Russian-Ukrainian war live: missiles launched in kyiv overnight; Japan announces new sanctions against Moscow | Russia

Russia launched missiles at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Friday in the 13th attack so far in May. There were no casualties, but falling debris damaged the roof of a shopping center.

Kyiv regional city administration wrote on Telegram:

“Another air attack on kyiv is the 13th consecutive since the beginning of May! And, as always, at night. This time the attack was carried out by Tu-95MS strategic bombers, from the Caspian region, probably by X-101 cruise missiles.

In a later article, he said debris had damaged the roof of a shopping center in the Obolon neighborhood. There were no casualties.

Japan will impose additional sanctions on Russia after the Group of Seven (G7) summit the country hosted last week agreed to step up measures to punish Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Moscow said on Friday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.

Via Reuters: Matsuno, the Tokyo government’s top government spokesman, also on Thursday condemned Russia’s decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying it would further escalate situations surrounding the invasion of Ukraine.

“As the only country to have suffered atomic bombings in wartime, Japan never accepts Russia’s nuclear threat, let alone its use,” Matsuno said at a regular press conference.

In a coordinated action with the G7, Japan will freeze the assets of 78 groups and 17 individuals, including military officers in Russia, and ban exports to 80 Russian entities such as military-affiliated research labs, according to a Foreign Ministry statement on Friday.

Japan will also ban providing construction and engineering services to Russia, although details of the measure will be announced at a later date, according to a Commerce Ministry statement.

Welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Our top stories this morning: Russia launched missiles at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Friday, in the 13th attack so far in May. There were no casualties, but falling debris damaged the roof of a shopping center.

And Japan will impose additional sanctions on Russia after the G7 summit the country hosted last week agreed to step up measures to punish Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the chief secretary of the Hirokazu Matsuno firm.

More soon. Here are the other key recent developments:

• Russia has moved forward with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, claimed on Thursday that the relocation of some of Russia’s weapons to Belarus had already begun, according to reports.

• Dutch prosecutors have seized land near Amsterdam that belongs to Vladimir Putin’s former son-in-law, a joint investigation by the Guardian and two other outlets revealed. The land in Duivendrecht is owned by Jorrit Faassen, a Dutch businessman married to Maria Vorontsova, the Russian president’s eldest daughter.

• Britain will likely keep Russian state assets tied up for some time after the war in Ukraine ends, and certainly until Moscow agrees to pay compensation for the damage it has inflicted, British officials have confirmed. The Council of Europe summit last week established a digital damage register for Ukraine, the first step towards an international compensation mechanism for victims of Russian aggression.

• The US has long urged Ukraine not to use US-supplied military equipment to carry out attacks inside Russian territorythe top US general said on Thursday, following accusations by Russia that pro-Ukrainian militias used US armored vehicles.

• Russia has signaled that if demands for improved grain and fertilizer exports are not met, it will not extend the Black Sea grain deal until July 17. He made the same threat and demands in March, then agreed last week to renew the export pact for 60 days.

• Unverified footage appears to show a drone speedboat attack on the Russian Navy vessel Ivan Khurs in the Black Sea Wednesday. The video appears to show at least one of the drones getting extremely close to the ship, though it’s unclear whether or not damage was done.

• The Russian mercenary group Wagner has begun to withdraw its forces from the devastated Ukrainian town of Bakhmut and transferring its positions there to regular Russian troops, according to its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

• The United States said the Wagner Group may be working through Mali and other countries to hide its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, and accused him of supplying a Sudanese paramilitary with surface-to-air missiles.

• Ukraine secures the release of 106 soldiers captured in a prisoner swap with Russia Thursday, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff. The soldiers, including eight officers, were reportedly captured while fighting in Bakhmut.

• The Russian Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the ambassadors of Germany, Sweden and Denmark over what it described as the “complete lack of results” in the Nord Stream investigation. Several unexplained underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that connect Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea in September 2022. The explosions occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark and both countries say they were deliberate, but have not yet determined who was responsible. Germany is also investigating.

• Ukraine said on Thursday it had shot down all 36 Iranian-made drones launched by Russia in overnight attacks he says it is likely key infrastructure and targeted military installations.

• Russia has denied that a fire broke out at the Defense Ministry in Moscow, after social media users and state news agency Tass reports said emergency services were called to the building. Tass first reported a fire to the ministry early Thursday morning, but later reported that the ministry said there had been none.