VLADIMIR Putin's Russian forces have attempted to storm the base of the last Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, the Ukrainian military said.
Troops were said to have attacked the Azovstal steel plant, despite an order from President Putin demanding the contrary.
Most of Mariupol is under Russian control and the city’s mayor Vadym Boychenko said around 100,000 residents remained trapped in the conflict zone.
Meanwhile satellite images have been uncovered, showing what appear to be mass graves in a town near Mariupol, as officials accuse Russia of ‘hiding their military crimes’ there.
The mayor, Boychenko, earlier said a 30 metre mass grave had been discovered in Manhush, about 11 miles west of Mariupol.
Follow our Russia-Ukraine live blog below for up-to-the-minute updates…
- Milica Cosic
Ukrainian spy drones find massive ‘tank graveyard’
SPY drones have located a massive “tank graveyard” ten miles inside Russia — further underlining the scale of Vladimir Putin’s battlefield losses.
Reconnaissance flights carried out by a Ukrainian intelligence unit based in a secret bunker near the border filmed dozens of pieces of damaged military hardware dumped in a field.
Satellite pictures confirmed there were no vehicles at the site at Golovchino village when Putin unleashed his invasion on February 24 and only a handful on March 17, as the botched invasion faltered.
The Sun was granted exclusive access to join the Ukrainian team which launches its Ukrainian-built Leleka drone daily into Russian airspace with a catapult.
The 6ft wingspan device — the main aim of which is to seek out Russian artillery guns which are being used to shell Ukraine — can fly for up to 2½ hours.
We counted 57 military vehicles on the feed it beamed back, including at least 17 tanks. They appeared to be T-72s and more modern T-90s.
- Milica Cosic
Satellite images uncover mass graves
Satellite images have been uncovered, showing what appear to be mass graves in a town near Mariupol, as officials accuse Russia of ‘hiding their military crimes’ there.
The mayor, Boychenko, earlier said a 30 metre mass grave had been discovered in Manhush, about 11 miles west of Mariupol.
- Milica Cosic
Putin's forces attempt to storm Mariupol plant
VLADIMIR Putin's Russian forces have attempted to storm the base of the last Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, the Ukrainian military said.
Troops were said to have attacked the Azovstal steel plant, despite an order from President Putin demanding the contrary.
Most of Mariupol is under Russian control and the city’s mayor Vadym Boychenko said around 100,000 residents remained trapped in the conflict zone.
- Milica Cosic
Milica Cosic with you this morning bringing you the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war.
- Joseph Gamp
Kremlin fury over Wimbledon banning Russian tennis players
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov is furious at the decision and has criticised the ban which has been put in place by the AELTC.
The Russian said: "Given that Russia is a strong tennis country and our athletes possess top lines of the world rating, the tournament itself would suffer because of this ban.
"It is unacceptable to make the athletes once again hostages of certain political prejudice intrigues and hostile actions towards our country.
- Joseph Gamp
Which Russian players are set to miss out?
Reigning US Open champion, Daniil Medvedev is the highest ranked tennis star who will not to be at Wimbledon.
The Russian occupies second spot on the men's leaderboards and was a favourite to clinch the trophy in London.
Andrey Rublev is seeded eighth on the charts and has won two titles in 2022 so far.
However, he'll not be able to add to his tally in June – his camptriot Karen Khachanov who is 26th, will not be there either.
Anastaia Pavlyuchenkova is ranked number 15 for the women – and has previously called out for the war to stop.
But now, unless things change, she won't be able to improve on her positioning at Wimbledon.
There will also be no Aslan Karalsev, Darya Kasatkina, or Vernoika Kudermetova
- Joseph Gamp
Why have Wimbledon banned Russian players?
Wimbledon have made the decision to ban Russian players following the "illegal" invasion of Ukraine.
The AELTC believe that they have a responsibility to "limit Russia's global influence through the strongest means possible."
AELTC's statement read: "On behalf of the All England Club and the Committee of Management of The Championships, we wish to express our ongoing support for all those impacted by the conflict in Ukraine during these shocking and distressing times.
We share in the universal condemnation of Russia’s illegal actions and have carefully considered the situation in the context of our duties to the players, to our community and to the broader UK public as a British sporting institution.
“We have also taken into account guidance set out by the UK Government specifically in relation to sporting bodies and events.
“Given the profile of The Championships in the UK and around the world, it is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts of Government, industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible.
“In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships.
“It is therefore our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships 2022.”
- Joseph Gamp
All you need to know about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Everything you need to know about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine…
- Why is Russia invading Ukraine?
- Will the UK go to war?
- How can I join the Ukraine foreign legion?
- What can I do to help Ukraine?
- Who is Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
- How much gas does the UK get from Russia?
- Is Russia a part of Nato?
- Does Russia have nuclear weapons?
- Why is Ukraine not in Nato?
- How big is the Russian army?
- What is Article 5 of the Nato treaty?
- What is the Minsk agreement?
- Which countries were in the Soviet Union?
- What does the Z mean on Russian tanks? Meaning behind symbols explained
PM: Ukraine peace talks are doomed because of ‘crocodile’ Putin
Boris Johnson has said that any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are likely to fail as holding talks with Vladimir Putin is like dealing with a “crocodile”.
During his two-day visit to India, the PM likened holding talks with to dealing with “a crocodile when it’s got your leg in its jaws.”
“It is very hard to see how the Ukrainians can negotiate with Putin now given his manifest lack of good faith,” Mr Johnson told reporters.
“His strategy, which is evident, is to try engulf and capture as much of Ukraine as he can and perhaps to have some sort of negotiation from a position of strength,” he added.
- Joseph Gamp
Russian and Belarusian tennis players banned from Wimbledon
Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to compete at this year’s Wimbledon due to the invasion of Ukraine, a decision which the ATP has called “unfair”.
Entries from players from the two countries will be declined “with deep regret”, tournament organisers said.
Men’s world number two Daniil Medvedev of Russia and women’s world number four Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will be among those affected by the decision.
All England Club chairman Ian Hewitt said: “We recognise that this is hard on the individuals affected, and it is with sadness that they will suffer for the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime.
“We have very carefully considered the alternative measures that might be taken within the UK Government guidance but, given the high profile environment of The Championships, the importance of not allowing sport to be used to promote the Russian regime and our broader concerns for public and player (including family) safety, we do not believe it is viable to proceed on any other basis at The Championships.”
Wimbledon said that the decision would be reconsidered if circumstances “change materially” between now and June and welcomed the LTA’s decision to also ban players from Russia and Belarus from its UK events this summer.
- Joseph Gamp
PM to offer India defence support in bid to sever ties with Russia
Boris Johnson has committed to supporting India to build fighter jets in a bid to reduce the amount of arms the nation buys from Russia.
The Prime Minister will discuss defence and security collaboration across land, sea air, space and cyber with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday.
Mr Johnson will use the meeting to press for a loosening of ties with Moscow, amid concerns about India's neutrality on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
Downing Street said the UK would offer the "best of British knowhow" to support building "new Indian-designed and built fighter jets", but further details were unclear.
Britain will also issue an open general export licence to India, which No 10 said would speed up its defence procurement in a move that is a first outside the European Union or US.
Ahead of their meeting, Mr Johnson said: "The world faces growing threats from autocratic states which seek to undermine democracy, choke off free and fair trade and trample on sovereignty.
"The UK's partnership with India is a beacon in these stormy seas.
"Our collaboration on the issues that matter to both our countries, from climate change to energy security and defence, is of vital importance as we look to the future."
- Joseph Gamp
Kremlin MP demands Ukrainian POWs used as ‘involuntary blood donors’ for Russian forces
A RUSSIAN MP has proposed to forcibly taking blood of Ukrainian prisoners of war to treat injured civilians and Russian soldiers, it has been reported.
Sergey Leonov, a member of Russia’s State Duma, has made such a proposal according to, Euromaidan Press who reported late yesterday evening.
“Naturally, we are talking about reasonable donations, and only for those whose health allows it,” the news website quoted the lawmaker.
According to a Nato official who spoke to NBC on condition of anonymity at the start of April, up to 40,000 Russian troops were either killed, injured, had been captured or had disappeared.
Between 7,000 and 15,000 are thought to have been killed in the war in Ukraine since the invasion was launched on 24 February, the NATO officials said.
- Joseph Gamp
News you may have missed
- ‘Mad’ Putin is hearing ‘voices inside his head’, an expert has claimed
- Putin has rewarded the ‘butchers of Bucha’ for their ‘heroism and bravery’
- Russia’s military bases have been pictured on Google Maps, amid reports they are using ‘fake jets’ to fool the West
- While Russia’s tinpot army has allegedly been using cheap cameras, gamepads and satnavs to fix up their planes and drones
- A former ally of Putin was found shot dead in his £2m apartment alongside his wife and daughter
- His death follows a number of Putin allies who have been ‘purged’ in the wake of the Ukraine invasion
Biden: ‘Questionable’ if Mariupol has been captured
US President Joe Biden on Thursday said it was unclear if Russia had taken control of Mariupol after President Vladimir Putin claimed the “liberation” of the flattened Ukrainian city.
“It’s questionable whether he does control Mariupol,” Biden said.
“He should allow humanitarian corridors to let people… get out.
“There is no evidence yet that Mariupol has completely fallen.”
Ukrainian visa delays are 'a national disgrace' says UK refugee host
Visa delays under the Government's Homes for Ukraine scheme is a "national disgrace and a national embarrassment", a British host has said.
David Turner, 53, a lawyer from Farnham, Surrey, is sponsoring four Ukrainian refugees but said only one visa has been approved almost five weeks after applying to the scheme.
"The way that the Home Office is performing is a national disgrace and a national embarrassment," Mr Turner told the PA news agency.
"I never dreamed when I filled out the application form that five weeks later, we'd still be waiting.
"It is soul-destroying listening to the accounts of what the people in Ukraine have been through and they desperately need the stability of these visas coming through.
"These people are all in a desperate situation and need to be in a place where they are safe and secure, and able, at least in some respects, to pick up their lives as soon as possible."
Fewer than a third of Ukrainian refugees who have been issued with visas have arrived in the UK, Government figures show.
A total of 71,800 visas had been issued as of Wednesday under the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, the Government said.
But, as of Monday, just 21,600 Ukrainians had arrived in the UK, according to figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Home Office.
- Joseph Gamp
Zelenskyy says Ukraine needs $7bn a month to cover economic cost
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that the country needs $7 billion per month to make up for economic losses caused by Russia's invasion of his country.
In a virtual address to a World Bank forum,the hero president said the global community needed to exclude Russia immediately from international financial institutions and urged all countries immediately to break up relations with Moscow.
He said the Russian blockade of Black Sea ports has blocked Ukrainian exports, impacting world food safety.
- Joseph Gamp
Graphic: Inside Putin's arsenal of 'six super weapons'
IT'S no secret Vladimir Putin has a terrifying arsenal of super weapons hanging over the world's head.
He has again stoked fear he will wield his stockpile after showing off his deadly artillery to give his rivals "food for thought".
Despite using "outdated" tactics on the ground, money is no object for Russia's weaponry – seeing them taunt Ukraine with their unbeatable equipment.
The capabilities almost seem inconceivable, yet Putin has assured the globe his arsenal promises to cause mass destruction.
But unleashing such weapons would come with a huge amount of risk for the bloodthirsty tyrant.
Read more here.
- Joseph Gamp
Mariupol defenders 'hampering Russia's new offensive'
The failure of Russian forces to take the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the besieged city of Mariupol is hampering their latest offensive, Western officials have said.
President Vladimir Putin has said his forces would seek to seal off the vast Azovstal steel works, where Ukrainian marines have been holding out, rather than risk storming it.
However, officials said that would limit the numbers of troops that Russia could release for operations in the Donbas region which the new focus of their operations.
"Doing that around that area is not a trivial task if you want to seal it completely," one official said.
"That may still limit the ability of those forces to get themselves sorted to take part in operations in the Donbas."
Nevertheless, officials said it was still possible for the Russians to make military gains which President Putin could claim as a success, although it was unlikely to be swift.
One official said they had concentrated sufficient troops potentially to "surround and destroy" a significant proportion of Ukraine's best forces, if they used their own forces "intelligently".
- Joseph Gamp
UK issues sanctions Putin's war leaders with 'blood on their hands'
The Government has announced new sanctions against Vladimir Putin's "war leaders", as the Foreign Secretary vowed to crack down on those with "Ukrainian blood on their hands".
The move will target those "commanding the front line" to commit "heinous" acts in Ukraine, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
The UK is also taking action against individuals outside Mr Putin's military, who are "actively supporting his illegal invasion".
Meanwhile, the Department for International Trade said the Government has banned imports of caviar and other high-end products from Russia.
The import ban is being extended to cover silver and wood products while tariffs on imports of diamonds and rubber from Russia and Belarus are being increased by 35 percentage points.
The "key leaders in Russia's army" targeted as part of the new wave of sanctions include Lt Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov, a commanding officer with involvement in the Bucha massacre, the FCDO said.
He has been dubbed the "Butcher of Bucha", as his unit occupied the Ukrainian city where they have been reports of war crimes, with the death toll reaching almost 350, it added.
Also sanctioned by the UK are Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov, commander of airborne forces; Major General Valery Flyustikov, commander of special operations forces; and Colonel General Nikolay Bogdanovsky, first deputy chief of the general staff.
- Joseph Gamp
Russia says captured Brits are being given any assistance they need
Russia's foreign ministry has accused Britons captured fighting with the Ukrainian armed forces in Mariupol of being "mercenaries" but said they are being given any assistance they need.
In a statement posted on social media, Russian Federation ministry of foreign affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed the UK Government had "disavowed the British subjects who have fallen victim to British propaganda and went to Ukraine as mercenaries to kill people there".
In a reference to Nottinghamshire man Aiden Aslin, who appeared handcuffed in a YouTube "interview" apparently conducted in Donetsk earlier this week, Ms Zakharova said: "Boris Johnson has urged the Russian government to treat the Briton detained in Mariupol while fighting on the side of the Ukrainian government forces 'humanely and compassionately'.
"Here is what we have to say in this respect.
"Don't pretend to be worried.
"You are utterly unconcerned about the fate of Britons in trouble.
"They didn't drink champagne with you at Downing Street, and so they can wait for your protection till kingdom come."
- Joseph Gamp
Graphic: Mariupol's Fortress of Steel
UKRAINIAN soldiers continuing to hold out inside a giant steel plant in Mariupol have been dubbed the country's own "300 Spartans".
The troops, along with a small group of civilians, are refusing to budge from inside the Azovstal steelworks – despite Vladimir Putin's threat to starve them.
The brave fighters were told earlier this week to surrender and promised they would be allowed to live, given medical attention and looked after.
But troops are said to still be holed up in the steel mill which boasts a large underground network of tunnels.
But the defenders at Azovstal show no signs of giving up – and appear instead to be prepared to die for their country.
- Joseph Gamp
Over 1,000 civilian bodies found in Kyiv region since Russian withdrawal
The bodies of 1,020 civilians have been collected from the streets and buildings in the wider Kyiv region since Russian forces withdrew from the area late last month, Ukraine's deputy prime minister for European integration tells AFP.
The Russian withdrawal left a trail of civilian deaths that have fuelled accusations of war crimes and even genocide.
In the latest grim discovery, police say they have found the bodies of nine civilians, some showing signs of torture, in the town of Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv.
- Joseph Gamp
Putin orders blockade
President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to cancel plans to storm the Mariupol steel plant.
Instead, he wants it to be securely blockaded so that even “a fly” cannot pass unnoticed.
Mr Putin said Russia guarantees the lives those in the facility will be treated with respect.
He gave the above orders to Sergei Shoigu, his defence minister.
It is thought many civilians – possibly more than 1,000 – are also trapped there.
- Joseph Gamp
Biden: 'Questionable' if Mariupol has been captured
US President Joe Biden on Thursday said it was unclear if Russia had taken control of Mariupol after President Vladimir Putin claimed the "liberation" of the flattened Ukrainian city.
"It's questionable whether he does control Mariupol," Biden said.
"He should allow humanitarian corridors to let people… get out.
"There is no evidence yet that Mariupol has completely fallen."
- Joseph Gamp
Biden vows Putin 'will never take control of Ukraine'
President Joe Biden has vowed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would never take control of Ukraine, as the United States announced new military aid for Kyiv.
He said: "Our unity at home with our allies and partners, and our unity with the Ukrainian people, is sending an unmistakable message to Putin — he will never succeed in dominating and occupying all of Ukraine.
"That will not happen," he added.
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