Talks aimed at overcoming Turkey’s objections to Sweden and Finland joining Nato have broken up with no sign of progress.
A senior Turkish official said talks between the countries made little headway and told Reuters news agency “it is not an easy process”. Negotiations will continue but no date has been set for them, the source added.
All 30 Nato members, including Turkey, need to approve the applications from Sweden and Finland to join the Western security alliance.
But Turkey has challenged both after accusing the two countries of harbouring individuals linked to Kurdish terrorists, a claim denied by Sweden and Finland.
Some analysts view Turkey’s stance as an attempt to win concessions from other Nato members.
We need more heavy weapons in Severodonetsk – local official
A Ukrainian official has been giving more details about the fighting in the city of Severodonetsk.
The head of the Severodonetsk district administration, Roman Vlasenko, told the BBC’s World At One programme that Ukrainian forces needed more heavy weaponry to drive the Russians out of the city.
He said Russian forces did not have a numerical advantage but had more heavy weapons.
“Arms are reaching the front in many areas of Luhansk and Donetsk regions,” Vlasenko said.
“But for the counter-offensive to be quick and effective we need more of them.”
He said Russian forces were in the suburbs and trying to take the city from three sides, but had been repulsed from central areas twice in the last three days.
Russia requires substantial financial resources in order to continue supporting both its economy and its “special operation” in Ukraine, the country’s finance minister says.
“Money for a special operation” means “huge resources” are needed, Anton Siluanov says at a university event.
Moscow officials insist on referring to the invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation.”
He adds the Russian government will be spending 8 trillion roubles (£95.8bn) in the form of an economic stimulus package this year.
“Huge funds. We need these resources to support the economy, support our citizens.”
The Russian economy has fared poorly in the last few months after being hammered by Western sanctions, with some forecasts projecting its GDP to shrink by between 8.5% and 15% this year.
Russian forces have taken over two-thirds of the perimeter of the front-line city of Severodonetsk, the governor of Luhansk region says.
But Serhiy Haidai says the city is not completely surrounded, denying reports by officials from the pro-Moscow self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic that Ukrainian forces are cut off there.
Severodonetsk is the most easterly major population centre in the Donbas still controlled by Ukraine.
Earlier we reported that 60% of the city’s housing stock is completely destroyed and up to 90% of buildings are damaged.
At least 1,500 people have died there since the invasion began in February.
Tracking the Russian invasion
Russia appears to have gained control of most of Lyman in Donetsk region – one of several key locations in eastern Ukraine under intense bombardment.
Moscow says its forces are fighting for the “complete liberation” of the Donbas, which broadly refers to Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, where Russian-backed separatists held significant territory before the invasion.
Russia now controls more than 90% of Luhansk and has made significant advances in Donetsk since its invasion on 24 February.
Boris Johnson has called for more military support for Ukraine, as it battles Russian forces in the east of the country.
The UK prime minister said Russian troops were “continuing to chew through ground” in the Donbas region, making “slow, but I’m afraid palpable, progress.”
He said multiple launch rocket systems, which have been requested repeatedly by Kyiv, could help Ukraine defend itself against what he called “very brutal Russian artillery.”
The government has pledged £1.3bn ($1.6bn) for military support to Ukraine.
The UK has supplied thousands of items of equipment so far, including 5,000 Nlaw anti-tank weapons, which many analysts believe have had a major impact on the course of the conflict.
“Nlaw was absolutely critical to the defeat of Russian ground thrusts in the early stages of the war,” according to Justin Bronk, of the Royal United Services Institute.
Other UK supplies to Ukraine include Brimstone 1 short-range missiles, Mastiff armoured vehicles, heavy lift drones, plastic explosives, air defence systems, night vision devices and small arms ammunition.
Some more now on the battle over the city of Lyman in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which earlier today Russian-backed separatists claimed to have taken control over.
Ukrainian officials are conceding that the city has been lost to pro-Russian forces, but not necessarily all of it.
A Kyiv defence official has told reporters that Ukrainian troops are currently battling to keep control of the city’s north-western and south-eastern areas.
The BBC has not been able to verify any of these claims.
So the picture on the ground is unclear, and it’s not possible to say for certain if Russian forces have taken full control of the city.
70 bodies found under Mariupol building – local official
About 70 bodies have been discovered under the rubble of a former industrial building in the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol, an aide to the city’s mayor says.
The bodies were found by Russian emergency workers and taken to a mass grave, Petro Andryushchenko said on Telegram.
He said they were people who had been trapped in the collapsed building after it was struck by shelling.
“No identification was carried out, but locals say there was basically nothing to identify given the condition of the bodies,” Andryushchenko said.
Andryushchenko, the mayor and other local officials are no longer in the city and are posting updates from a location in Ukrainian-controlled territory.
On Tuesday Andryushchenko reported that nearly 200 severely decomposed bodies had been recovered from under the rubble of a residential building in the city.
The total economic losses to Ukraine caused by Russia’s invasion amount to $564-600bn (£447-476bn), according to the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE).
The measure includes direct damage to housing and other buildings, infrastructure and property as well as indirect damage in the form of GDP decline, lost investment, workers leaving and additional defence and social support costs, the KSE said.
Direct losses from the destruction of buildings and infrastructure are estimated at $105bn, with damaged housing accounting for about $40bn of that figure.
The cities of Mariupol – now under Russian control after a long siege – Kharkiv and Chernihiv – both heavily shelled by Russia before its forces withdrew – and Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in Donbas where heavy fighting is currently taking place have seen most damage to residential buildings, the KSE said.
Meanwhile Ukrainian companies have suffered $11bn of economic losses, including more than half a billion dollars in the past week alone. More than 200 Ukrainian companies, factories and plants have been destroyed, damaged or seized by Russia, the KSE says.
The KSE says Ukrainians can report the loss of physical infrastructure, including residential buildings, via its website.
Earlier today a former finance minister said Ukraine would need $750bn for reconstruction. Tymofiy Mylovanov told the BBC World Service’s Newsday programme that the work could bring with it the chance to “build back better”.
If you’re just joining us or need a catch-up, here are the latest developments in Ukraine:
- Russian-backed forces have taken control of the city of Lyman in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian officials have said
- An adviser to Ukraine’s President Zelensky, Oleksiy Arestovych, said Russian forces attacking Lyman had been well organised
- Heavy fighting is ongoing on the outskirts of Severodonetsk as Russian troops try to capture the city which is under almost continuous shelling
- The city’s mayor says 60% of the housing is completely destroyed and up to 90% of buildings are damaged
- Ten people have been killed and up to 35 wounded as a result of Russian missile strikes on a Ukrainian military base in the Dnipro district
- Ukraine’s President Zelensky says his country is not “eager” to hold peace talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin – but it will have to anyway
- Russia in turn blamed Ukraine for the freeze in negotiations after spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was unclear what Kyiv wanted, accusing Ukrainian leadership of “contradictory statements”
- Ukraine claims that Russia has scattered up to 500 old Soviet mines in the Black Sea, making it impossible to export goods from Ukraine’s ports
Since Russia invaded in February, one of the overwhelming narratives in the Western media has been that of low morale among its troops.
The Ukrainian armed forces, on the other hand, have been portrayed as being highly motivated to fight to defend their country.
But that may not be the whole picture. In an article in today’s Washington Post, two officers leading a company of volunteers describe their concerns about lack of support from senior commanders on the front line.
Company commander Serhiy Lapko says: “Our command takes no responsibility. They only take credit for our achievements. They give us no support.”
They are refusing to continue to fight, and face arrest and court-martial.
The Post also includes a video by a group which says it is part of the 115th brigade, 3rd battalion fighting at Severodonetsk. They say they are refusing to serve because they have “no battle commanders, no equipment, no respect”.
“We have been waiting for reinforcements for two weeks now,” one serviceman says. “We are being sent to certain death.”
Cases of Ukrainian volunteers refusing to fight have been rare, and another group of fighters in the same battalion have countered with a video of their own, describing them as deserters who abandoned their colleagues.
“They thought they were on holiday,” a service member says in the video.
Rumblings of dissatisfaction do appear to have become more common, though.
Members of a territorial defence battalion from the central Cherkasy region said that though they were willing to fight, they lacked the heavy weaponry they needed for combat.
The video, which has the address of an unofficial military channel on Telegram, was posted by a pro-Russian blogger in recent days.
The channel says there has been a sharp rise in the number of similar videos since the beginning of May.
Ten killed and up to 35 wounded in Dnipro strikes, official says
We have more details now on the three explosions that reportedly happened overnight in Dnipro, a region in central-eastern Ukraine.
Ten people have been killed and 30-35 wounded as a result of Russian missile strikes against a National Guard base in the Dnipro district, according to the head of the Territorial Defence Centre, Hennadiy Korban.
He says three missiles were launched from the Rostov region of Russia.
Earlier, we reported rescuers were going through the rubble to look for people after explosions were heard overnight and several more were incoming, the region’s governor Valentyn Reznichenko says.
Reluctance and mutual blame over peace talks
Both sides have given a fresh assessment of whether peace talks can restart – having stalled for weeks.
President Zelensky says Ukraine is not “eager” to talk to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin – but it will have to anyway.
“We have to face the realities of what we are living through,” Zelensky said in an address to an Indonesian think tank, according to the Reuters news agency.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin blames Ukraine for the freeze in negotiations. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday it was unclear what Kyiv wanted, Reuters reported separately.
Peskov accused the Ukrainian leadership of “contradictory statements”.
Heavy fighting ongoing on outskirts of badly-damaged Severodonetsk
There has been heavy fighting on the outskirts of Severodonetsk – a key Russian target – as Russian troops attempt to capture the city in the Luhansk Region of Ukraine.
The city is under almost continuous shelling – 60% of the housing stock is completely destroyed and up to 90% of buildings are damaged and will need major repairs, the mayor, Oleksandr Stryuk, says.
Four civilians were killed in Severodonetsk on Thursday and 1,500 have died since the invasion began in February and the city’s regional centre is being destroyed by Russian artillery and aircraft, head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, Serhiy Haidai says.
He says Russian troops tried to break into Severodonetsk from nearby towns, Purdivka and Shchedryshcheve, and attacked Ukrainian military positions.
Russian forces have been making sporadic breakthroughs against heavily entrenched Ukrainian positions in the Donbas since Moscow focussed its war efforts there.
BBC News
