United Russia party HQ in Ukraine destroyed, says mayor
The United Russia political party’s headquarters in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Polohy was destroyed in an attack on Friday, according to the mayor of Melitopol, the Kyiv Independent reports.
Ivan Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app that local residents described Russians as “burned out” of the headquarters during the “hellish pseudo-elections” in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia oblast.
No details were given about how the building was destroyed or any casualties among the Russian authorities. But Fedorov alluded to casualties, saying:
Some went to the hospital, and some went straight to the morgue.
Zaporizhzhia is among four Ukrainian regions that Moscow has illegally annexed but does not fully control where it is staging regional elections. Ukraine and the US have denounced the polls as a sham.
United Russia is the conservative party of President Vladimir Putin.
Key events
One killed in Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih
A young man was killed in a Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih yesterday, Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the Kryvyi Rih’s defence council, said on Telegram.
Vilkul said 74 people were injured in the attack, with 34 in the hospital and three in serious condition.
Here are some of the latest images of Ukraine coming in from the agencies:
The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces is estimating that Russian forces lost 600 personnel yesterday – bringing the total of Russian personnel lost since February 2022 to 268,140.
Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, in Kyiv on Saturday, the Japanese foreign ministry said.
In his talks with Kuleba, Hayashi will reiterate Japan’s firm support of Ukraine and address Tokyo’s involvement in the international community to end Russia’s invasion as soon as possible, Reuters reports the ministry said in a statement.
Hayashi will be accompanied by executives of Japanese firms, the ministry said.
Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, made a surprise visit to Kyiv to meet Volodomyr Zelenskiy in March.
Russia’s redeployments from frontlines hampering its offensive ability, says UK MoD
Russia’s redeployment of frontline forces to bolster its “degraded” units in Ukraine’s south-east is probably hampering Moscow’s ability to carry out offensive operations in other frontline areas, the UK Ministry of Defence says.
It its latest intelligence update, the ministry said Ukrainian troops had advanced into the “multi-layered” main Russian defensive line east of the town of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukrainian dismounted infantry forces are continuing to make gradual tactical advances against Russian positions and attrite Russian forces in the area.
Ukrainian forces had also maintained pressure on Russian positions to the south of Bakhmut, making gradual gains between Klishchiivka and Adriivka, the ministry said in its update, posted on X/Twitter.
It is highly likely that Russia has redeployed forces from other areas of the front line to replace degraded units around Robotyne. These redeployments are likely limiting Russia’s ability to carry out offensive operations of its own along other areas of the front line.
The redeployments are also highly likely an indication of pressure on their defensive lines, particularly around Robotyne.
United Russia party HQ in Ukraine destroyed, says mayor
The United Russia political party’s headquarters in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Polohy was destroyed in an attack on Friday, according to the mayor of Melitopol, the Kyiv Independent reports.
Ivan Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app that local residents described Russians as “burned out” of the headquarters during the “hellish pseudo-elections” in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia oblast.
No details were given about how the building was destroyed or any casualties among the Russian authorities. But Fedorov alluded to casualties, saying:
Some went to the hospital, and some went straight to the morgue.
Zaporizhzhia is among four Ukrainian regions that Moscow has illegally annexed but does not fully control where it is staging regional elections. Ukraine and the US have denounced the polls as a sham.
United Russia is the conservative party of President Vladimir Putin.
Welcome back to our live coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is Adam Fulton and here’s a rundown on the latest.
The United Russia political party’s headquarters in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Polohy was destroyed in an attack on Friday, the mayor of Melitopol was reported as saying.
Ivan Fedorov said local residents described Russians as “burned out” of the headquarters in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia oblast. He did not give details of how the attack occurred but alluded to casualties.
More on that story shortly. In other news:
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A Russian missile hit a police building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday, killing a policeman and injuring at least 73 people including nine police, Ukrainian officials said. The administrative building was destroyed and rescue workers pulled several people out of the rubble after the attack on Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s home town, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.
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A Russian airstrike killed three people and injured four others in the village of Odradokamianka in Kherson, southern Ukraine, on Friday, Klymenko said.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Russian ruler Vladimir Putin is responsible for the death of mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Ukrainian president, who provided no evidence to back up his assertion over Prigozhin’s death in a plane crash with his top lieutenants last month, said at a conference in Kyiv on Friday: “The fact that he [Putin] killed Prigozhin – at least that’s the information we all have, not any other kind – that also speaks to his rationality, and about the fact that he is weak.”
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British military and security services will monitor the Black Sea in a bid to deter Russia from striking cargo ships that are transporting grain from Ukraine to developing countries, the UK government has announced.
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The first 10 Leopard 1 tanks donated by Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands have arrived in Ukraine and more are on their way, Denmark’s armed forces said on Friday.
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Ukraine’s foreign ministry condemned “sham elections” being staged by Russia in occupied Ukrainian territories on Friday, saying they were “worthless” and would have no legal standing. The Russian regional elections include four Ukrainian regions Moscow does not fully control – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
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The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, also described the voting in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine as “sham elections” and said they were “illegitimate”.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy said “slower” arms shipments from western countries were threatening his counteroffensive and called for more powerful and long-range weapons. The Ukrainian president also said his country’s allies had eased up on sanctions imposed on Russia and called for a renewed drive to impose further punitive measures on Moscow.
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Ukrainian air defences shot down 16 of the 20 drones fired by Russia during Thursday night, Ukrainian officials said. Fourteen 14 drones had been brought down over the Odesa region and two more over the southern region of Mykolaiv, the southern military command said on Friday.
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Russia “must stop” its blockade of Ukrainian seaports after pulling out of the UN and Turkey-mediated deal to ensure grain shipments, the European Council president, Charles Michel, said on Friday.
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Cuban authorities have arrested 17 people in connection with what they described as a network to recruit Cuban nationals to fight for Russia in Ukraine. The head of criminal investigations for Cuba’s interior ministry, César Rodríguez, told state media that at least three of the 17 people arrested were part of recruitment efforts inside the island country.
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Ukraine’s former defence minister has said Vladimir Putin remains determined to destroy Ukraine entirely and to “assimilate” its citizens into the Russian Federation. Oleksii Reznikov warned his western counterparts that negotiations with Moscow would not bring peace.
