Key occasions
Talking about Russian missile and drone assaults on Ukraine’s jap metropolis of Dobropillia in a single day, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned on Fb:
Such strikes present that Russia’s goals haven’t modified. Subsequently, it’s essential to proceed to do our greatest to guard lives, strengthen our air defences, and enhance sanctions in opposition to Russia. The whole lot that helps Putin finance the conflict should collapse.”
Russia has carried out large strikes throughout Ukraine because it focused amenities in a number of areas, together with Odesa and Poltava, utilizing almost 70 cruise and ballistic missiles and nearly 200 assault drones, in line with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Over a matter of days, the White Home has suspended weapons deliveries and the provision of intelligence to Kyiv. Zelenskyy is because of journey to Saudi Arabia on Monday to satisfy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Andrew Roth
Donald Trump has mentioned Vladimir Putin was “doing what anyone would do” after Russia launched a large missile and drone strike on Ukraine days after the US reduce off important intelligence and army help to Kyiv.
Chatting with reporters within the Oval Workplace on Friday Trump mentioned he finds it “simpler” to work with Russia than Ukraine and that Putin “needs to finish the conflict”.
“I’m discovering it harder, frankly, to take care of Ukraine. They usually don’t have the playing cards,” Trump mentioned. “When it comes to getting a last settlement, it could be simpler coping with Russia.”
Requested whether or not the Russian chief was profiting from the pause in US intelligence sharing and army help to Ukraine, Trump replied: “I really assume he’s doing what anyone else would do.”
Senior US and Ukrainian officers plan to satisfy in Saudi Arabia subsequent week as Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisers search to revive relations with the US after a botched summit within the Oval Workplace throughout which Trump instructed Zelenskyy he was “playing with world conflict three”.
Russia launched a large drone and missile assault on Ukrainian power amenities on Friday within the wake of the US determination to halt intelligence sharing with Ukraine that had helped it goal incoming fireplace.
Talking with reporters within the Oval Workplace, Trump mentioned: “We’re doing very nicely with Russia. However proper now they’re bombing the hell out of Ukraine.”
You possibly can learn extra on this reporting by Andrew Roth in Washington and Luke Harding in Kyiv right here:
A tank at Russia’s Kirishi refinery, one of many nation’s largest, was broken by falling particles throughout a Ukrainian drone assault, the governor of the north-western Leningrad area mentioned on Saturday, experiences Reuters.
Surgutneftegaz’s Kirishinefteorgsintez (KINEF) refinery is without doubt one of the high two refineries in Russia. It refines about 17.7 million tons a 12 months (355,000 barrels a day) of Russian crude, or 6.4% of the overall, in line with business sources.
“Air defences shot down one drone on method, the opposite was destroyed over the territory of the enterprise,” Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad area, mentioned on Telegram.
“When the particles fell, the exterior construction of one of many tanks was broken,” he mentioned.
Nobody was injured, he mentioned.
The refinery produces about 2.3 million tons of gasoline – 5.3% of Russia’s complete – 7.6% of its diesel gas, 16.3% of its gas oil and three.4% of the nation’s aviation gas, in line with business sources.
Waiting for Ukraine’s talks with the US subsequent week on a attainable finish to the conflict with Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is because of land in Saudi Arabia on Monday for discussions with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The assembly is a day earlier than Ukrainian officers are anticipated to carry recent talks with their US counterparts on Tuesday within the Center Japanese kingdom.
After assembly with Prince Mohammed, Zelensky mentioned his crew “will stay in Saudi Arabia to work with our American companions”, Agence France-Presse experiences.
“Ukraine is most excited by peace,” he added.
Earlier on Friday, the Ukrainian president renewed requires a mutual halt to aerial assaults on crucial infrastructure following the current Russian barrage.
He mentioned the primary steps to establishing actual peace ought to be stopping each Russian and Ukrainian aerial and naval assaults.
This newest proposal builds on rising rhetoric from Kyiv, Washington and Moscow on halting the conflict.
The Kremlin has beforehand dominated out a brief ceasefire in Ukraine.
5 kids have been among the many 30 wounded in in a single day Russian assaults on Dobropillia which additionally killed not less than 11 individuals, the Ukrainian inside ministry mentioned on Saturday.
It mentioned Russian forces attacked the city in jap Ukraine with ballistic missiles, a number of rockets and drones, damaging eight multi-storey buildings and 30 vehicles, Reuters experiences.
“Whereas extinguishing the hearth, the occupiers struck once more, damaging the hearth truck,” the ministry mentioned on Telegram.
It revealed images of partially destroyed buildings engulfed in fireplace and rescuers eradicating rubble from the buildings.
Dobropillia, residence to about 28,000 individuals earlier than the conflict, is within the Donetsk area of jap Ukraine, 22km (14 miles) from the entrance line north of the important thing hub of Pokrovsk, which Russian troops have been attacking for weeks.
The ministry additionally mentioned not less than three individuals have been killed and 7 injured in a separate drone assault on the Kharkiv area in a single day.
The Ukrainian army mentioned Russia attacked Ukraine in a single day with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and one Iskander-Okay cruise missile in addition to 145 drones.
The army mentioned air forces shot down one cruise missile and 79 drones. It mentioned one other 54 drones didn’t attain their targets, probably as a result of digital countermeasures.
A tank at Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery – one of many nation’s largest – was broken by falling particles throughout a serious Ukrainian drone assault, the governor of the north-western Leningrad area mentioned on Saturday.
Surgutneftegaz’s Kirishinefteorgsintez (KINEF) refinery is without doubt one of the high two refineries in Russia, Reuters experiences.
“Air defences shot down one drone on method, the opposite was destroyed over the territory of the enterprise,” Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad area, mentioned on Telegram.
When the particles fell, the exterior construction of one of many tanks was broken.
Nobody was injured, he mentioned.
The extent of the injury to the refinery was not instantly clear. There was no quick remark from Surgutneftegaz, considered one of Russia’s largest oil firms, or from Ukraine.
Trade sources say the Kirishi refinery refines about 17.7m tons a 12 months or 355,000 barrels a day of Russian crude – 6.4% of the nation’s complete.
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At the least 11 individuals have been killed and 30 wounded in Russian strikes on jap Ukraine’s Donetsk area late on Friday, the nation’s emergency service mentioned on Saturday, elevating the sooner loss of life toll of 4.
At the least 9 buildings have been broken within the assault on the centre of Dobropillia, it mentioned on Telegram.
The regional governor mentioned earlier that Russian forces had launched three night-time strikes in town north of Pokrovsk, a focus of their advance by means of jap Ukraine, and in line with preliminary info high-rise residence buildings have been concerned. Emergency crews have been on the website, Vadym Filashki mentioned on Telegram.
In the meantime in Russia, 1000’s of Ukrainian troops who stormed into the nation’s Kursk area final August are nearly surrounded by Russian forces there in a serious blow to Kyiv, which hoped to make use of its presence as leverage over Moscow in any peace talks, Reuters has reported, citing open supply maps.
The information company mentioned the maps confirmed Ukraine’s scenario in Kursk had deteriorated sharply up to now three days, after Russian forces retook territory as a part of a gathering counteroffensive that has almost reduce the Ukrainian drive in two and separated the primary group from its principal provide traces.
The scenario for Ukraine comes after Washington suspended its intelligence sharing with Kyiv and raises the likelihood that its forces could also be compelled right into a retreat again into Ukraine or danger being captured or killed.
In different developments:
Russia carried out large ballistic missile and drone strikes throughout Ukraine a day after the US stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv which had beforehand given advance warnings of assaults. The strikes got here early on Friday as a Ukrainian delegation ready to satisfy with US counterparts in Saudi Arabia subsequent week for talks a couple of attainable finish to the conflict, report Luke Harding and Dan Sabbagh. In a submit on Fact Social, Donald Trump appeared to criticise Russia’s newest bombardment. The US president posted: “Primarily based on the truth that Russia is totally ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield proper now, I’m strongly contemplating massive scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia till a Stop Fireplace and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED.”
Individually, Trump mentioned after the strikes that Vladimir Putin was “doing what anyone would do”. “I feel he needs to get it [the war] stopped and settled and I feel he’s hitting them tougher than he’s been hitting them and I feel most likely anyone in that place could be doing that proper now,” he instructed reporters within the White Home. Trump additionally mentioned he discovered it “simpler” to take care of Russia than with Ukraine in efforts to finish the conflict and that he trusted Putin, the Russian president. “I imagine him,” Trump mentioned. “I’m discovering it harder, frankly, to take care of Ukraine and so they don’t have the playing cards. It might be simpler coping with Russia.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to Russia’s strikes by calling for a truce overlaying air and sea. “The primary steps to establishing actual peace ought to be forcing the only real supply of this conflict, Russia, to cease such assaults,” the Ukrainian president mentioned on Telegram. Moscow has rejected the thought of a brief truce, which has additionally been proposed by Britain and France.
US aerospace firm Maxar Applied sciences disabled Ukraine’s entry to its satellite tv for pc photos after a request from the Trump administration. Maxar mentioned it had contracts with the US authorities and dozens of allied and companion nations and “every buyer makes their very own selections on how they use and share that knowledge”.
Zelenskyy’s approval ranking in Ukraine has risen by 10 proportion factors since his White Home spat with Trump, a survey by a number one Ukrainian pollster confirmed on Friday. The ballot by the Kyiv Worldwide Institute of Sociology – performed from 14 February to 4 March – discovered 67% of respondents trusted Zelenskyy in March, up from 57% a month earlier.
Iran’s overseas ministry denied accusations by Emmanuel Macron that Tehran had equipped tools to Russia to be used within the Ukraine conflict, calling the French president’s remarks “baseless and false”.
