Ukraine war live: Putin lands in Belarus to stage nuclear drills as Kyiv hits Crimea

The United States is expected to announce an additional $275 million in military aid for Ukraine on Friday as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, two U.S. officials say.

This will be the fourth installment of military aid for Ukraine since Congress passed a long-delayed foreign aid bill late last month and comes as the Niden administration has pledged to keep weapons flowing regularly and to get them to the front lines as quickly as possible.

The package includes high mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, as well 155 mm and 105 mm high-demand artillery rounds, according to the two U.S. officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details of the aid package before the public announcement.

Two bystanders have been killed in the Crimea peninsula after a Ukrainian missile hit the region near Simferopol, a Russian-appointed official said.

Simferopol’s governor Sergei Aksyonov claimed that a Ukrainian missile had struck an empty building near Alushta on the peninsula’s Black Sea coast.

This comes amid a busy early morning in Crimea as Ukrainian military bloggers and unofficial media reported a number of targets had been hit throughout the peninsula.

Russia’s defence ministry has also claimed to have intercepted three ATACMS missiles over Crimea, without providing any evidence of the projectile. It said the military had destroyed three Ukrainian sea drones headed toward the peninsula.

Videos and photos of the incident have been shared by Krymsky Veter, an online news outlet dealing with Crimea, showing an explosion and fire in Alushta, and said ambulances were heading to the scene.

News outlet RBK-Ukraine reported, without citing a source, that explosions had occurred in three other centres and said targets could have included headquarters for the coast guard or intelligence centres.

Russian bloggers on the peninsula said they believed that not all incoming missiles had been intercepted.

Russian border guards have removed navigation buoys from the Estonian side of a river separating the two countries, the Baltic nation said on Thursday, adding that it would seek an explanation as well as a return of the equipment.

Some 24 out of 50 buoys recently placed on the Narva river to mark sailing routes were removed in the early hours of Thursday the Estonian police and border guard said in a statement.

Natural changes to the riverbed make it necessary to retrace shipping routes annually, the authority said, adding that the location of buoys between Russia and Estonia had been disputed since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Russian defence ministry earlier this week briefly published a proposal to revise Russia’s maritime border in the eastern Baltic Sea, but later deleted it from an official portal after creating concern among NATO members, including Estonia.

It was not immediately clear if the removal of buoys was related to any Russian Baltic Sea border plan.

The Estonian foreign ministry said it treated the removal as a provocative border incident and would demand an explanation as well as the return of the buoys immediately.

“This action by Russia, carried out in the shadow of the night, fits well within the broader pattern of Russia’s provocative behaviour, including on its borders with neighbours,” it said in a statement.

The Narva river runs from a lake between Russia and Estonia and ends up in the Gulf of Finland, part of the Baltic Sea.

South Korea and Japan are sanctioning more individuals, organisations and ships related to Russia’s alleged procurement of weapons from North Korea.

The sanctions from Seoul target seven North Korean individuals and two Russian vessels over alleged arms trading in breach of UN Security Council resolutions.

South Korea said the Russian vessels transported military supplies in a large quantity of containers from North Korea to Russia.

Japan also announced sanctions on 11 organisations and one individual including what it said were Russian groups involved in military cooperation with North Korea that supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia’s procurement of arms from North Korea violates the relevant UN resolutions that completely prohibit the transfer of arms and related materials to and from North Korea,” Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference.

North Korea has been accused by the US and South Korea of transferring weapons to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the accusations, but vowed last year to deepen military relations.

Vladimir Putin reached Belarus for a two-day visit as part of several foreign tours to kick off his fifth term in office as he is set to discuss tactical nuclear exercises where Russia has now parked the weapons.

Minsk is set to take part in the exercises, aimed at simulating preparations for the launch of the weapons, which are smaller nuclear warheads meant for use on battlefields.

Upon arrival, Mr Putin said he had discussed issues of cooperation Belarus at a cabinet meeting in Moscow.

“Today and tomorrow we will be discussing all this, including issues of security to which we have devoted considerable attention,” Mr Putin was quoted as saying. “There is a lot to talk about. Everything is stable and going well for us.”

Discussions of the second phase of exercises with tactical weapons were also on the agenda.

“Part of this is the direct participation of our Belarusian friends and colleagues in the military sphere in these events.”

The Russian president traveled to China earlier this month, and is expected in Uzbekistan on Sunday. Earlier yesterday, the Russian president hosted Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in the Kremlin.

The ATESH guerrilla movement discovered a stash of Russian military equipment at a freight station in occupied Yevpatoria.

“In the course of reconnaissance, an agent of our movement discovered the unloading of an echelon of equipment at the Yevpatoria freight station. In the photo, you can see BMP-3 and a T-72 tank platoon,” the message says.

They added that railroad cars with ammunition were also unloaded along with the equipment.

“The occupiers are hiding behind civilian infrastructure, but we are tracking the movements of the Russian military. We know exactly where to strike and we share this information with the appropriate people,” ATES added.

The Chinese embassy in the UK has asked London to stop making groundless accusations against China, and stop adding fuel to the fire on the Ukraine issue.

British defence minister Grant Shapps has accused Beijing of aiding Russia by providing or preparing to provide it with lethal aid for use by Moscow its war against Ukraine.

He told a conference in London that US and British defence intelligence had evidence that “lethal aid is now, or will be, flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine, I think it is a significant development”.

Reacting to the statement today, a Chinese embassy spokesperson said the remarks “are completely out of nowhere”.

“We urge the UK to stop making groundless accusations against China, stop adding fuel to the fire on the Ukraine issue, seriously reflect on its role in international peace and security, and truly do something for world peace and justice,” the spokesperson said.

“On the Ukraine issue, China has always adhered to an objective and fair position, actively promoted peace talks, and promoted a political settlement,” the spokesperson commented.

“With regard to the export of military products, China has always adopted a prudent and responsible attitude and has consistently controlled the export of dual-use items in accordance with laws and regulations.”

Russian forces now control more than half of the border town of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, claims Russia’s parliament deputy Viktor Vodolatskiy.

The claims were reported this morning by Russian news agency TASS.

He added that the Russian forces are next targeting the towns of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk and Pokrovsk.

Moscow’s propaganda claims have not been backed by experts monitoring the war.

Washington-based The Institute for the Study of War in its latest assessment overnight said that while Russian forces continued ground attacks in and around Vovchansk in the past 24 hours, there were no confirmed changes to the frontline.

“Russian milbloggers [military bloggers] claimed that Russian forces advanced up to 400 metres in depth within Vovchansk, but ISW has not observed visual confirmation of this claim,” it said in its assessment.

Exclusive: Mayor of Kharkiv Igor Terekhov tells The Independent that Russian forces are trying to ‘destroy’ his city, home to some 1.4 million civilians.

Tom Watling has more here:

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported Russian losses overnight on Facebook.

They claimed the total combat losses of Russian troops in Ukraine from 24 February 2022 to 23 May 2024 amounted to about 497,700 people, including another 1,330 people overnight.