Ukraine-Russia war latest: UK issues defiant message to Putin after ‘dangerous’ Black Sea flyby

Russia delivered nuclear munitions to field storage facilities in ⁠Belarus as part of major nuclear drills, the Russian defence ⁠ministry ​said this morning.

“As part of the nuclear forces exercise, nuclear munitions were delivered to the field storage facilities of the missile brigade’s position area in the Republic of Belarus,” the ministry said.

Russia ⁠said the missile unit in Belarus was carrying out training to receive special munitions for the mobile ‌Iskander-M tactical missile system, ​including loading ‌munitions onto ⁠launch vehicles and secretly ⁠moving to a ‌designated ​area for ‌launch preparation.

The Russian defence ministry said this morning that more of its nuclear munitions have been delivered to field storage facilities in Belarus as part of nuclear drills.

This came just hours after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv has bolstered its defences and will ​send reinforcements to its northern regions in bid to step up diplomatic pressure on Belarus to counter what Kyiv believes are Russian plans to launch a new offensive north of the capital.

Minsk has remained one of Moscow’s staunchest supporters in the war, which was initially launched in part by Russian forces passing through Belarus. Russian drones have frequently crossed Belarus while attacking Ukraine, and Minsk said it deployed the Russian Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile system.

“As of now, we haven’t detected any movement of equipment or personnel directly at our border, ‌but of course, ​we can see the pressure Russia is ‌putting on Belarus,” Ukraine’s border guards spokesperson, ​Andriy Demchenko, told Ukrinform news agency.

On Monday, Belarus said it launched joint drills with Russia to practice the use of nuclear weapons that Moscow has deployed on the territory of its neighbour and ally.

The two countries have ramped up their cooperation in recent months, with the inclusion of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko as Vladimir Putin’s guest of honour in his Victory Day parade earlier this month.

At least two ​people ‌were killed ​in a ‌drone attack on the town of Syzran ‌in Russia’s Samara ‌region on the Volga river, said Vyacheslav ⁠Fedorishchev, ​governor ⁠of the Samara region.

The independent Telegram channel Exilenova Plus reported that a refining unit at Rosneft’s Syzran oil refiner was struck in the drone attack.

A Ukrainian politician has condemned the British government for loosening sanctions on Russian oil, saying it “puts a question mark” on the UK’s friendship with Ukraine.

The government has faced widespread criticism after a trade licence that allows for the import of Russian jet fuel and diesel refined in third countries came into effect on Wednesday. Some sanctions on the transport of Russian liquefied natural gas were also lifted.

Experts have described the policy as a “carve-out”, which creates an exemption from tighter restrictions on processed oil products derived from Russian crude.

Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian MP, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the government’s decision.

His capitulation to short-term, local British politics, by quietly easing restrictions on the importation of refined Russian fuel to the UK, shows he has no capacity for strategic thought, or leadership: he has run up a white flag in an act of battlefield cowardice he doesn’t even comprehend.

Starmer’s smalltime decision to allow Russian diesel and jet fuel into the UK, so that Britons can enjoy cheap flights over the summer, is a blow to Ukrainians fighting to protect their democracy. It is also a violation of his agreements with allies to choke off the Kremlin’s money pipe, and a violation of the UK’s written commitments.

Two Russian jets last month intercepted a Royal Air Force surveillance plane over the ​Black Sea, in what the Ministry of Defence (MoD) ‌yesterday was a dangerous incident that raised the risk of potential escalation between Nato and Russia.

The ​Rivet Joint aircraft was unarmed and carrying out ​routine surveillance in international airspace over the Black ⁠Sea, the ministry said in a statement.

“A @RoyalAirForce Rivet Joint aircraft operating in international airspace over the Black Sea was dangerously intercepted by Russian military jets – flying as close as six metres and triggering onboard emergency systems,” the MoD said yesterday in a post on X, sharing a video of the interception.

It said the incident reflected “ongoing Russian aggression and heightened military activity across Eastern Europe and the High North”, adding: “The UK will continue to stand firm with its allies, united in the defence of Nato.”

The incident ​was the most dangerous Russian action against a UK surveillance plane ‌since ⁠2022 when a nearby Russian plane released a missile over the Black Sea, in what Moscow later called a technical malfunction.

Virtually ​all major oil refineries in central Russia have been forced to ‌halt or scale back fuel output following Ukrainian drone attacks in recent days, according to official data and sources.

Moscow had already introduced a gasoline exports ban from April until the ​end of July.

One of Russia’s largest facilities, the Kirishi oil refinery, has been shut since 5 May, sources said.

The combined capacity of refineries that have fully ​or partially halted operations exceeds 83 million metric tonnes per year, ⁠or around 238,000 tonnes per day.

That accounts for around one ​quarter of Russia’s total refining capacity, according to data and sources who spoke ​on condition of anonymity.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russia’s ​energy infrastructure, doubling the number of oil refineries targeted since the start of the year, ‌according ⁠to various posts on social media by Russian officials.

The strikes, which have also hit pipelines and storage facilities, have reduced Russia’s oil output – the world’s third-largest after the US and Saudi Arabia – adding pressure to Moscow’s federal ​budget, where oil ​and gas taxes account ⁠for roughly a quarter of revenue.

Residents of Lithuania’s capital were told to take shelter and the president and prime minister were taken to safe locations yesterday after an alarm over drone activity near the border with Belarus.

An emergency announcement from the military urged people in the region of Vilnius, the country’s capital, to “immediately head to a shelter or a safe place.”

The alert, which lasted for about an hour, also led to the closure of the airspace over Vilnius Airport.

President Gitanas Nauseda and prime minister Inga Ruginiene were taken to shelters, and there was also an evacuation order at Lithuania’s parliament, the Seimas, the BNS news agency reported.

The incident underlined jitters on Nato’s eastern flank over incursions related to Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine.

It was the first major alert that sent residents and political leaders in a European Union and Nato capital rushing to shelters since Russia’s invasion of neighbour Ukraine in February 2022.

It came hours after a Nato jet shot down a Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia. Ukraine apologised for that “unintended incident,” without specifying what had happened.

Ukraine will ​send reinforcements to its northern regions and step up diplomatic pressure on Belarus to counter what Kyiv believes are Russian plans to launch a new offensive north of the capital, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Zelensky said Kyiv had become aware of five scenarios Russia had drawn up to expand the war through the north.

“We analysed in detail the available data from our intelligence agencies on Russia’s planning of offensive operations in the Chernihiv-Kyiv direction,” Zelensky said on X, referring to a ⁠city north of the capital on ​the ⁠highway to Belarus.

“Our forces in this sector will be increased.”In recent weeks, Zelensky has given fresh warnings about a potential threat to Ukraine’s north from Belarus, a close Russian ally.

He has said Ukraine recorded unusual activity at the border, without providing details.

Oleksandr ‌Syrskyi, Ukraine’s top army commander, said on Tuesday that Kyiv had data that the Russian General Staff was actively calculating and planning offensive operations from the north.