Live blog: Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and UN personnel to discuss grain deal

Thursday, May 4, 2023

Technical personnel from Türkiye, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Nations will meet on May 5 to discuss a deal that allows the exports of Ukrainian grains on the Black Sea, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said.

"We continue our efforts to ensure that the grain initiative continues in a fast, safe, and planned manner. We got the impression from discussions that these efforts will produce positive results," Akar said.

Ankara is working to extend the deal that will expire on May 18. Friday's meeting would be technical and it would be followed up by a deputy ministers' meeting next week, a Turkish defence ministry statement cited Akar as saying.

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1727 GMT — Transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia 'massive': experts

Hundreds of thousands of children may have been transferred to Russia since 2015 after Moscow annexed Crimea, international experts probing the "massive" assimilation of Ukrainian minors said.

A mission of three experts, established under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said it found that "numerous and overlapping violations of the rights of the children deported to the Russian Federation have taken place".

"It seems there is a plan to assimilate them (children) on a massive scale," one of the experts, Veronika Bilkova, told reporters.

"The lowest estimates that we have been able to find put this number at at least 20,000 children... But both Russian sources and Ukrainian sources indicate numbers which are 10 or even more times higher. So we are really speaking about a massive phenomenon," Bilkova said.

1513 GMT — Ukraine arrests Odessa mayor in corruption case

Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau has said in a statement that it arrested Gennadiy Trukhanov, who has led the historic port since 2014.

Kiev has struggled to rid itself of corruption, one of the declared aims of the 2014 Maidan revolution, with authorities for years vowing to stamp it out in efforts to join the EU.

Trukhanov is accused of "misappropriating budget funds of over 92 million Ukrainian hryvnia (2.2 million euros) as a result of a scheme to purchase" a bankrupt factory at a "twice inflated price."

The case has been dragging on for two years, becoming one of the main corruption investigations in Ukraine.

1315 GMT — EU warns Russia not to use drone 'attack' to escalate war

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has warned Moscow to not use an alleged drone attack that it said targeted the Kremlin to escalate its war in Ukraine.

"This is what worries us: this can be used to justify more conscription of people, more soldiers, more attacks on Ukraine."

Borrell said he had heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy deny that Ukraine was behind the attack, which Russia said occurred in the early hours of Wednesday.

Borrell said: "I listened to President Zelenskyy; President Zelenskyy said clearly Ukraine is not involved in the attacks, that they are defending their country, but they are fighting on their soil, that they are not attacking Russian soil."

1246 GMT - Turkish parliament speaker calls for cease-fire between Russia, Ukraine

"The war left behind hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded, devastated cities, millions of people displaced from their homes and a completely paralyzed Black Sea.

"... Our hope is that this war, which is one of the worst wars the Black Sea has ever seen, ends with a lasting and just peace before it causes more loss of life, destruction and damage," Mustafa Sentop said at a summit in the capital Ankara.

The 30th Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) of parliament speakers had gathered under the theme, Common Geography, Common Vision, Common Future.

"I once again call on the parties to a cease-fire and invite them to a lasting peace," Türkiye's parliament speaker said.

1243 GMT - Ukraine 'realistic' about not joining NATO during war: Zelensky

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was "realistic" that it would not be able to join NATO while still fighting Russia, after meeting Dutch and Belgian Prime Ministers Mark Rutte and Alexander De Croo.

Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to the Netherlands a day after meeting Nordic leaders in Finland to drum up support ahead of Ukraine's awaited counter-offensive against Russia.

Earlier in the day he visited the International Criminal Court, where he insisted on creating a special tribunal for Ukraine, rather than a so-called "hybrid court."

1236 GMT - Russian TV shows Putin in the Kremlin for first time since drone attack

Russian television on Thursday showed President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin for the first time since a drone attack that Moscow said was a Ukrainian assassination attempt.

State television showed Putin with Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, saying the meeting was inside the Kremlin.

1154 GMT - US envoy asks Hungary to focus on Ukraine war, not 'fake' issues

Hungary should focus on the war in Ukraine and not "fake" issues, the US ambassador told AFP news agency, as American and European conservatives on Thursday denounced "the virus of wokeism" at a meeting in Budapest.

Budapest is hosting the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) for a second straight year which is being attended mostly by US and European conservatives.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban lashed out against the "virus of wokeism" propagated by "Western liberals" at the gathering, boasting he had "the antidote".

Orban also called for the return of Donald Trump to the White House.

1141 GMT - White House says Kremlin 'lying' about US role in drone attack

The White House on Wednesday denied any involvement in an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin, after Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Washington of guiding Ukraine to launch the assault.

"We had nothing to do with this," said John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, on MSNBC.

"Peskov is just lying there, pure and simple," he added.

1049 GMT - Zelenskyy insists on creation of special court over Russian aggression

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a special tribunal must be created to hold Russia to account for its "crime of aggression".

"There should be responsibility for this crime. And this can only be enforced by the tribunal," he told diplomats and officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Russia's Vladimir Putin over a war crime charge.

"Only one Russian crime led to all of these crimes: this is the crime of aggression, the start of evil, the primary crime. There should be responsibility for this crime," he said in his speech.

"That's why we insist on the tribunal creation."

0824 GMT - Russia, Ukraine report drone attacks as Zelenskyy visits ICC

Kiev and Moscow have reported drone attacks, including two that sparked fires in Russian oil refineries in Krasnodar and Rostov, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited The Hague to lobby for more support.

According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia fired two dozen combat drones at Ukraine, striking a university campus in the Black Sea city of Odessa and attacking the capital Kiev for the third time in four days.

No casualties were reported in the overnight strikes.

Russia has regularly bombarded Ukraine since October last year, striking at a variety of targets. The latest blasts were reported less than 24 hours after Kiev said 21 people died in a Russian strike on the city of Kherson.

Moscow has stepped up attacks as Ukraine prepares for a counteroffensive to try to retake Russian-occupied land in the south and east. Russian shelling in the frontline southern region of Kherson killed at least 23 civilians on Wednesday.

1113 GMT — China against escalation as Russia accuses Ukraine of attacks

China has urged against escalation after Russia accused Ukraine of drone attacks on the Kremlin in an attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin.

"All sides need to avoid taking actions that might further escalate the Ukraine crisis," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a statement, referring to Russia's war with Ukraine which started in February last year.

Russia accuses Ukraine of a "terrorist" attempt to strike the president's residence with two drones, which were shot down.

1050 GMT — Zelenskyy insists on special court over Russian aggression

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has urged for the creation of a special tribunal to hold Russia to account for its "crime of aggression".

"There should be responsibility for this crime. And this can only be enforced by the tribunal," he told diplomats and officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Russia's President Vladimir Putin over a 'war crime' charge.

Kiev is pressing for a special tribunal to be set up to prosecute Moscow for the crime of aggression because it sees this as a way to achieve faster justice and more easily target the Kremlin's top officials.

1004 GMT — Kremlin: We are not aware of any detailed Vatican peace plans

The Kremlin has said it knew Pope Francis was thinking about ways to end the conflict in Ukraine, but added that it was not aware of any detailed peace plans from the Vatican.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Francis has offered to act as a broker between Moscow and Kiev and called for peace on practically a weekly basis.

He said on last Sunday that the Vatican was involved in a peace mission to try to resolve the conflict, but that it was "not yet public".

0955 GMT — Moscow: Kiev's actions confirm lack of desire for peace

The Russian Foreign Ministry has claimed that Ukraine’s "criminal" actions confirmed Kiev’s “lack of desire for peace" and to find a settlement to the Russia-Ukraine war through “political and diplomatic means.”

“The need to achieve all the goals and objectives of our special military operation is obvious. Threats to security and acts of terrorism should not emanate from the territory of Ukraine,” the ministry said in a statement.

The statement added it “strongly condemned" the "terrorist acts" committed on Wednesday night against the Kremlin residence in Moscow, claiming that there is “no doubt” that Ukraine is behind the incident, which it said has “long and consciously supported and used terrorist methods against civilian infrastructure and the civilian population.”

0944 GMT — Putin working in the Kremlin after drone attack

Putin has been at work in his office in the Kremlin, his spokesperson said, a day after Moscow accused Kiev of attacking the Kremlin with drones to try and kill him.

"Putin is working in the Kremlin. He will have an important discussion with the economic development minister," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has said the alleged Ukrainian drone attack against the Kremlin "must not go unanswered," condemning the West's "silence" over the incident, as it called on other nations and international organisations to condemn what Moscow says was an attempt to kill Putin.

0935 GMT — Russia accuses US of being behind alleged Kremlin drone attack

Russia has accused the US of being behind what it says was a drone attack on the Kremlin intended to kill President Putin, saying Washington should be aware that Russia knew it was selecting the targets and Ukraine was merely implementing US plans.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the allegation, adding that Russia had several options and the response, when it came, would be carefully considered and balanced. He said an urgent investigation was underway, but could not say when the results would be known.

Ukraine has denied involvement in the incident, when video footage showed two flying objects approaching the Kremlin and one exploding with a bright flash. The Kremlin has said it reserves the right to retaliate, but has not said what form this might take.

0611 GMT — Ukrainian air defences destroy several Russian drones overnight

Ukrainian air defences have said they downed 18 out of 24 kamikaze drones that Russia launched in a pre-dawn attack, a day after Moscow accused Kiev of a drone attack on the Kremlin.

"The Russians have attacked Kiev using Shahed loitering munitions and missiles, likely the ballistic type," the city's administration said, adding that all missiles and drones targeting the Ukrainian capital for the third time in four days have been destroyed.

Out of 15 Shahed kamikaze drones fired at the Black Sea coastal city of Odessa, air defences destroyed 12, while three struck a university compound. There were no casualties, the Ukrainian southern military command said.

0100 GMT — We're attacking neither Moscow nor Putin — Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy has denied claims of attacking Russia or trying to assassinate Putin.

"We are attacking neither Putin nor Moscow. We are fighting on our own territory, defending our villages and cities," Zelenskyy said during a conversation with media after his visit to Finland.

"We cannot use anything anywhere. That is why we did not attack Putin. We will leave it to the tribunal."

Zelenskyy claimed that Putin accuses him of the alleged attack and the assassination attempt because Moscow has "no victories" in Ukraine.

"He can no longer motivate his society and just send the military to their deaths. He can no longer motivate his state. He has no victories on the battlefield," he said.

0056 GMT — Russia reports drone attack on oil refinery

Part of an oil refinery in southern Russia is on fire after a drone attack hit it, TASS news agency cited local emergency services as saying.

TASS said the incident occurred at the Ilsky refinery near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It cited a source as saying a fuel reservoir was on fire but gave no details.

Ukraine rarely claims responsibility for what Moscow says are frequent drone strikes against infrastructure and military targets, particularly in regions close to Russia.

Last June the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia's Rostov region, bordering Ukraine, suspended operations after two unmanned aerial vehicles attacked its facilities.

2252 GMT — Ukraine's Zelenskyy in surprise visit to Netherlands

Ukraine President Zelenskyy has arrived at Amsterdam's airport for an unannounced visit to The Netherlands, with a trip to the International Criminal Court on his agenda, local media reported.

Dutch news agency ANP said Zelenskyy, making his first visit to the Netherlands, landed at Schiphol airport after attending a Nordic summit in Helsinki.

Zelenskyy will visit the International Criminal Court [ICC], which is based in The Hague, the news agency said.

The Ukrainian president is also expected to deliver a speech in The Hague entitled "No peace without justice for Ukraine", according to public broadcaster NOS.

A meeting with Dutch MPs is planned, as well as talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, ANP reported, citing unnamed sources.

For our live updates from Wednesday (May 3), click here