Putin launches day-long barrage on Bakhmut but Kyiv ‘repels all’ – live

Ukrainian deputy defence Minister Hanna Maliar said in a Telegram post that Kyiv’s forces had repelled day-long attacks by Russia in the embattled city of Bakhmut on Wednesday.

“The enemy gathered most of its reserves to Bakhmut and significantly strengthened the group,” she said. “Today the enemy attacked Bakhmut for the entire day. All attacks were repelled.”

The head of Kyiv’s military administration said Russian forces had sent waves of drones toward the capital.

This was the 10th attack this month and the second in less than 24 hours.

“This Kremlin tactic is an attempt to overwhelm our anti-aircraft forces and put psychological pressure on civilians. It won’t happen!” Serhiy Popko wrote on Telegram.

“All air targets sent toward Kyiv were destroyed by our anti-aircraft defences.”

The military had warned that central regions and Kyiv were at risk from drones.

Air raid alerts sounded throughout Ukraine early today, with some areas later reporting explosions and officials saying anti-aircraft units were pressed into action in several regions.

The alerts extended to all regions of the country for about an hour from 2 am (local time).

However, there were no reports of strikes on infrastructure or civilian targets and no indications of casualties as the alerts were withdrawn in Kyiv and in central and southern regions.

Rishi Sunak is in Tokyo to announce a new defence partnership with Japan and support £18bn of private business deals, and will then join in the wider G7 talks with the other leaders, from Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United States. They’ll be focusing on strategy towards Russia and China, with an obvious focus on the war in Ukraine, writes Sean O’Grady.

A Russian court on Thursday extended by three months the detention of a former employee of the US consulate in Vladivostok on charges of cooperating with a foreign state.

The US state department has condemned the arrest of Robert Shonov, which was reported this week. He was detained in Vladivostok on the Pacific coast and brought to Moscow.

The specifics of the charges haven’t been reported, including Shonov’s alleged actions or what country he was suspected of cooperating with.

A top UN official said Thursday that he hopes for a breakthrough soon after months of efforts to ensure that Russian food and fertilizer can be shipped to developing countries struggling with high prices.

A day after Moscow agreed to renew a wartime accord allowing Ukraine to export critical food supplies, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told The Associated Press that secretary-general Antonio Guterres recently met with insurance titan Lloyds to help iron out coverage for shipments of Russian agricultural products.

Ukraine said it had repelled a day of Russian attacks in and around Bakhmut on Thursday, making small gains while buying time for other “planned actions”.

While Russia boosted its forces in the city and attacked suburbs to the north and south, Ukraine’s forces advanced up to one 1km, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on her Telegram channel.

“The defence of Bakhmut and its outskirts is meeting its military objectives,” she said. “As of now, we control the southwestern part of Bakhmut.”