🔴Live: Russia launches 'unprecedented' air attacks on Ukraine's capital Kyiv
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A missile explodes in the sky over Kyiv during a Russian strike on May 18, 2023.
Ukraine said "unprecedented" air attacks had rocked the capital and other cities early on Thursday while a missile strike killed at least one person in Odesa. Read our live blog for the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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10:03am: G7 to discuss sanctions on Russian diamonds, says EU official
G7 leaders meeting in Japan will discuss sanctioning Russia's billion-dollar trade in diamonds, an EU official said Thursday, hoping to further starve Moscow of funds for its war in Ukraine.
"We believe we need to limit exports from Russian trade in this sector," the official said, adding that the G7 was unlikely to reach a final agreement in Japan.
9:46am: Ukraine says it downed 29 of 30 Russian missiles overnight
Ukraine said Thursday its air defence forces had shot down 29 out of 30 Russian cruise missiles fired overnight, in an attack that targeted Kyiv and other regions.
"The Russian occupiers launched several waves of missile attacks from different directions. A total of 30 sea, air and land-based cruise missiles were launched," the military said, adding that Ukrainian air defence systems had "destroyed 29 cruise missiles."
9:27am: Moldova no longer using Russian natural gas, says PM
Moldova is no longer using Russian natural gas or electricity after cutting its dependence since war started in Ukraine, Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Thursday.
"If at the start of the war 100% of energy consumed in Moldova originated in... Russia, today Moldova can exist with absolutely no natural gas or electricity from Russia," he told a security conference in Bucharest.
"Moldova no longer consumes Russian gas, it is integrated in the European energy network both technically and commercially."
9:01am: Moldova wants to join EU 'as soon as possible' given Russia threat, says president
Moldova wants EU membership "as soon as possible" as protection against the threat from Russia and hopes for a decision to start negotiations "in the next months," President Maia Sandu told AFP in an interview.
The small nation of 2.6 million people, nestled between EU neighbour Romania and war-ravaged Ukraine, will on June 1 hold its first major summit of wider Europe, bringing leaders of all 27 EU countries with 20 neighbours of the bloc.
9:00am: Train carrying grain derails in Crimea, no victims, official says
A train carrying grain has derailed in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula in what Moscow-installed officials on Thursday called a deliberate act.
"Train carriages loaded with grain derailed in the Simferopol region," said Crimea governor Sergei Aksyonov. The railway operator said the incident was caused by "the intervention of third parties".
7:29am: China envoy says 'no panacea' to end war in Ukraine
China's special envoy Li Hui told Ukraine "there is no panacea to resolve the crisis" as he repeated calls for Kyiv and Moscow to engage in talks to end the war, Beijing said on Thursday.
Li visited Ukraine on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he held talks with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and other officials. Li is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 invasion.
"There is no panacea to resolve the crisis, and all parties need to start from themselves, build mutual trust and create conditions to stop the war and talk," said Li, China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs, according to a statement by Beijing's foreign ministry.
6:20am: 'Unprecedented' strikes on Kyiv, at least one killed in Odesa
Ukraine said "unprecedented" air attacks had rocked its capital and other areas early Thursday, a day after it reached an agreement with Russia to extend a deal allowing grain exports across the Black Sea.
"A series of air attacks on Kyiv, unprecedented in their power, intensity and variety, continues," said Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv's civil and military administration, adding that no casualties had been reported in the capital.
FRANCE 24's Emmanuelle Chaze reports from Kyiv on the early-morning air strikes.
02:33
At least one person was killed by a Russian missile strike on an industrial facility in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa in the early hours of Thursday. Two more people were wounded in the attack, military administration spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk wrote on Telegram.
6:15am: China says it will continue aiding Ukraine 'in its own way'
China and Ukraine agreed they should work together to continue their mutual respect and keep their mutually beneficial cooperation moving forward, the Chinese foreign ministry said in statement on Thursday.
The statement comes after China's Special Envoy of Eurasian Affairs Li Hui met with the president of Ukraine.
"China has always played a constructive role in alleviating the humanitarian situation in Ukraine in its own way and will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine within its capacity," the foreign ministry said.
6:00am: G7 to press Russia, weigh risk of China's 'economic coercion'
As leaders of the G7 are set to meet in Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday, war in Ukraine is set to dominate the summit.
"There will be discussions about the state of play on the battlefield," said US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Sullivan said leaders would focus on further deterring Russia off the battlefield and tightening a sanctions regime that, according to official statistics, caused Russia's economy to contract a further 1.9 percent last quarter.
The G7 has already adopted price caps on Russian petroleum products, plunging revenues by about 43 percent, according to International Energy Agency figures.
But Sullivan indicated leaders may look to close loopholes that help President Vladimir Putin fund his struggling war effort.
5:06am: Loud explosions heard in Kyiv, debris causes fires
Loud explosions were heard in Kyiv early Thursday morning, and the city’s Military Administration said falling debris caused a fire in a non-residential building.
Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, writing on Telegram, said one fire had broken out in a garage facility in the Darnitsya region of the capital. He said there were no casualties.
The head of Kyiv's military administration, Serhiy Popko, said on Telegram that a fire had broken out in non-residential premises in the Desnyansky district, just east of the capital.
He provided no information on casualties.
4:44am: Air raid alerts sound across Ukraine, military warns of strikes in central regions
Ukraine's army reported several explosions in Kyiv and other parts of the country early Thursday morning, urging people to stay in bomb shelters.
"According to preliminary information, the fall of debris was recorded in the Darnytskyi district of the capital. Data on victims and destruction are currently being verified," Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv's civil and military administration, wrote on Telegram.
Key developments from Wednesday, May 17:
Russia agreed to a two-month extension of a deal that has allowed Ukraine to ship grain through the Black Sea to parts of the world struggling with hunger, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Wednesday, a boost to global food security after the war drove up prices.
Ukraine’s foreign minister told a top Chinese envoy at talks in Kyiv on Wednesday that Kyiv would not accept any proposals to end the war with Russia that involved it losing territory.
Read yesterday's live blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
© France Médias Monde graphic studio
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
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