Live blog:  Emergency workers killed by Russian fire while demining - Kiev

Saturday, May 6, 2023

Six Ukrainian emergency workers have been killed by Russian fire while demining in the southern region of Kherson, Ukrainian officials said.

"Six of our specialists were killed," the State Emergency Service said on Telegram, adding they had "come under fire while performing demining tasks in the Kherson region".

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1631 GMT — Pro-Kremlin novelist injured in car explosion in Russia

The car of a prominent pro-Kremlin novelist has exploded in Russia, injuring him and killing his driver, Russia's state news agency Tass reported, citing emergency and law enforcement officials.

The incident involving the car of Zakhar Prilepin, a well-known nationalist writer and an ardent supporter of what the Kremlin calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, took place in the region of Nizhny Novgorod , about 400 kilometres east of Moscow.

It is the third explosion involving prominent pro-Kremlin figures since the start of the war in Ukraine.

1630 GMT — Car blast suspect followed Ukrainian orders: Moscow

Russian investigators have said the suspect in a car blast that wounded pro-Kremlin writer Zakhar Prilepin had "acted on the instructions" of Ukrainian agents.

"Investigators of the Russian investigative committee are probing Alexander Permyakov's involvement in the attempt to assassinate Zakhar Prilepin," the body said.

"During the interrogation he testified that he acted on the instructions from the Ukrainian special services," it added.

1621 GMT — Hand Bakhmut positions to Chechen forces, Wagner chief asks Moscow

The chief of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner has asked Moscow to let him hand over his positions in the flashpoint Ukraine city of Bakhmut to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

Wagner fighters are leading the battle for Bakhmut, during which rivalries between Prigozhin and the Russian army have come to the surface.

"I ask you to issue a combat order before 00:00 (2100 GMT) on May 10 concerning the transfer of the positions of the Wagner paramilitary units in Bakhmut and its periphery, to the units of the Akhmat battalion," Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a letter to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

1508 – GMT Russia says it downed Ukrainian missile over Crimea

Russia has said its forces downed a Ukrainian missile over the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, amid an expected offensive by Kiev.

"Air defence forces shot down a ballistic missile over the Republic of Crimea. The missile was launched with Ukraine's Grom-2 system," the Moscow-appointed governor of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said on social media.

"There was no damage or casualties."

1303 GMT — Three pilots returned from captivity in Ukraine: Russia

Three Russian pilots have been returned from captivity in Ukraine, its Defence Ministry said.

"As a result of a difficult negotiation process, three Russian servicemen — pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces who were in mortal danger in captivity — were returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime," said a ministry statement.

The servicemen are getting necessary medical and psychological assistance and will be transported to medical and rehabilitation centers, it added.

0846 GMT — Poland to call for EU sanctions on imports of Russian farm products

Poland will demand European Union sanctions on imports of Russian farm products, its ambassador to the EU Andrzej Sados was quoted as saying by PAP news agency.

"Europe isn't threatened by disruptions in supply chain of farm products now, contrary, we have a problem of surpluses. We are resolving a problem of increased imports of farm products from Ukraine," Sados said, according to PAP.

The European Commission earlier this week set restrictions until June 5 on imports of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed to ease the excess supply of these commodities in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

2300 GMT — Zelenskyy discusses funding with BlackRock to rebuild Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with the management of BlackRock, world's largest asset management company based in New York, to discuss creating an investment fund to restore the economy of Ukraine.

The fund's main goal would be attracting private and public capital for implementing large-scale business projects in the war-torn country.

"This will be a strong signal of strengthening the investment climate. It is important not only for our people, our society, but also for business, entrepreneurs abroad," Zelenskyy said.

2243 GMT — EU approves allocation of over $1.1B for military aid for Ukraine

The European Council has agreed on $1.1 billion support for ammunition and missiles for Ukraine under the European Peace Facility (EPF).

"The assistance measure will finance the provision t o the Ukrainian Armed Forces of 155-mm-calibre artillery rounds and, if requested, missiles which will be jointly procured by EU member states from the European defence industry," it said.

The Council noted that these efforts prove once again that the EU "remains steadfast" in its support for the Ukrainian military in defending it against Russia.

2243 GMT — Engineers reduce risk of dam bursting near Russian-held nuclear plant

Engineers have reduced the risk of a dam bursting and damaging a large Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine, a senior Russian official was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.

Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the general director of energy engineering firm Rosenergoatom, said specialists had begun discharging water from the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam on the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, according to TASS.

"As we anticipated, a technical solution to the problem has been found," Karchaa told TASS, quoting regional officials in Kherson region, where the dam is located.

For our live updates from Friday (May 5), click here.