12 dead, 90 injured in Russian attack on Kyiv, emergency service says
The death toll from a Russian missile attack on Kyiv – the largest since last summer – rose to 12 people after two more bodies were pulled from under the rubble, Ukrainian rescuers said, AFP reported.
They added that the number of wounded had risen to 90.
Key events
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UK PM says overnight attacks on Kyiv are ‘reminder that Russia is the real aggressor’
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12 dead, 90 injured in Russian attack on Kyiv, emergency service says
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Von der Leyen warns against Russia weaponising energy supplies, using blackmail, as she calls for more cooperation
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Europe must never again risk blackmail from Russia, Starmer says, as he calls for ‘partnership with EU that meets needs of our time’
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Pope Francis’ funeral is loaded with potential for diplomatic awkwardness
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Student killed and three injured in stabbing attack at French high school
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Polish, Israeli presidents join thousands in March of the Living
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‘US anger should be directed at … Putin,’ Macron says, as he urged Russian leader to ‘stop lying’
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Zelenskyy calls for more pressure on Russia after massive Kyiv attack – video
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‘Vladimir, STOP!’, Trump demands, as he says he’s ‘not happy’ with ‘not necessary’ Russian strikes on Kyiv
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Zelenskyy cannot be expected to accept ceasefire while Kyiv is bombarded, Macron says
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Thousands of pilgrims pay respects to Pope Francis
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Zelenskyy’s press conference with SA’s Ramaphosa – snap analysis
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‘Clear message from Kremlin: Russia has no real interest in peace,’ Danish PM says
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Not enough strong pressure on Russia, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says
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Russia seeks to put pressure, isolate Ukraine, Zelenskyy warns, as he thanks for ‘not easy, but constructive’ London talks
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It is on Russia to issue orders to stop attacks, Zelenskyy says
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South Africa ‘deeply concerned’ about continuing Ukraine conflict, calls for ceasefire, Ramaphosa says
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Russia’s attacks ‘make a mockery’ of its claims about peace, EU’s Kallas says
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Swedish jets intercept Russian plane near Poland
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Britain does not recognise Russian claims to illegally occupied territory of Ukraine, minister says
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Russia claims strikes targeted Ukrainian defence industry
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Zelenskyy meets South Africa’s Ramaphosa in Pretoria
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Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight – map
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Russia blames Ukraine’s Zelenskyy for wrecking peace diplomacy
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Zelenskyy cuts visit to South Africa short after overnight attacks
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215 Russian strikes on Ukraine over night, Ukrainian air force says
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‘Particularly horrible’ attack on Kyiv leaves nine dead, over 70 injured, foreign minister says
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People shelter in the metro as Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s capital – video
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‘Major rescue operation’ after Russian attack, minister says
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Morning opening: Is this your idea of peace?
The United States will demand that Russia accept Ukraine’s right to have its own army and defence industry as part of a peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to raise the issue with Russian president Vladimir Putin when they next meet, the report added.
Russian president Vladimir Putin urged his economic officials on Thursday to take advantage of opportunities arising in the global economy from market turbulence and intensifying trade wars, reports Reuters.
Russia, whose trade with the United States and European Union has fallen sharply due to sanctions imposed over its ongoing war in Ukraine, has not suffered from the US tariffs on many countries announced by US president Donald Trump.
Russia’s economy has performed better than it expected during the three years of conflict despite sanctions, but the country is now bracing for a protracted period of lower oil prices – its main export – and declining budget revenues.
Speaking to officials, Putin said:
The global economic situation is becoming more complicated as commodities and financial markets experience significant fluctuations due to intensified global competition.
“It is necessary not only to monitor these factors and predict their changes but also to use the emerging opportunities to develop domestic production, trade relations and exports to strengthen the national economy as a whole,” Putin added.
The comments were Putin’s first on the global economic situation since the US tariffs were announced. Putin, who has engaged in diplomacy with the US to seek peace in Ukraine, has praised Trump and his policies on many occasions.
Putin’s meeting with officials took place one day before the central bank’s board meets to decide on its benchmark interest rate, which is currently at 21% – its highest level since the early years of Putin’s rule, reports Reuters.
Both the central bank and the finance ministry, whose heads attended the meeting with Putin, warned about the consequences of global turbulence on the Russian economy.
UK PM says overnight attacks on Kyiv are ‘reminder that Russia is the real aggressor’
Moscow’s overnight strikes on Kyiv are a “real reminder that Russia is the aggressor”, UK prime minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday.
Asked for his reaction to the attacks on a visit to Bristol, Starmer told broadcasters:
I think it’s a real reminder that Russia is the aggressor here and that is being felt by the Ukrainians, as it has been felt for three long years now.
That’s why it’s important to get Russia to an unconditional ceasefire.
Obviously, we had talks in London this week, Paris last week. We’re making progress towards the ceasefire. It’s got to be a lasting ceasefire.
But these attacks – these awful attacks – are a real, human reminder of who is the aggressor here and the cost to the Ukrainian people.
Meanwhile, 150 new trade sanctions against Russia have been introduced by the UK, the Foreign Office has announced. The ban impacts software and technology used in Russian defence and energy sectors, including banning video game controllers used to pilot drones on the frontlines in Ukraine.
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said:
Putin thought he could use British markets to boost his war effort, buying harmless goods and turning them into tools of war – but the UK is exposing and acting on this sinister trade. Today’s action clamps down on Russia’s sneaky trading and deprives Putin of the goods he desperately needs to fight his barbaric war.
Cutting off Russia’s energy revenues will drain Putin’s war chest – that’s why we’re shutting down the sale of sophisticated software used to cash in on new oil and gas reserves, preventing UK expertise from being used to pour fresh fuel into Russia’s war machine.
We’re also banning outright video game controllers going to Russia, preventing them from being used to pilot drones on the frontline, meaning gaming consoles will no longer be repurposed to kill in Ukraine.
And our tough new measures will also degrade Russia’s military machine – new export sanctions mean Putin will no longer be able to get his hands on specialist technology used to produce weaponry for his illegal war.
Jakub Krupa
… and on that note, it’s a wrap from me, Jakub Krupa, but I leave you with Amy Sedghi who will guide you through the afternoon and bring you all the latest updates.
12 dead, 90 injured in Russian attack on Kyiv, emergency service says
The death toll from a Russian missile attack on Kyiv – the largest since last summer – rose to 12 people after two more bodies were pulled from under the rubble, Ukrainian rescuers said, AFP reported.
They added that the number of wounded had risen to 90.
Von der Leyen warns against Russia weaponising energy supplies, using blackmail, as she calls for more cooperation
In a wide-ranging speech after Starmer, the EU’s von der Leyen talked about the need to “team up” with the UK to offer regulatory certainty to investors and about the potential for more clean energy investment in the North Sea.
But she also spoke on Europe’s experience of how “Russia intentionally weaponised energy supplies,” also in other regions.
She admitted that “for decades … we failed to recognise the costs that came with this dependence: the risk of blackmail, economic coercion, price shocks, that reality was exposed after the full scale invasion of Ukraine.”
Von der Leyen praised the EU’s response and its efforts to diversity supply and “accelerate” the clean energy transition, but “we all know that there is so much more to do.”
In a bid to win over US president Donald Trump, she made a number of pointed references to the importance of LNG imports from the US.
She also talked about the importance of protecting critical infrastructure, in cooperation with Nato, including on undersea cables.
In a further apparent response to Starmer’s call for closer relations, she said “Europe is ready to work with all of you.”
“We are in close cooperation anyway, but it’s a broader offer here. As the saying goes, you know it all: if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together and we want to go far.”
Europe must never again risk blackmail from Russia, Starmer says, as he calls for ‘partnership with EU that meets needs of our time’
Back to Russia and Ukraine, UK prime minister Keir Starmer and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen are both at the Summit on the Future of Energy Security in London and spoke about the importance of getting off Russian sources of energy and their backing for Ukraine.
Starmer said that “every family and every business across the United Kingdom has paid the price for Russia weaponising energy,” as he added:
Europe must never again be in a position where Russia thinks that they can blackmail us on energy and until Russia comes to the table and agrees a full and unconditional ceasefire.
We must continue to crack down on their energy revenues, which are still fuelling Putin’s war chest.
But then in comments that are likely to attract some attention ahead of next month’s UK-EU summit on reset, Starmer added that “it’s the moment to build a partnership with the EU that meets the needs of our time”.
Pope Francis’ funeral is loaded with potential for diplomatic awkwardness
St Peter’s Basilica has reopened for thousands of people to pay their final respects to Pope Francis for a second day, following a brief pause after keeping its doors open all night.
The 16th-century basilica, where Francis’s simple wooden coffin is placed on the main altar, was scheduled to close at midnight but remained open until 5.30am to allow in those who still wished to enter.
The Vatican said on Thursday that more than 60,000 people had viewed the late pontiff’s body since the basilica opened to the faithful on Wednesday morning.
But as world leaders head to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, fraught Vatican officials will be poring over logistics in an effort to avoid diplomatic awkwardness.
Should Donald Trump be kept away from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy? Or the French president, Emmanuel Macron, or Brazil’s leftist leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, or any Iranians that might appear? There may be relief that Vladimir Putin has said he will not attend, but will everyone expect front row seats?
The pope’s funeral provides an unexpected opportunity for impromptu international diplomacy and uncomfortable encounters. The 10am start means most heads of state and political leaders will arrive in Rome on Friday evening, with a brief window for meetings if desired.
“There will be some potentially really interesting dynamics at the funeral,” said Francis Campbell, who was the UK’s ambassador to the Holy See between 2005 and 2011.
The last comparable occasion, the funeral of Pope John Paul II in April 2005, was the “diplomatic event of the year”, according to the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California.
Student killed and three injured in stabbing attack at French high school
A student at a French high school stabbed four other students at his school on Thursday, killing at least one and injuring three others before being arrested, police said.
The circumstances of the attack were not immediately clear. A national police official said it had taken place at the private Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides high school in Nantes on the Atlantic coast.
The student stabbed four people with a knife during a lunch break before teachers subdued him, and he was later taken in by police, the official – who was not authorised to be named publicly – said.
A police spokesperson said there was no indication of a terrorist motive. Teachers had overpowered the student, 15, before police arrived, they said.
Polish, Israeli presidents join thousands in March of the Living
The Polish and Israeli presidents joined thousands of Israeli youth and others in an annual march at the former German Nazi Auschwitz death camp on Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, AP reported.
The group included Holocaust survivors and former Israeli hostages who were captured by Hamas and held in the Gaza Strip, organisers said.
AP explained that every year young Israelis, many with their national flag around their shoulders, are among those making the March of the Living to remember the victims of the Holocaust.
Polish President Andrzej Duda and his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, spoke to reporters ahead of the march, describing their presence as part of an effort to stand against antisemitism.
Jakub Krupa
Let’s take a quick look at other events around Europe now.
‘US anger should be directed at … Putin,’ Macron says, as he urged Russian leader to ‘stop lying’
We now have more lines from Emmanuel Macron (14:27).
The French president said Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin needed to “stop lying” over wanting peace in Ukraine while continuing to strike the country, he said in comments reported by the AFP.
“The only thing to do is for President Putin to finally stop lying,” Macron said during a visit to Madagascar.
He accused the Russian leader of telling US negotiators “he wants peace” but then continuing “to bombard Ukraine”.
“In Ukraine, they only want a single answer: Does President Putin agree to an unconditional ceasefire?” Macron said.
Macron said Putin was the only person holding up the US-proposed and European-backed proposal.
“If President Putin says yes, the weapons will fall silent tomorrow, lives will be saved.”
“US anger should be directed at only one person, President Putin,” he added.
Zelenskyy calls for more pressure on Russia after massive Kyiv attack – video
You can watch Zelenskyy’s comments from Pretoria earlier in this short clip.
