Russia-Ukraine war – live: Putin ‘ready for ceasefire’ on battlefield lines as Russia strikes Kharkiv trains

Vladimir Putin is ready ‘to freeze the war’ recognising recent Russian gains, according to senior sources

Putin will be made to pay to rebuild Ukraine, says US secretary of state

Vladimir Putin is thought to be ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognises the current battlefield lines, saying he is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond.

“Putin can fight for as long as it takes, but Putin is also ready for a ceasefire – to freeze the war,” a senior Russian source told Reuters news agency.

It came as a Russian attack destroyed trains and tracks Kharkiv region, officials said on Friday. Children were being evacuated from the area as it is pummeled by the Kremlin’s forces in a powerful new offensive.

The overnight strike on rolling stock and railway tracks also damaged buildings, according to Ukraine’s national railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia.

No injuries were reported.

Authorities have evacuated more than 11,000 people from the Kharkiv region since Russia launched an offensive there on May 10, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. Officials on Friday announced the mandatory evacuation over the next 60 days of 123 orphans and children living without their parents in the area.

Key Points

• Sources say Putin is ready to freeze war along current battlelines
• Two bystanders killed in Crimea, says Russia-backed official
• Putin’s forces ‘kill seven’ in deadly Kharkiv attack
• First group of Ukrainian pilots graduate F-16 fighter jet programme

[24 May 2024 15:20 · Matt Mathers]

Russian spy chief says more than 20 arrested over deadly concert attack

Russia has arrested more than 20 people in connection with an attack that killed more than 140 people at a concert hall near Moscow in March, the head of the FSB security service said on Friday.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The suspects held by Russia include the four suspected gunmen, all citizens of Tajikistan, whose detention was extended last week until 22 August.

No date has been set for their trial.

Russian spy chief Alexander Bortnikov (Sputnik)

[24 May 2024 14:50 · Matt Mathers]

G7 prepares Ukraine loan ‘in principle’, reproach for China

Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven industrial democracies began a two-day meeting in Italy on Friday seeking to present a common front on the need to provide a loan to Ukraine and oppose China’s "unfair" industrial policies.

However, comments from officials ahead of the gathering in Stresa, northern Italy, suggest no hard details will emerge on a US push for a loan to Ukraine backed by the future income from some $300 billion of frozen Russian assets.

"We will be putting a proposal to use the windfall profits for the Russian assets for the years to come," French finance minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters ahead of the opening session, a broad review of the global economy.

Bruno Le Maire (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

[24 May 2024 14:18 · Matt Mathers]

Ukraines Zelensky to visit Spain next week, report says

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Spain on Sunday and meet with prime minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe on Monday, Spanish radio station Cadena SER reported on Friday, citing sources on the team coordinating the trip.

Earlier this month Zelenskiy postponed his planned trip to Madrid and Lisbon amid intense fighting in the Kharkiv region.

Pedro Sanchez (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

[24 May 2024 13:30 · Tom Watling]

Zelensky visits the site of the fatal Russian strike on Kharkiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the site of a Russian missile strike on a printing press in Kharkiv yesterday.

You can view photos and video from his visit below.

[24 May 2024 13:00 · Tom Watling]

Putin’s military purge ramps up as another Russian general arrested

[24 May 2024 12:30 · Tom Watling]

Ukraine in talks with EU to maximise electricity imports, minister says

Ukraine is negotiating to maximise possible imports of electricity from European Union countries to compensate for the generation capacity destroyed by the Russian attacks, Ukrainian energy minister has said.

Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine‘s energy sector have intensified since March, resulting in significant damage and blackouts in many regions.

The attacks have caused more than $1 billion (£786 million) of damage to the sector, leading to the loss of 8,000 MWh of generating capacity from the energy system, the government says.

Currently, Ukraine can import from the EU states no more than 1,700 Mwh of electricity simultaneously.

“We’re negotiating. Our task is to maximise this figure,” Energy Minister German Galushchenko told parliament.

“Technically, we can receive (import) more than 2,000 Mwh, even 2,400 Mwh. I’m sure a decision will be made,” he added.

[24 May 2024 12:00 · Tom Watling]

US will announce $275 million more in artillery and ammunition for Ukraine, officials say

[24 May 2024 11:30 · Tom Watling]

Zelensky visits Kharkiv region amid Russian attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the northeast region of Kharkiv amid Russia’s fresh assault in the area.

The Ukrainian leader said he discussed the frontline situation, particularly in the town of Vovchansk, which has become a primary defensive position near the border with Russia.

The governor of the region, Oleh Syniehubov, and the mayor of the region’s namesake capital, Igor Terekhov, were both in attendance.

[24 May 2024 11:00 · Tom Watling]

We have some more photos of the attack on Kharkiv

We have some more photos from the scene of a Russian missile strike on a printing press in Kharkiv, northeast Ukraine, yesterday.

You can read our full report on the strike here.

Rescuers carry the body of a victim at the site of a shelling on a printing house in Kharkiv (EPA)

The Faktor Druk printing house, believed to have 50 people inside at the time of the strike, was completely destroyed (EPA)

[24 May 2024 10:30 · Tom Watling]

Putin wants Ukraine ceasefire on current frontlines, sources say

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognises the current battlefield lines, four Russian sources have told Reuters, saying he is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond.

Three of the sources, familiar with discussions in Putin's entourage, said the veteran Russian leader had expressed frustration to a small group of advisers about what he views as Western-backed attempts to stymie negotiations and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to rule out talks.

“Putin can fight for as long as it takes, but Putin is also ready for a ceasefire to freeze the war,” said a senior Russian source who has worked with Putin and has knowledge of top level conversations in the Kremlin.

Putin has regularly suggested he is willing to negotiate a ceasefire, only to issue demands he knows Kyiv would never accept, and that permit him to steal swathes of Ukrainian territory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin looks on during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (not pictured) in Minsk (via REUTERS)