Freedom of Information

[DaffyVina]

5:29
Welcome back
BBC
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine, where it’s 07:30 in Kyiv.

Ukraine says a counteroffensive has succeeded in pushing out Russian forces north of the key city of Kharkiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed reports his military had retaken some villages, perhaps indicating a new stage of the war, but he cautioned against expecting victory
This echoed the warnings of US security officials yesterday that even if Russia succeeded in its Donbas campaign in eastern Ukraine, Moscow was preparing for a long war
On Tuesday night, US lawmakers in the House of Representatives approved $40bn (£32bn) more in aid for Ukraine. The Senate is expected to pass the spending too
Russian missiles struck Odesa, Ukraine’s southern port city, and forces continue to pummel the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where the city’s last defenders are believed to be sheltering
The UN believes thousands more civilians have been killed in Ukraine than the official death toll of 3,381 people. More than eight million Ukrainians have been displaced so far

This is Tessa Wong and Frances Mao in Singapore, stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest on the war.

5:56
Settlements north of Kharkiv recaptured - Ukrainian officials

More on Ukraine's counteroffensive near Kharkiv.

Officials say their troops have reclaimed some towns near the key city in the north of Ukraine, in an effort to push Russian forces back towards the border.

The settlements of Cherkaski Tyshky, Ruski Tyshki, Borshchova and Slobozhanske were back in Ukrainian hands, a military spokesman said.

Military analysts say Ukraine’s northern campaign continues to successfully push Russian forces back.

The Institute of War, a US-based think tank, noted one Russian source which claimed that Russian troops had been pushed back to within 10km (6 miles) of the border.

Image of Institute of War map assessing Ukraine war situation as of 10 May
Copyright: Institute of War


President Zelensky spoke about the counteroffensive last night in a video address - while sounding a note of caution.

“But I also want to urge all our people… not to spread excessive emotions.

6:23
Ukraine says it's halting key Russian gas pipeline to Europe
Peter Hoskins
Business reporter, BBC News

Ukraine has said for the first time since the war started that it would suspend the flow of natural gas through a transit point, which it said delivers almost a third of the fuel piped from Russia to Europe through Ukraine.

Kyiv blames Moscow for the move, saying it would move the flows elsewhere.

Even after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, it has remained a major transit route for Russian gas to Europe.

However, Russian troops have been taking gas transiting through Ukraine and sending it to Russian-backed separatist areas in the eastern Donbas region of the country, the boss of the operator of Ukraine's gas network GTSOU told the Reuters news agency, without providing evidence.

GTSOU says it will stop shipments via the Sokhranivka route from today.

That comes after it declared a so-called force majeure, a clause invoked when a business is impacted by something that is beyond its control.

Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom said it had received notification from Ukraine that it would stop the transit of gas to Europe via the Sokhranivka interconnector from 0700 local time on Wednesday.

However, Gazprom, which has a monopoly on Russian gas exports by pipeline, says it is "technologically impossible" to shift all volumes to the Sudzha interconnection point further west, as GTSOU proposed.

Gazprom added that it was meeting all of its obligations to buyers of gas in Europe.

The United States has called on countries to curb their dependence on Russian energy and has banned Russian oil and other energy imports in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.

Tuesday's announcement does not change the timeline to lessen global dependence on Russian oil "as soon as possible", US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.

"We should not create an atmosphere of excessive moral pressure, where victories are expected weekly and even daily."

7:23
Fighting continuing on Snake Island - UK Ministry of Defence

Fighting is continuing on Ukraine's Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said in its daily intelligence update.

The MoD says Russia is repeatedly trying to reinforce its exposed garrison on the island, but Ukraine successfully struck Russian air defences and resupply vessels with Bayraktar drones.

Russia's resupply vessels now have minimum protection in the Black Sea - following a retreat after the loss of the sunken Moskva warship - the MoD says.

The island is of strategic importance because it provides access to Ukraine's major port cities, namely Odesa.

At the beginning of the war, 13 Ukrainian soldiers were thought to have been killed by Russian troops on the island after they were heard telling a Russian warship to "go to hell" - though Ukraine later confirmed they were alive.

7:54
Putin preparing for long war, US intelligence says

More now on the warning from US intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a long war in Ukraine, with even victory in the east potentially not ending the conflict.

It comes as fierce fighting continues in the east, where Russia is trying to take territory.

Moscow refocused its troops on capturing the Donbas region after Ukraine resisted attempts to take its capital, Kyiv. But despite this, its forces remain in a stalemate, US intelligence said.

Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told a US Senate committee hearing on Tuesday that Putin was still intending "to achieve goals beyond the Donbas", but that he "faces a mismatch between his ambitions and Russia's current conventional military capabilities".

8:58
Around 26,350 Russian troops killed, says Ukraine

Russia has lost 26,350 troops since it invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said in its latest update.

Ukraine claims the total losses from Russia are:

1,187 tanks
2,856 armoured combat vehicles
528 artillery systems
185 multiple launch rocket systems
eight air defence systems
199 aircraft
160 helicopters
290 unmanned aerial vehicles
94 cruise missiles
12 ships or boats
1,997 motor vehicles and tank trucks
41 special equipment units

The BBC has not been able to independently verify these claims.

9:21
How much gas does Russia supply to Europe?

As we reported earlier, Ukraine has said it will suspend the flow of natural gas through a transit point it says delivers almost a third of the fuel piped from Russia to Europe through Ukraine.

But how much gas does Russia supply to Europe?

In 2019 Russia accounted for 41% of the EU's natural gas imports.

Italy and Germany would be particularly vulnerable to supplies drying up as they are the countries that import the most gas from Russia.

Russia only provides about 5% of the UK's gas supplies.

Map showing the most important gas pipelines in Europe
Copyright: BBC


Gas is sent to Europe from Russia through several main pipelines.

Europe could turn to existing gas exporters such as Qatar, Algeria or Nigeria as alternatives - but there are political obstacles to expanding production quickly.

[DaffyVina]

9:56 11 May
Russian troops have left 'deadly traps' in Kharkiv region, governor says

More now on Ukraine's counter-offensive near Kharkiv, after Ukrainian officials earlier said their troops had reclaimed some towns near the key city.

Kharkiv is under heavy fire and "fierce battles" are ongoing in the region, governor Oleg Synegubov has said.

Kharkiv is the second-largest Ukrainian city and has been the focus of intense shelling since the invasion began.

Synegubov said Russian troops have left behind "deadly traps" in the region and he urged residents to stay in shelters, rather than "rush to liberated settlements".

"The enemy is insidious and is doing everything to hurt as many civilian Ukrainians as possible," he said on Telegram.

Due to successful offensive operations by Ukrainian troops, they have liberated several nearby towns from Russian forces, Synegubov added.

"Thus, the enemy was driven even further from Kharkiv, and the occupiers had even less opportunity to fire on the regional centre," he said.

10:42 11 May
How is Russia imposing its rule in occupied Ukraine?

Pro-Ukrainian protesters pass Russian soldiers during a demonstration in Kherson
Copyright: BBC

Russia is introducing its own currency, media and internet services into parts of Ukraine its army has occupied - especially the southern city of Kherson.

Ukraine says Russia may be planning to hold a referendum in the city - to see whether its inhabitants want to set up a pro-Russian breakaway "people's republic" - but the vote will be illegal and a sham.

Russian forces occupied Kherson in early March - one week after the invasion of Ukraine began. It was the first major city to fall.

Russia dismissed Kherson's elected mayor from his post and replaced him with a pro-Russian administration for the city and surrounding region.

Access to Ukrainian television channels has been blocked and internet service providers replaced with Russian ones.

12:10 11 May
Pro-Russian forces in Kherson ask Putin to become part of Russia - Tass news agency

Pro-Kremlin authorities in Kherson, which has been occupied by Russian forces since early March, will ask Vladimir Putin to become part of Russia, Tass news agency reports.

Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the military administration in Kherson, is quoted by the Russian news agency as saying a decree will ask for the Kherson region to become a "full-fledged subject of the Russian Federation".

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was for residents of Kherson to decide their own fate. He added that there needed to be a clear legal basis for such a move, claiming there had been one for the annexation of Crimea by Russian forces in 2014.

Since seizing Kherson, Russian military authorities dismissed its elected mayor from his post, have been introducing the Russian rouble as its currency and have blocked Ukrainian television channels.

[DaffyVina]

12:43 11 May
Boris Johnson press conference begins
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is starting his news conference in Sweden, where he has been meeting the prime minister as the country considers whether to join Nato.
The leaders have been discussing Europe's response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

12:48 11 May
UK and Sweden will assist each other under attack - Swedish PM
If either country should come under attack, the UK and Sweden will assist each other in a variety of ways, Swedish leader Magdalena Andersson has said in her opening remarks.
She hands over to Boris Johnson.

12:54 11 May
Johnson: Putin's bloodthirsty campaign puts an end to hope of peace
Boris Johnson says it is a sad irony that EU leaders are being forced to discuss the best way to fortify shared defences against the empty conceit of a 21st Century tyrant.

"When Europe celebrated VE day in 1945, a victory partly ensured by heroism of Russian people, we hoped peace on our continent would endure," he says.
Putin's bloodthirsty campaign against a sovereign nation has put an end to that hope, he says, and made a new reality that we face together.

12:57 11 May
We will come to each other's aid - Johnson
The BBC's James Landale asks Boris Johnson to spell out exactly what the UK would do if Russia attacked Sweden.

Johnson responds by saying that if there was an attack on either of the two liberal democracies then they would come to each other's assistance.
He also says the pact could mean intelligence sharing, or doing joint military exercises together.

"It will allow us to share more intelligence, bolster military exercises and further joint development of technology," he says.
"This is an agreement that enshrines the values that both Sweden and the UK hold."
He says he is pleased to sign the declaration "that brings our two countries even closer together".

13:06 11 May
Level of 'assistance' depends on what's asked for
The Swedish prime minister says Russia has said it will "respond" if Sweden decides to apply to join Nato - but exactly how is unclear.

"The tensions in this part of Europe has increased in the last years given Russia's aggression towards Ukraine," Magdalena Andersson says.

Asked about what support the UK would provide if Sweden was attacked during the Nato joining process, Boris Johnson says: "The declaration makes it clear, it's upon request of Sweden [that] the UK will of course provide assistance."
"What matters primarily is what Sweden decides to request," he adds.

13:10 11 May
UK will support whatever Sweden decides on Nato - Johnson
Asked what happens if Sweden needs help in the "grey zone" after it applies to join Nato but before it is accepted, Johnson says there's a "separate conversation going on" about Sweden's Nato membership and joining the alliance is "a matter for Sweden".
Sweden is yet to announce whether it has decided to apply for Nato membership or not.

Johnson says the UK will "support whatever of course of action Sweden decides to embark upon" regarding membership.
He also says that "in the event of a disaster or an attack upon Sweden, the UK would come to the assistance of Sweden with whatever Sweden requested".

Swedish PM Andersson says the pact could include military support in times of crisis.

Johnson also says it's important that Sweden is giving the same support to the UK in the declaration they have just signed - describing the pact as an important "paving stone for developing relations in the future".

The press conference ends.

Analysis
Posted at 13:15 11 May
UK guarantees could be crucial in coming months
James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

The mutual security assurances that Boris Johnson is offering Sweden and Finland show how the shape of European defence is changing. Both countries are considering applying to join Nato. And Britain is offering them military support.

This is not some kind of legal and automatic security guarantee like that which Nato members give each other. Instead, it is a political declaration that the UK and Sweden will come to the aid of each other’s armed forces if either were attacked.

The prime minister insists this is a long term commitment, not a short-term stop gap. But Britain’s support could be crucial in coming months if Sweden and Finland apply to join Nato. This is because there could be a tricky period between application and accession, potentially lasting some months, when neither country yet enjoys the full security guarantee that the Western alliance can offer.

[DaffyVina]

Analysis
Posted at 14:39 11 May
Gas prices in Europe could rise after Ukraine's latest move
Michael Race
Business reporter, BBC News

European countries that rely heavily on Russian gas will be paying close attention to the latest move by Ukraine, which says it will suspend the flow of natural gas through some of its pipeline network that transports a third of the fuel delivered to the continent.

Although the impact on the actual amount of gas delivered is still to be determined, the signs are that prices could rise as a result, Nathan Piper, head of oil and gas research at Investec, tells me.

He says the implications of tightened supplies pushing up prices come as Europe tries to refill reserves through summer, ahead of next winter.

The European Union has been focusing for weeks on how to wean itself off Russian energy, with some member states divided on the right strategy. The bloc has pledged to reduce gas imports by two-thirds by the end of 2022, but has urged countries to build up their reserves.

15:31 11 May
Finland '99.9% likely' to join Nato - former PM

Finland is 99.9% likely to join Nato, a former prime minister of the country tells the BBC.

Alexander Stubb, who was PM from 2014-15, says the Finnish president will announce Finland's intention to join tomorrow, followed by an announcement from the government over the weekend, and a joint statement from Finland and Sweden early next week.

He says there is "overwhelming support" in Finland for joining the alliance, citing a poll from Tuesday which showed 76% in favour and 12% against - a big swing from pre-invasion figures.

"The only person we can thank is Putin, he's the reason we're joining," he says.

He says Finland is "not at all" worried about Russia's threat of "a military-technical response" if it becomes a member.

"They've always been like that," he says, adding that when Iceland, Denmark and Norway joined in 1949 "the rhetoric was similar".

He warns, however, that during the "grey zone" of the membership application process - until Nato security guarantees come into effect - there may be Russian intimidation, cyber attacks and disinformation.

But he says Finland and Sweden have some of the largest armies in Europe, and that their leaders have been collecting security assurances from the US, UK, Germany and France.

"We feel very safe in this situation, not really worried about it at all," he says.

15:45 11 May
Full control of Snake Island would be game changer for Russia - naval analyst
Malu Cursino
BBC Live News Reporter

Battles have been raging on Ukraine's Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island, which you may remember was where 13 Ukrainian soldiers defiantly refused to surrender to Russian forces, telling a warship to "go to hell".

Russian forces are occupying the island but have not managed to seize total control of it and continue to come under attack - notably from Ukraine's drones.

However, if Russia were to achieve full control of the 662 metre-wide (0.4 miles) island it would be a "big game changer" for their military capabilities, Jonathan Bentham, naval analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, tells the BBC.

He said that if Russia were able to get S-400 air missile systems onto Snake Island, for example, then it would have "a real long-range anti-air capability in the north-west of the Black Sea".

Bentham said this would give Russia significant offensive and defensive capabilities, as it would be able to foresee air threats sooner and would have easier access to Ukraine's key south-eastern port cities, such as Odesa.

But given the small size of the island and its rocky terrain, Bentham said resupplying it would not be easy for Russia.

He added that unless Russia or Ukraine were able to cement their positions on the island with sophisticated anti-air weaponry, their forces would remain vulnerable to attack, leading to a potential back-and-forth control between the two nations.

Commemorative stamp showing picture of soldier on Snake Island and warship
Copyright: EPA
Ukraine issued postage stamps commemorating its soldiers' moment of defiance on Snake Island

15:58 11 May
Separatist leader says 'hands no longer tied' over Azovstal plant

Injured Ukrainian service members use crutches at a field hospital inside a bunker of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, Ukraine
Copyright: Reuters/Press service of Azov Regiment
Image caption: Injured Ukrainian toops at a field hospital inside a bunker of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol

We're now turning to the situation at the Azovstal steelworks, the last part of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol not under Russian control.

A pro-Russian separatist leader says that, according to his information, there are now no civilians left there.
"Consequently, our units' hands are no longer tied," Tass news agency quoted Denis Pushilin, the leader of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, as saying.
His forces have taken part in the assault on Mariupol.

Ukraine said on Tuesday that Russian forces were bombarding the steel works, demanding the surrender of its defenders from the Azov battalion.

On Tuesday an aide to the city's Ukrainian mayor said at least 100 civilians were still holed up at the plant.
But Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told AFP news agency this was not correct, and all women, children and elderly people had been evacuated from Azovstal as part of a humanitarian mission coordinated by the United Nations and the Red Cross.

Ukraine officials say more than 1,000 fighters, many of them injured, are stuck in the steel plant, many sheltering in the maze of Soviet-era bunkers and tunnels underground.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify these claims.

16:11 11 May
No one has the right to make Kherson part of Russia, says mayor

As we reported earlier, pro-Kremlin authorities in Kherson, which has been occupied by Russian forces since early March, will ask Vladimir Putin to make the region part of Russia, according to the Russian news agency Tass.

Kherson's Ukrainian-elected mayor Ihor Kolykhaiev - who was deposed after the Russian takeover - has now responded.

"I know for sure that the people of Kherson see themselves exclusively as part of Ukraine," he said in a statement on Facebook. "No one has the right to quietly make such a fateful decision for them."

He appealed for immediate intervention from Ukraine's presidential office, asking for an official statement confirming that Ukraine is fighting for Kherson and "appreciates each of its inhabitants who did not leave the city to be torn to pieces".

He said in the city there are currently residents representing more than 114 nationalities, with women, children and elderly people among them, who "have not left their homes due to the lack of safe green corridors".

16:30 11 May
First Russian soldier to face trial for alleged war crime

A Russian soldier will stand trial for committing an alleged war crime in Ukraine, for the first time since the war began on 24 February, according to Ukraine's prosecutor-general.

Iryna Venediktova said the man, who is currently in custody, is accused of killing an unarmed civilian in the Sumy region of Ukraine.

It followed a police investigation into the Russian military for "violating the laws and customs of war" and for "premeditated murder".

Her office said the soldier was in custody. He has not commented.

Separately, last month, Venediktova launched a hunt for 10 Russian soldiers accused of war crimes in Bucha - the town outside of the capital Kyiv where civilians were tortured, raped and murdered.

17:02 11 May
Zelensky: Nato membership would have meant no war
Zelenksy addresses students in Paris
Copyright: EPA

The war with Russia would have been prevented if Ukraine had been a member of the Nato alliance, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
"If Ukraine had been part of Nato before the war, there would have been no war," he told students at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, while speaking via a videolink.

Zelensky also said his country was "ready" to conduct negotiations "as long as it is not too late", CNN reported.

He added: “With each new Bucha, with each new Mariupol, with each new city where there are dozens of dead people, cases of rape, with each new atrocity, the desire and the possibility to negotiate disappears, as well as the possibility of resolving this issue in a diplomatic manner."

Russia has had a long-standing opposition to Nato expansion and to Ukraine joining the alliance, and has accused Nato of launching an active military build-up on territories adjacent to Russia.

[DaffyVina]

17:34 11 May
UK PM and Finnish President hold news conference

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is starting his news conference in Finland, where he has been meeting Finnish President Sauli Niinisto as the country considers whether to join Nato.
The leaders have been discussing Europe's response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Stay with us for full coverage of the event.

17:39 11 May
UK and Finland are 'great friends' - Finish president

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto begins by saying the UK and Finland are "great friends" and "strong security partners".
"We signed a joint statement - we will stand together and support each other in any circumstances, in good and bad weather."

17:42 11 May
Britain and Finland will aid each other militarily if attacked
"Here in Finland we appreciate UK's strong support Nato's open-door policy and for potential Nato membership," the Finnish President says.
"That is very valuable to us."

Sauli Niinisto says joining Nato wouldn't be "against anybody", adding "we would like to maximise our security one way or another while thinking about membership in Nato".

17:44 11 May
Both countries have condemned the war in Ukraine - Niinisto

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto says both countries have condemned the Russian war in Ukraine, and both have been helping Ukraine.

It's not a zero-sum game - where someone has to lose for another to win - he says. If Finland seeks to increase its security, that doesn't mean taking away from anyone else.

17:45 11 May
Russian invasion 'reshaped our future' - Johnson

UK PM Boris Johnson says Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused the "end of the post-Cold War period".

He also says the invasion has "rewritten our reality", "reshaped our future" and opened a new chapter.

17:47 11 May
Assistance will depend on request
Asked if there will be British boots on the ground if Finland asks for help during a possible conflict with Russia, Johnson says it depends.
"In the event of a disaster or an attack on either of us then yes we will come to each other's assistance including with military assistance," he says.
"But the nature of that assistance will depend upon the request of the other party."

That echoes similar statements he made in Sweden earlier today.

17:48 11 May
'We appreciate this big step' - Niinisto
This co-operation increases Finnish security, President Niinisto says.
"This is a very, very good way to go forward and we do appreciate this big step which is now taken," he says.

17:51 11 May
Declaration 'intensifies partnership' between UK and Finland
Boris Johnson says the declaration the two leaders have signed today "ensures that our two nations can intensify our partnership and take it to unparalleled heights".

"From the high north and the Baltics beyond, our armed forces will train, operate, and exercise together, marrying our defence and security capabilities and formalising a pledge that we will always come to one another's aid," he says.

17:54 11 May
'Clear bilateral agreement' between UK and Finland - Niinistö
Finland's President Sauli Niinistö is asked what the main difference is after signing this security agreement.
Niinistö responds by saying there is now a "clear bilateral agreement" between UK and Finland on how they will work together in future.
He also describes the agreement as a "big step forward" and says both countries will enhance co-operation with each other in different sectors.

17:57 11 May
UK has the military ability to deploy - Johnson
Boris Johnson was asked about the UK's capability to deploy military aid after years of alleged under-investment.
He says the UK military is being increasingly deployed because of the UK's ability to make record investments in the armed forces.

Nato is a defensive alliance, he adds - it poses no threat to anyone, it's there for the purpose of mutual defence.
"We make these commitments to our friends in Finland not just because we can, but because we must."

18:09 11 May
Putin should look in the mirror - Niinisto
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto was asked about whether his country joining Nato would provoke Russia.
He reminded the press conference that this was "not the first time we are discussing Nato".
"In the end of last year they [Russia] stated that Finland and Sweden can’t join Nato – they demanded that Nato doesn’t take new members," he says.

The Finish president said this changed the picture as Russia was stating that Finland and Sweden did not have their "own will", and the Russian invasion on 24 February also changes the picture.
"They are ready to attack their neighbouring country, so... my response would be that ‘you caused this – look at the mirror’," he says.

18:17 11 May
We must prevent further catastrophe - Johnson
Boris Johnson is asked whether the UK is sending generous support to Ukraine but failing to support people struggling with the cost of living at home.
He says his aim is "to prevent further catastrophe", including economic consequences.

He warns that if Russian President Vladimir Putin is not resisted, the invasion of Ukraine would not be the end of his "neo-imperialist, revanchist ambitions".
Johnson says it's "so important we are together, strong now" to deter further Russian aggression.

Analysis
Posted at 18:36 11 May
Putin to blame if Nato expands, says Finland
Katya Adler
Reporting from Helsinki

Finland says applying to join Nato is all about defence. But Vladimir Putin doesn’t see it that way. He’s always viewed Nato’s eastern expansion as a threat.

Finland shares an 800-mile (1300-kilometre) long border with Russia, bringing the alliance’s military might that much closer Moscow.

Finnish and Swedish membership will make Nato more robust too - boosting its eastern flank and presence in the Baltic Sea. And the Kremlin has threatened retaliation.

Some fear it might deploy targeted nuclear weapons. But Finnish diplomats I’ve spoken to believe Russia has its military hands full in Ukraine and that it will instead focus on cyber and disinformation campaigns.

They say President Putin has himself to blame for Nato expanding. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, most Finns and Swedes preferred to work alongside, but not inside, Nato.
Russia's aggression - its expansionist zeal - changed all that.

[DaffyVina]

19:29 11 May
Russia hints at annexing Kherson
Sarah Rainsford
Reporting from Kyiv

People shout slogans and hold Ukraine"s national flag during a protest
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Ukrainians in Kherson protested against the Russian occupation last month

Russia has given another strong hint that it plans to annex large parts of Ukraine – starting with Kherson in the south, which is already controlled by Russian forces.

A pro-Moscow official there, installed when elected leaders were removed at gunpoint, says Kherson will appeal to Vladimir Putin directly to incorporate the region into Russia.

The Kremlin spokesman said any such move would need what he called a clear "legal" basis. In Moscow-speak, that could mean holding a sham referendum to claim popular support.

Here in Kyiv, a senior official said Russian occupiers could ask to join Mars if they wanted - but Kherson would be liberated, in any case.

The Ukrainian military is making gains in fighting elsewhere: pushing Russian troops from territory to the north of Kharkiv.

But after losing ground in the east, Ukraine has now suspended use of a major pipeline there. It says fuel is being stolen from the Sokhranivka route – and diverted to Russian-backed forces.

But suspending the pipeline will cause significant disruption for gas supplies from Russia to Europe.

19:41 11 May
Relative says family's situation in Kherson 'like silent terror'
Larisa Kruten speaking to BBC World News
Copyright: BBC
Image caption: Larisa Kruten told the BBC her relatives in Kherson were unable to leave

The situation in Kherson "is really awful", a woman who has relatives in the Russian-occupied region has told the BBC.
Speaking on BBC World News, Larisa Kruten said: "I'd characterise the situation in Kherson like silent terror."

Last week "my family were totally cut off from the communications" - including television, internet and phone services, she said.

We previously reported that pro-Kremlin authorities in Kherson will ask Vladimir Putin to make the region part of Russia, according to the Russian news agency Tass.

And the Ukrainian elected mayor for the region has responded saying: "I know for sure that the people of Kherson see themselves exclusively as part of Ukraine."

"No one has the right to quietly make such a fateful decision for them", Ihor Kolykhaiev said in a statement on Facebook.

Larisa, who was speaking from Odesa but is from Kherson, said the residents under occupation are being shown Russian news and some are starting to be "influenced" by propaganda.

She told the BBC Russian soldiers have "closed entry to the city" and her relatives are unable to leave.

20:15 11 May
Ukraine suggests swap of Azovstal defenders for Russian PoWs
A view of destroyed facilities in Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks
Copyright: REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Image caption: Russia has besieged the steelworks for weeks, demanding the surrender of its defenders from the Azov battalion

Seriously injured defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in the devastated port city of Mariupol could be swapped with Russian prisoners of war, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has suggested.

"There is no agreement yet" and "negotiations are continuing," Vereshchuk has said in a Telegram post.

She says the government has been working on different options to rescue fighters trapped in the Azovstal plant but "none of them are perfect".

The troops in the steelworks have insisted they will never surrender to the Russian forces surrounding them.

[DaffyVina]

Ukraine war: Russia pushed back from Kharkiv - report from front line
By Quentin Sommerville
BBC News, Kharkiv
Published 1 day ago

Media caption: Watch: On patrol with the soldiers pushing Russia back

Ukraine says its forces have recaptured villages from Russian troops north and north-east of Kharkiv, pushing them back towards the border. The continuing offensive could signal a shift in the war's momentum and jeopardise Russia's main advance further south. BBC correspondent Quentin Sommerville, and cameraman Darren Conway, have been with Ukrainian forces as they advance.

The village of Ruska Lozova stands at the centre of the turn in Ukraine's response to Russian aggression.

It was recently liberated in a co-ordinated effort led by senior military commanders. Ukrainian troops from territorial defence, the national guard and the regular army are seeking to push the Russians back along a 32-km (20-mile) front line. In the Russian city of Belgorod, just across the border, troops have amassed for a likely counter-offensive.

We drove north from the city of Kharkhiv with Ukrainian forces. Russian shells continued to hit the village.

With no power or water, little food, and neither phone or internet, its residents had been isolated from Ukraine's second-largest city - just 8km (5 miles) south. From the woods and hills nearby, Russian mortars and artillery shelled Kharkiv relentlessly.

At an army aid station, we met Raisa Opanasivna who has lived in Ruska Lozova for 30 years. The 66-year-old approached the Ukrainian soldiers, weighed down by history, and two large plastic shopping bags.

Under a knitted grey beanie, her gaunt face was weather-beaten, her slim frame stooped. She hadn't seen this many people for months. Since the beginning of the war, her village had been under Russian occupation.

The Russians had come house to house. "They were checking homes, asking if we have rifles. But I have nothing. I'm alone," Raisa said.


Image source, Darren Conway / BBC
Image caption: Raisa Opanasivna's village was recently liberated

Ruska Lozova has been torn apart, but more than that, Raisa's whole world had been upended by Russia's invasion. In the east, the war is bringing not just a re-examination of people's relationship to Russia - barely 30km north - but a more personal reassessment of what it means to be a Russian-speaking Ukrainian.

A month ago, the Russians were literally at the gates to Kharkiv. The shelling was constant - and buildings in the street we were staying in were being hit. It became so bad that it was easier to count the hours of silence than the hours of explosions. It felt like being on the edge of an abyss, where one more concerted Russian attack could rupture the city.


Map of the area around Kharkiv and Belgorod along the Ukrainian/Russian border

In the northern Saltivka neighbourhood, entire apartment blocks had been destroyed. Those who had stayed behind had no electricity or water, and were reduced to cooking food on small fires they had made in their stairwells.

But the spectre of Russian victory, which haunted this city, has gone. Last week I sat in a city centre park, its grass neatly cut, its flower beds blooming, and enjoyed an ice cream sundae from a cafe. The city is still largely empty, but the number of Russian artillery strikes has fallen from dozens daily, to only a handful. Air raid sirens still wail regularly, but Kharkiv no longer feels on the brink of catastrophe.


Destroyed building in Saltivka, in northern Kharkiv - 29 AprilImage source, Getty Images
Image caption: Residents with bags packed walk past a destroyed building in Saltivka, 29 April


Tulip blooms in a park in Kharkiv city centre, May 2022Image source, Quentin Sommerville / BBC
Image caption: Tulip blooms in a park in Kharkiv city centre, May 2022

Ukrainian gains, modest for now, could have strategic implications for Russia's war in the Donbas to the south-east, threatening the invaders' supply lines.

As we headed north from Kharkiv with Ukrainian forces to villages and towns that mark the new frontline - the road remained strewn with craters and spent Russian rockets. At the highway's edges there were destroyed Russian vehicles and burned-out lorries, which had been used to block their initial attack on Kharkiv.

We drove at speed - the commander of a volunteer unit behind the wheel, had his rifle propped in the footwell. "The sides of the road are mined," he said, as the car lurched through a chicane of roadblocks and tank traps.

Ours was the only car on the road, and we were aware that, on the forested hill in front of us, Russian tanks and artillery were still roaming.

War in the Kharkiv region has changed - it's now a game of hawk and mouse, where each side's drones circle constantly, trying to pinpoint the enemy's tanks and guns, for targeting by artillery.


With Ukrainian troops by a roadside to the north of Kharkiv, smoke visible in the distance
Image source, Darren Conway / BBC
Image caption: Ukrainian troops try to move forward, smoke visible in the distance

We passed a Russian Grad rocket launcher lying in a ditch, and a smashed-up military green Lada, with the Russian "Z" insignia painted white on its doors.

"Russia's secret weapon," the commander said, to laughter among his men.

Near Ruska Lozova, scorch marks on the road were all that remained of a civilian vehicle destroyed by a Russian shell. The wreck was gone, but its contents were spilled across the road - a pink blanket here, some clothing there. A number of people were killed in the strike.

The village shows the effects of the battle for control. Homes have been wrecked by shelling and some buildings still burn. One house we passed had a shattered roof, while bright red tulips lined up in an orderly fashion at its gate.

The battle has become more fluid, and the men don't linger in the open. They run across open ground at speed and climb walls to avoid Russian fire from the woods, less than half a kilometre away.


Ukrainian troops are reluctant to linger in the open
Image source, Darren Conway / BBC
Image caption: Ukrainian troops are reluctant to linger in the open

They believe Russian fighters have left, and it's mostly men from the separatist Donbas region they are fighting. But the day after we left, more Russians were captured near the front.

We had to take cover suddenly in a foxhole, their first line against the enemy as the Russian artillery again opened fire and shells whizzed overhead. They landed on the other side of the village seconds later.

At an anti-tank position, US-supplied Javelin anti-tank missiles, along with their British-supplied versions, lay ready for use. Manning this lookout were two volunteers, who replied to me in French. They are Ukrainian, but joined the French Foreign Legion. One told me that he'd been serving for three years, but had deserted to join the fight for Ukraine.

That is perhaps a weapon Russia underestimated - the force of Ukrainian solidarity. Even before Western military aid began arriving here, this was what anchored Ukraine's defences. Among the group of volunteers are an economist, a businessman, a mechanic, and a rally-driving champion.


Taking cover in a foxhole
Image source, Darren Conway / BBC
Image caption, Taking cover in a foxhole

I met the commander before Victory Day on 9 May - which Russia and Ukraine celebrate as the Soviet Union's defeat over Germany's Nazi regime during World War Two - and asked him what it meant this year. He feels it has been tainted.

"I was born in the Soviet Union," he continues, sipping on some freshly brewed tea. "Russians, to my regret, use everything as weapons. Our common dates, our common language, our common religion. Russia doesn't hesitate to use all means. That is why everybody here now hates the Russian language - even Russian poet Alexander Pushkin is persona non grata - that is why our church is split, and everything which is Russian will be renamed here."

Few people remain in the town of Ruska Losova. Raisa, in her grey coat and woollen hat approached army medics, numb to the shelling around her, and the wounds it had inflicted upon on her body. Her face was peppered with shrapnel and half of her finger was missing.

When she removed her jacket, her slim arm was sliced open at the bicep.
"Cut like a chicken fillet. Can you remove the shrapnel?" Raisa asks.

Perhaps it was because she hadn't seen people for months, or because of a stroke last year, but she has only just regained the ability to talk.
Her story began to pour out. A group of soldiers gathered around her.

"When I was giving birth there were three of us mothers. I was in the middle. They were screaming. I was calm. I took a strap from the shirt to my mouth. The doctor told me to scream. But I said it doesn't matter if you are screaming or not. It's still painful. That's how I gave birth to my son. Quietly."

The men around her were wincing as she told them to cut off the loose skin with scissors. One soldier looked queasy as the medic patched her up. As it was happening, she reflected on the fate of her village and of an empire she had seen disintegrate - her home and her history in ruins.

She lived through the Soviet Union at a time when Russia and Ukraine were countries intertwined. For years, she lived in East Germany, where she became pregnant, and returned to Ukraine to give birth alone.

"My father and [Putin's] father were fighting together against Hitler, right? Could that really be possible? And now we fight against each other," she told us. "[We were] the closest nations. This has never happened before. There were German invaders and now these are our people."

After being bandaged up, Raisa was escorted to a waiting car, to take her to hospital in Kharkiv.


Darkened room, a Ukrainian soldier holds a weapon
Image source, Darren Conway / BBC

Most of the people in the village are being evacuated, buses waiting to transport those without cars.

The Russian occupation has torn the village apart, both literally and figuratively. In the basement of one building, half a dozen locals have been detained. They are suspected of aiding the enemy. Their eyes are covered with balaclavas taped over their heads, their hands tied. At least one woman is among them. They are left alone in a room, then taken away to the security services for questioning.

Their phones will be checked and their social media, too. Police checkpoints on the road into Kharkiv question everyone coming from the liberated areas, looking for saboteurs. Collaborators face 15 years in prison, or a life imprisonment if their actions caused Ukrainian deaths.

It's unlikely Raisa can ever forgive Russia for the wounds she has suffered. And with every battle, the men on the front line are freeing themselves from the bindings that once held these two nations together.

But the operation north of Kharkiv isn't complete and it has been costly. It is only one front in what looks as though it will be a long war


Follow Quentin on Twitter @sommervilletv

[DaffyVina]

21:14 11 May
Ukraine says Russia on the defensive in Kharkiv region
Ukraine's armed forces have published their evening update on the fighting.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

Russian troops were said to be on the defensive in the Kharkiv region - and have not tried any fresh advances
Ukrainian troops have reportedly taken back the village of Pytomnyk in the region - after saying on Tuesday they had recaptured four other nearby settlements
Russia continues to focus its efforts on Ukraine's east, with forces looking to take control of Rubizhne and Lyman, both in the Donbas region
In the south-east: Russian forces continue to blockade and bombard the defenders of the Azovstal metal works in Mariupol

It was not possible for the BBC to independently verify the claims.

22:01 11 May
In pictures: devastation in Mariupol
New images published by the Reuters news agency on Wednesday have shown more devastation in Mariupol.
The south-eastern port city - now under near-total Russian control - has seen some of the worst fighting of the war.


A Mariupol resident peers out of a shattered window
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Many of the city's residential buildings have been destroyed


Shot of a destroyed residential building
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Drone footage has revealed entire apartment blocks obliterated by shelling


Drone footage shows a digger excavating rubble from a shattered housing block
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Some of these are now being cleared by emergency workers



Russian servicemen are seen atop an armoured vehicle
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Russian troops have almost total control of the key port city


An explosion at the Azovstal plant
Copyright: Reuters
They continue to bombard the Azovstal metal works - which is sheltering Mariupol's last Ukrainian defenders

[DaffyVina]

22:40 11 May
Ukraine's security will be guaranteed for decades - Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has praised the US House of Representatives for approving a $40bn (£32.66bn) assistance package for Ukraine, saying the aid will quickly contribute to Ukraine's defence.
The package must still be approved by the US Senate before being signed by President Joe Biden. It has strong bipartisan support from US lawmakers.

In a televised address, Zelensky said the funds will provide weapons, ammunition, and support for "the investigation of war crimes... [as well as] support for diplomatic work and more."

Additionally, Zelensky also thanked President Biden for signing "lend-lease" legislation that allows equipment to be quickly sent to Ukraine, provided that it is replaced or reimbursed later.
"We will have access to modern weapons, ammunition, and equipment, and we do not need to look for options to pay for it all," he said.

The system was first used in the Second World War to streamline US aid to its allies fighting Nazi Germany, including the Soviet Union.
"Simply put, lend-lease is a scheme to give us everything we need for defence," Zelensky said.

22:59 11 May
A nation's children learning what war looks like
Video content
Video caption: Children 'suddenly have to learn what war looks like''

Unicef spokesman James Elder has described the devastating impact of Russia's invasion on the children of Ukraine.
Elder said it was "infuriating" to see young boys and girls with mortal wounds or injuries from which they may not recover.

Video Transcript:
James Elder (UNICEF):
"A serious sense of an attack where you do hear an explosion and I go to a bunker, I will see children there, you will have whole group, a range of people. And many of those children, particularly where you are in the East of the Ukraine, many of them have come out of the Donbas, out of those areas where the conflict line and the front line is changing.

They have sepnt weeks maybe more in horrendous conditions, under bombardment, watching their parents barely able to leave to find food or water. They know what the sound of war is. They know what the impact of war is. They see people with the wounds of war.
So when I see them in bunkers, you just see that fear again, that sense of "oh no! No where is actually safe in Ukraine."
So we're seeing a nation of children having to learn what War looks like.

I'm a Dad, to see children with mortar wounds, and to some injuries they may not recover from is infuriating and gut wrenching.
And then to see those children who get out of those areas. And then I guess the complete opposite emotion is when I see UNICEF as front line responders, with counsellors, with Ukrainian pscyhologists, reaching those children, its not just about nutrition and water, its about counselling, that gives me a moment to think these kids may get a second chance.

[cut] ... Yemen and Syria... The longer the fighting goes on, the more these kids are at risk of long term developmental impact. That can be mental health, social development, emotional development, that leads to earning capacity. But we also know there are good programmes in place; we know that if we can get a chance to get children with some sense of normalicy, for UNICEF that could be a counsellor, that could be education, then we give these children a chance to get out of this mind frame of war.

Many of these things do require, if not peace, at least for an end to this indiscriminate attack we see in civilian areas, where these boys and girls seem, somehow, incredulously, to be on the front lines."

(at points background video of UNICEF working with children in Ukraine)

[DaffyVina]

23:31 11 May
Ukraine says nearly 800 missiles launched at it since February
Russian missile near Kharkiv
Copyright: Getty Images
Image caption: A fragment of a Russian missile pictured near Kharkiv on 8 May

Nearly 800 cruise and ballistic missiles have been launched at targets in Ukraine since the war began on 24 February, according to an operational update from the general staff of Ukraine's military.
In the update, the general staff said that the missiles mostly targeted Ukraine's south and east, although "they [the Russians] also repeatedly fired on other objects of critical infrastructure of social significance".

In a separate update, the general staff said that fighting continued on Wednesday in various parts of Ukraine.
In Kharkiv, it said that Russia is reinforcing its offensives to stem a counter-offensive being conducted by Ukrainian troops, which recently re-took a number of villages in the area.
In Mariupol, the general staff said that Russian forces were continuing to launch artillery and airstrikes amid continued resistance at the Azovstal steel plant.

23:33 11 May
Russian pontoon bridges destroyed in Luhansk - Ukraine

A photo purportedly showing destroyed Russian armoury on the banks of the Siverskyi Donets river, Luhansk region
Copyright: Ukraine's defence ministry


Ukraine's military says it has again destroyed pontoon bridges that Russian troops were using to cross a river in the eastern Luhansk region, where heavy fighting has been raging for days.
The Ukrainian defence ministry published photos of what it said were destroyed Russian tanks and other armoury in the village of Bilohorivka, near the strategic Ukrainian-held city of Lysychansk.

Luhansk regional head Serhiy Haidai described Bilohorivka as a "fortress" that - like the city of Mariupol - was "holding back a great number" of Russian troops.


A photo purportedly showing destroyed Russian pontoon bridges across the Siverskyi Donets river, eastern Luhansk region
Copyright: Ukraine's defence ministry
Image caption: Russian pontoon bridges were smashed by Ukrainian artillery, Kyiv says

Russia's military has not commented on the Ukrainian claim, which has not been independently verified.

After failing to capture Ukraine's capital Kyiv and the north-east of the country during the first few weeks of its invasion, Russia said it would now be focusing on taking full control of the Luhansk and the neighbouring Donetsk regions in the east.
Moscow has so far failed to achieve this.