Image source, Reuters

International leaders need to prepare for the war in Ukraine to last and consider its long-term consequences, France's foreign minister has said.

Speaking as he arrived for the second day of the G7 summit in Germany, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said leaders now have to deal with the war in Ukraine as a long-lasting conflict that will spawn serious consequences around the world.

"I'd also make the point that we now have to deal with a conflict that is going to last and therefore also to deal in the long term with the consequences of this conflict at the international level and particularly in the field of food security," he said.

The French foreign minister added that international conversations must focus on the increase of food prices as organisations warn of a global food crisis arising from the war in Ukraine.

Mr Le Drian said G7 countries are not at war with Russia, but that in this war "there is an aggressor and a victim, and we are supporting the one being attacked."

Image source, Reuters

Russia is continuing to launch artillery and airstrikes on Mariupol, according to an update from Ukraine's Armed Forces.

Russian forces have been focusing their efforts on blocking units of Ukrainian troops near the Azovstal steelworks, which is the last area of the port city not under Russian control.

Military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun said Russia was attempting to take "full control over the city and suppress the resistance of Ukrainian defenders".

The update added that it expected Russia to increase its bombardment of the steelworks, now that all civilians have been evacuated from it.

The UK's foreign secretary has urged world leaders to continue to put pressure on Vladimir Putin by imposing further international sanctions on Russia and supplying more weapons to Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters at a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Germany, Liz Truss called for more military provisions to Ukraine to help the country in its defence against Russia.

"It is very important at this time that we keep up the pressure on Vladimir Putin by supplying more weapons to Ukraine and by increasing the sanctions," she said.

The G7 foreign ministers have been meeting in Germany over the last three days to discuss the war in Ukraine and its impact - particularly the increase of food and energy prices around the world.

Image source, Maxar Technologies/Reuters

Satellite footage has emerged showing a Russian military ship that has sunk near Zmiinyi (Snake) Island, which was seized by Russia at the start of the war and has become a battleground of strategic value for Russia to gain control of the Black Sea.

Images released by Maxar Technologies show the aftermath of what it said were probable missile attacks on a Russian Serna-class landing craft near the island.

It also showed recent damage to buildings on the island, which became famous for the foul-mouthed defiance of its Ukrainian defenders early in the invasion.

Russia's flagship Moskva sailed to Snake Island within hours of the start of the war, telling Ukrainian soldiers on the island to give themselves up. But although the island was seized, weeks later, the Moskva was sunk.

On Thursday, a Russian Navy logistics vessel, Vsevolod Bobrov, caught fire after it was damaged by Ukrainian military in the Black Sea near Snake Island, spokesman of the Odesa regional military administration Serhiy Bratchuk said.

Joe Inwood
Reporting from Lviv

Image source, Ukrainian Airborne Forces Command/Reuters

More on reports that Russian forces failed in an attempt to make a river crossing in eastern Ukraine - losing almost an entire battalion tactical group in the process.

It is a scene of absolute devastation - an attempt to flank Ukrainian defences gone disastrously wrong.

The burned-out shells of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles line the east bank of the Siversky Donets river, west of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region.

Half-built pontoon bridges jut into the water.

It’s thought almost an entire battalion of vehicles was lost - it’s not known how many men were killed.

In its morning briefing, the UK's Ministry of Defence says what happened shows the increasing pressure on Russian commanders.

But, they are making progress elsewhere, it seems – with reports they have taken the nearby town of Rubizhne. That would mean the strategically important city of Severodonetsk is surrounded on three sides.

If Russian forces can take that they would control a number of crossings over the river, which has recently cost them so dear.

A Russian soldier is due to stand trial today for allegedly killing an unarmed Ukrainian civilian - the first war crime case to go to court since Russia's invasion began.

Sgt Vadim Shyshimarin is accused of shooting a 62-year-old man in the head through an open car window in the north-eastern village of Chupakhivka.

He faces up to life in prison under the penalties stated in the section of the Ukrainian criminal code that addresses the laws and customs of war.

His attorney, Victor Ovsyanikov, said the case against him is strong, but the final decision over what evidence to allow will be made by the court in Kyiv, AP news reports.

He said that he and his client had not yet decided how he will plead.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova's office has said it is looking into more than 10,700 potential war crimes involving more than 600 suspects, including Russian soldiers and government officials.

Russian forces are investing "significant effort" around the cities of Izyum and Severodonetsk in an attempt to break through towards the eastern Slovianks and Kramatorsk regions of Ukraine, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said.

In its daily intelligence update, the MoD said Russia was aiming to envelop Ukrainian troops in the Joint Forces Operation area - the eastern line of contact between the separatist-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.

It said Ukrainian forces had prevented an attempted Russian river crossing in the Donbas.

Such river crossings in a contested environment were a "highly risky manoeuvre" that "speaks to the pressure the Russian commanders are under" to make progress in eastern Ukraine, the MoD said.

It added that Russia has failed to make any significant advances despite moving troops to the area after withdrawing and redeploying units from the Kyiv and Chernihiv Oblasts.

Image source, .

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia has suffered a strategic defeat in Ukraine, which is "already obvious to everyone in the world".

"Russia simply lacks the courage to admit it," he said in his nightly address, external.

Zelensky also called Russian forces "cowards", who are "trying to hide the truth behind missile, air and artillery strikes".

Speaking on International Nurses Day, he thanked nurses and paramedics for saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, but alleged Russian forces had destroyed 570 healthcare facilities since the start of the war.

Image source, Reuters

In Washington, there's been an effort to fast-track $40bn (£32.7bn) in aid for Ukraine through Congress.

The top Democrat and top Republican in the Senate joined forces in a rare show of unity as both agreed on the need to quickly send the aid package - the largest in decades - to Kyiv.

But one senator, Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky, manged to single-handedly delay it late on Thursday.

Paul, who has historically opposed spending on foreign aid, refused to back the proposal which needed unanimous support. He's demanding the legislation be altered to require an official to oversee spending on the conflict.

"If Senator Paul persists in his reckless demands... all he will accomplish is to single-handedly delay desperately-needed Ukraine aid," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

European Council President Charles Michel is in Japan where he's visiting the city of Hiroshima this morning.

In 1945 that city suffered the first atomic bombing, and Michel used a visit to a memorial there to discuss the current state of global security.

"As we speak, global security is under threat," he said, according to Reuters.

"Russia, a nuclear armed state... is attacking the sovereign nation of Ukraine, while making shameful and unacceptable references to the use of nuclear weapons."

He said the memorial was "a stark reminder of the urgency" to strengthen international rules.

Image source, Reuters

UK sending signals to the Kremlinpublished at 05:34 British Summer Time 13 May 2022

05:34 BST 13 May 2022

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, Reuters

The British government says it wants Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to be seen to fail.

But ministers rarely spell out what that means in practice. The exception is Liz Truss.

In a speech last month ,the UK's foreign secretary said Russia should be pushed out of “the whole of Ukraine”.

On Thursday night she went further, telling G7 ministers sanctions should not be lifted until there is a complete Russian withdrawal and peace has been agreed.

She said Russian President Vladimir Putin must face a defeat that “denies him any benefit and ultimately constrains further aggression”.

Such explicit and maximalist war aims are, it’s understood, designed to send a signal to the Kremlin that it can’t expect to make any gains through acts of violence.

But some analysts fear such specific demands might one day clash with Ukraine’s, and that could make a political settlement harder.

Image source, PA Media

International sanctions against Russia should only be lifted when all of its troops have left Ukraine, the UK's foreign secretary has said.

Liz Truss told a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Germany that Russian President Vladimir Putin must face a defeat that prevents further aggression.

"Putin is humiliating himself on the world stage," she said, adding that he must be denied any benefit from his invasion of Ukraine.

She also called for Ukraine to have increased access to Nato military equipment.

G7 foreign ministers will meet again on Friday with their Ukrainian and Moldovan counterparts.

Read more about Liz Truss's comments here.

We're resuming our live coverage of the conflict in Ukraine - as always, you can follow updates and analysis here throughout the day. Here's the latest:

• The UK's foreign secretary says Russia's president is "humiliating himself on the world stage". Liz Truss also called for more weapons to be sent to Ukraine to bolster its defences
• Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has delivered his usual nightly address. He says Russia "lacks the courage" to admit it has suffered a strategic defeat in the conflict so far
• There have been tense exchanges between Russia and Western nations on several issues. After Finland signalled its intention to join the Nato defensive alliance, Moscow said it would "definitely" view that move as threatening
• And the UN Human Rights Council has voted to investigate alleged Russian war crimes - prompting the country's ambassador to the UN to accuse the West of "demonising" his country

Thank you for following our live coverage - we'll be back on Friday morning Ukraine time.

Click here for our latest stories on the conflict.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, 126 Separate Brigade of Territorial Defence of of Odesa

In Odesa, soldiers have made an unexpected discovery during fortification work - a number of amphorae, ancient vessels used to transport liquid.

The team reported it on their Facebook page and, according to early investigations, the amphorae were made between the fourth and fifth century BC.

The soldiers handed the amphorae to staff at the Odessa Archaeological Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, who have promised to add them to the museum's collection.

Image source, 126 Separate Brigade of Territorial Defence of of Odesa

North Macedonia became the latest country to join the Nato military alliance, and its 30th member, in 2020.

Nato forces have been taking part in a Swift Response 22 exercise to test the military alliance's deployment readiness along its eastern borders.

Image source, REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

Image source, REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

Image source, REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

Image source, EPA/GEORGI LICOVSKI

Image source, Photoattractive

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has warned that people trading stolen Ukrainian grain will be held to account, Interfax-Ukraine news agency has reported.

Russia has staged a blockade along the Black Sea coast since its invasion of Ukraine, preventing the export of millions of tonnes of grain. Ukraine has accused Russian forces of stealing several hundred thousand tonnes of grain.

Commenting on reports that a Russian vessel with stolen Ukrainian grain has moored in Syria, Kuleba called Russia a "triple criminal".

"It has bombed Syria, occupied a part of Ukraine, and is now selling stolen Ukrainian grain to Syria," he was quoted as saying.

"We will do everything to make your life as difficult as possible," his warning continued.

Earlier Russia's President Putin said his country would increase exports thanks to a good harvest.

The disruption to supply chains caused by the war has contributed to increasing prices around the world.

Image source, First Medical Association of Lviv

A hospital in Lviv has shared the story of an 11-year-old girl and her mother, who it says both lost legs in a missile strike at Kramatorsk railway station in April.

While waiting for their train, the two went on to the platform to get some tea, while Yana's twin brother Yaroslav watched their luggage, according to a Facebook post, external by the St Nicholas Children's Hospital of the First Medical Association of Lviv.

Natalia still can't forgive herself for the trip to get tea, the post says.

In a video interview with the organisation United for Ukraine, Natalia says she does not remember the sound of the explosion, but recalls opening her eyes to see everything covered in blood and people lying everywhere.

She told the organisation she tried to get up but couldn't, and then looked at Yana and realised her trainers weren't there.

Natalia had lost one of her legs; Yana had lost both.

The hospital says it has been caring for them for a few weeks, and they will eventually go to the US for further treatment.

It says Yaroslav has been helping look after them, calling nurses when they're needed and going to the nearby shop.

The attack killed 50 people. Russia and Ukraine have both blamed each other for the strike. A BBC investigation found clear evidence that a cluster bomb was used.

Here's a summary of today's main developments in the war in Ukraine:

• Finland's leaders have said the country should apply to join the Nato defence alliance "without delay" and the country's parliament is expected to approve the plans next week

• Russia says it will be forced to take "retaliatory steps" over Finland's move
• CCTV obtained by the BBC shows Russian soldiers shooting unarmed civilians near Kyiv, and looting their business
• The UN Human Rights Council has passed a resolution setting up an inquiry into allegations of abuses by Russian forces in Ukraine
• Six million have now fled Ukraine, according to the UN refugee agency
• Four US lawmakers have asked to the CEOs of YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook’s parent company, Meta, to “preserve and archive content” that could be used as evidence of Russian war crimes

• Ukrainian forces claim to have damaged a Russian navy logistics ship in the Black Sea, setting it on fire, and while fighting in the east of Ukraine has continued, neither side appeared to make major gains

Image source, Getty Images

A multi-billion-dollar aid package to Ukraine from the US government will not be ready until at least next week.

President Joe Biden had asked Congress to send the bill - $39.8bn (£32.6bn) in economic, humanitarian and security assistance - to his desk this week.

Congressional leadership had agreed to do so and their bill, which is nearly $7bn larger in size than what the president requested last month, was set for a swift passage.

But on Thursday, Republican lawmaker Rand Paul objected to what he called "a gift to Ukraine" and blocked the quick vote, arguing the package needs a watchdog to oversee disbursement of the funds.

Paul, who represents Kentucky in the Senate, is a frequent dissenter on foreign affairs and often objects to sending dollars for overseas wars the US is not involved in.

“We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the US economy,” he said ahead of the vote.

The bill is likely to be taken up again through regular order early next week.