the invasion of Ukraine.
He will be making the journeys to the former Soviet nations Tajikistan and Turkmenistan for friendly meetings.
Vladimir Putin
On Tuesday, Putin is to meet with authoritarian president Emomali Rahmon in Tajikistan, where Russia has about 7,000 troops in Moscow’s largest base abroad.
The Kremlin said Putin and Rahmon are to discuss measures to improve security along Tajikistan’s porous 843-mile border with Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, Putin is to be in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, to attend a summit that also includes representatives from Azerbaijan, Iran and Kazakhstan.
Russian-backed separatists say Morocco can speak with citizen sentenced to death alongside Britons
Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have granted Morocco permission to speak with a Moroccan citizen sentenced to death for fighting with Ukrainian forces, the state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Monday citing a top official in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) (Thomas Kingsley writes).
Moroccan national Brahim Saadoun was sentenced to death this month alongside British nationals Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner on charges of committing war crimes.
All three men fought in the Ukrainian army and were captured by Russian-aligned forces in April. They were accused of being “mercenaries”, a charge which carries the death penalty in the DPR, whose authority is not recognised by any UN country except Russia.
Russian-backed separatists say Morocco can speak with citizen sentenced to death
Brahim Saadoun was sentenced to death this month alongside British nationals Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner
EU expects ‘serious disruption’ to Russian gas supply
A “serious disruption” to the European Union’s gas supplies from Russia is likely, the bloc’s energy chief said today as she urged countries to update contingency plans to cope with supply shocks and switch to other fuels wherever possible to conserve gas.
“Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine we have known that a very serious disruption is possible, and now it seems likely. We have done much important work to be prepared for this. But now is the time to step it up,” EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said after a meeting of energy ministers from EU countries.
Member states agreed today that all natural gas storage across the bloc should be topped up to at least 80 per cent capacity for next winter as they prepare for the possibility of Russia further reducing deliveries.
The European Commission is set to propose an EU plan to prepare for further gas shocks in July, as Russia has already cut or reduced supplies to 12 of the bloc’s 27 member states.
The EU is trying to slash its use of Russian energy and find other sources due to the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. A ban on imports of Russian coal will start in August, and an embargo on most oil from Russia will be phased in over the coming eight months.
Updated: At least 10 dead as Russian missiles strike a crowded Ukraine shopping mall
Scores of people are feared dead after a crowded shopping centre in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk was hit in a missile strike by Russian forces (David Harding writes).
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said as many as 1,000 people were shopping at the time of the attack in the central city of Kremenchuk, a key industrial centre.
At least 10 people have been declared dead and 40 injured, though those numbers are expected to rise, as it is thought unlikely that many people will be found alive in the rubble.
Social media footage showed a huge fire and dark smoke billowing from the mall. Firefighters and soldiers were seen pulling out mangled pieces of metal as they searched for survivors.
‘An act of terror’: At least 10 dead as Russian missiles strike crowded Ukraine mall
An adviser to Ukraine’s President Zelensky says Russia hit the shopping centre ‘just because it wants to kill’
Boris Johnson condemns Putin’s ‘barbarism'
Boris Johnson condemned Vladimir Putin’s “cruelty and barbarism” after a missile strike on a shopping centre in Ukraine when more than 1,000 people were said to have been inside.
The prime minister said: “This appalling attack has shown once again the depths of cruelty and barbarism to which the Russian leader will sink.
“Once again our thoughts are with the families of innocent victims in Ukraine.
“Putin must realise that his behaviour will do nothing but strengthen the resolve of the Ukraine and every other G7 country to stand by the Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Mr Johnson is in Bavaria on the second day of a three-day G7 summit focusing on the war in Ukraine. World leaders are discussing further measures to take against Russia for its invasion and ways to manage the global economic fallout of the war.
G7 leaders are joined at German summit by presidents of the European Commission and Council
‘Ten deaths’ in Kremenchuk shopping centre blast - regional governor
Ten people have been killed and 40 injured after a missile strike hit a crowded shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk.
The updated death toll was given by Dmytro Lunin, governor of the Poltava region.
Shopping centre in Kremenchuk ablaze after a missile hit the building
It is expected that the numbers of deaths and injuries will go up, as there were about 1,000 people in the shopping centre at the time.
Ukraine has accused Russia of being responsible for the attack.
Russian shelling kills four in Ukrainian city of Kharkiv - regional governor
Four people have been killed and 19 wounded by Russian shelling of the city of Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, according to the region’s governor Oleh Synehubov.
He posted on Telegram: “Doctors are providing all the necessary assistance. Information on the number of victims is being updated.”
Russia has denied targeting civilians during its invasion of Ukraine that was launched on 24 February.
Moroccan sentenced to death in DPR given permission to contact family
A Moroccan man who Russian-backed separatists had sentenced to death in eastern Ukraine has been granted permission to speak to his family.
Brahim Saadoun, 21, and two Britons were handed down the sentence earlier this month in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
Western politicians have decried the case as a show trial.
The men were all serving under contract with the Ukrainian armed forces fighting the Russian invasion, but both the DPR and Moscow consider them mercenaries and therefore outside the protection of the Geneva Conventions for prisoners of war.
Taher Saadoun, father of Brahim Saadoun
Unlike Russia, the DPR, which Moscow says it wants to “liberate” from Ukrainian control, has the death penalty on its statute book.
Natalya Nikonorova, foreign minister of the DPR, was quoted by Russian news agency RIA Novosti as saying: “The relatives contacted the lawyers who were provided to the gentleman ... in particular, there was a request for communication and also to provide their own lawyer.
“As far as I know, this request was granted.”
DPR officials said Saadoun as well as British men s Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner have less than two weeks left to appeal the sentence.
Russia says it is expelling eight Greek diplomats
Russia declared eight Greek diplomats “personae non-gratae” and gave them eight days to leave the country.
The Russian foreign ministry said it had summoned the Greek ambassador to protest over what it called “the confrontational course of the Greek authorities towards Russia, including the supply of weapons and military equipment to the Kyiv regime”.
The ministry said it had also protested against a Greek decision to declare a group of Russian diplomats “personae non-gratae”.
Greece is a member of Nato and the European Union – and has joined EU sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
Two dead and 20 injured in Russian missile strike on shopping mall
At least two people were killed and 20 wounded in a Russian missile strike on a shopping mall in central Ukraine on Monday, a senior official said.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said nine of the wounded were in a serious condition following the missile strike on the city of Kremenchuk.
Ukrainian shopping centre with 1,000 inside struck by Russian missiles, Zelensky says
‘It’s imposssible to imagine’ number of casualties, president Zelensky said
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