Image source, Reuters

The UK has announced new sanctions against Russia.

Those hit include the Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova - for the "forced transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children".

Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has also been sanctioned for his support and endorsement of the war in Ukraine.

Image source, Reuters

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says he hopes the visit to Kyiv by the leaders of France, Germany and Italy will "not be focused exclusively on weapons shipments to Ukraine".

"I would like to hope that the leaders of these three states - and the president of Romania - will not only focus on supporting Ukraine by further pumping Ukraine with weapons," he says.

That would be "absolutely useless and will cause further damage to the country".

Peskov suggests that Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi should use their time with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to take a "realistic look at the state of affairs".

Image source, Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron says Ukraine must win the war against Russia, as he visited the town of Irpin outside the capital Kyiv.

"France has been alongside Ukraine since day one. We stand with the Ukrainians without ambiguity. Ukraine must resist and win," Macron told journalists in response to a question on his previous remarks that Russia must not be humiliated.

Standing by gutted, burned-out buildings, he and the leaders of Germany, Italy and Romania looked stern as they listened to a Ukrainian official explaining what had happened there.

Afterwards Macron told reporters, "it's a heroic city... marked by the stigma of barbarism".

Ukraine says Russia committed large-scale atrocities in Irpin. Russia denies the allegations.

Read more here about Russian occupation of Irpin.

Image source, Reuters

The leader of Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's Donetsk region has ruled out pardoning or exchanging two British nationals sentenced to death in the unrecognised, self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

Asked whether the local administration will consider pardoning Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, Denis Pushilin replied: "I do not see any grounds for that," the Russian news agency Interfax reports.

The possibility of exchanging them "is not even being discussed", Pushilin says, speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Pushilin also says Aslin, Pinner and Moroccan national Brahim Saaudun - who were all captured while fighting for Ukraine - had a month to appeal against the verdict issued by a Russian proxy court in Donetsk on 9 June.

Saaudun's sister Imane Saadun has told the BBC she feels his story is being ignored and that he may be forgotten.

Image source, Reuters

A senior Kremlin figure has poured scorn on the visit of the French, German and Italian leaders to Kyiv.

Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister and now deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, has criticised the trip on Twitter, external, using a dismissive slur relating to stereotypes of the three EU nations' cuisines.

"European fans of frogs, liverwurst and spaghetti" love visiting Kyiv, he writes. "With zero use."

Medvedev says they will promise Ukraine EU membership and old howitzers, get "lushed up" on horilka - Ukrainian for vodka - and go home by train, "like 100 years ago".

"All is well. Yet, it won’t bring Ukraine closer to peace. The clock’s ticking," he concludes.

Russian forces say they will reopen a humanitarian corridor for civilians to leave the Azot chemical plant in Severdonetsk after its planned evacuation on Wednesday failed to materialise, Interfax news reports.

Separatist forces have entered the chemical plant but they were unable to dislodge Ukrainian fighters from the factory, Leonid Pasechnik, head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic said, as reported by Tass news agency.

The UN has told the BBC that hundreds of civilians are sheltering in bunkers beneath the Azot plant with urgent conditions emerging as water and food supplies deteriorate.

The last bridge leading out of the city was destroyed in fighting earlier this week - effectively trapping its 12,000 remaining residents inside.

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

Around 10,000 civilians are trapped in the embattled Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, where fighting has raged for weeks, the local governor has said.

"Out of 100,000 residents, around 10,000 remain," Luhansk regional governor Sergei Haidai said on Telegram.

He said the Ukrainian army is "holding back the enemy as much as possible" in the city.

The last bridge leading out of the city was destroyed in fighting earlier this week - effectively trapping residents inside.

Essential supplies are running out for the trapped civilians - many of whom are sheltering in bunkers beneath the city's Azot chemical plant - with diminishing supplies of water, food, sanitation and electricity.

The three European leaders are now visiting Irpin, a town near Kyiv which Russian troops brutally occupied at the beginning of the war.

Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi are being briefed on what went on in the city, and work being done to get life back to normal.

"It's a heroic city, marked by the stigmata of barbarism," Macron tells reporters.

Irpin is on the doorstep of Kyiv, and in early March Russian troops intent on conquering the capital took hold of the town.

Its blown-up bridge and river crossing became known internationally as a risky escape route from next-door Bucha, the scene of many of Russia's alleged war crimes.

In Irpin itself, the bodies of 290 civilian victims were found.

Read more about Irpin's month of terror.

Image source, Reuters

Jenny Hill
Reporting from Berlin

Image source, Reuters

Olaf Scholz has set himself a tough task.

The German chancellor had, somewhat defensively, said that he wouldn’t visit Ukraine simply for a photo opportunity.

So what will he offer? The Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin, long a thorn in Scholz’s side, is clear, telling a German newspaper this morning that Kyiv wants heavy weapons from Germany, in particular Leopard and Marder tanks.

Tanks have become a bit of a dirty word in Berlin. Scholz promised artillery, heavy weaponry to Ukraine, but it's yet to materialise. Germany has sent other military equipment and aid but, when compared to national GDP, its financial contributions pale next to those made by the Baltics and Poland.

Ukraine has accused him of trying to balance support for Kyiv with a desire to maintain a relationship with Russia. It’s a suspicion he’ll need to allay today.

And it’s not just the Ukrainian leadership which will be watching Scholz closely.

Germans too want to know what this leader – who’s earning a reputation as a bit of a ditherer – is all about.

Prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Scholz claims to have taken his country into a new era in which defence and the military matter. But beyond pledges to spend more on the German army, many wonder what he really means.

So, even as he poses for those pictures today, this visit is an opportunity for him to deliver what he’s long promised - clarity.

Nick Beake
Reporting from Kyiv

Air raid sirens are going off in Kyiv this morning.

It is a regular feature of life in the capital, but serves as a reminder to the visiting leaders of France, Italy and Germany that they've arrived in a country at war.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian PM Mario Draghi are in Kyiv for their first visit to Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

They'll meet President Volodymyr Zelensky later to show their backing for Ukraine.

Scholz told German daily Bild that they "want to show not only solidarity, but also assure that the help that we're organising - financial, humanitarian, but also, when it comes to weapons - will continue".

Image source, Reuters

The visit of the leaders of Germany, France and Italy to Kyiv is a show of solidarity but also about a commitment to carry on supporting and helping Ukraine and its citizens, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says.

Speaking to German newspaper Bild on his way to Kyiv, Scholz said: "We don't just want to demonstrate solidarity, we also want to make it clear that we will continue with the help we're organising – financial and humanitarian, but also when it comes to weapons."

The support will go on for as long "as is necessary for Ukraine's struggle for independence", Scholz says.

The situation Ukraine is in is "very unusual", Scholz says.

He also makes clear sanctions are of great importance, saying: "They contribute to the chance that Russia will give up its operation and withdraw its troops again. Because that's the goal."

Image source, EPA

Defence ministers from Nato countries will be discussing the war in Ukraine on day two of a meeting in Brussels.

Yesterday's opening day saw Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg say he expected the alliance to agree further support for Ukraine at a summit in Madrid later this month.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin called on allies to increase weapons deliveries and, soon after, President Joe Biden announced a package of $1bn (£820m) in security assistance and weapons for Ukraine. It includes guided munitions, howitzers and vehicles to tow them, 36,000 rounds of ammunition and funds to help Ukraine with two additional harpoon coastal defence systems and other equipment.

Former Nato Supreme Allied Commander, retired general Wesley Clark, has told the BBC that getting Ukrainians trained in the use of different weapons is a challenge - as is delivering them.

How might Macron benefit from visit to Kyiv?published at 08:33 British Summer Time 16 June 2022

08:33 BST 16 June 2022

Hugh Schofield
Reporting from Paris

Three days ahead of a tense election in France, it is fair to ask not just what good Macron’s trip to Ukraine can do for Ukraine – but what good it might do for Macron too.

With Jean-Luc Melenchon’s left-wing alliance posing a real threat for his second term, could it not have been more advisable for the president to spend the last days of the campaign out on the stump – reminding voters why they need his programme to succeed?

Macron’s calculation is that by playing up his European statesman role, he can expose the deep faultline that separates him from the far-left.

Melenchon, after all, is the man who wants to leave Nato, disobey the European Union, and once said nice things about Putin. The problem is that this is not a presidential election but a parliamentary one.

The main issue is the cost of living not global strategy. And foreign and defence affairs will remain the preserve of the president, whatever happens in the vote on Sunday.

So an average voter might well look on Macron’s Ukraine trip and say ‘Fine, I approve’. And then still vote against him.

As we've been reporting, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi have arrived in Kyiv to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky to show their backing for Ukraine.

The three EU leaders took the night train from Poland to Kyiv in a move that follows criticisms from Ukraine over their response to the war.

Image source, AFP

"It's an important moment. It's a message of unity we're sending to the Ukrainians," Reuters reported Macron as saying when he arrived in Kyiv.

Asked why the visit was taking place now, an Elysee official said the leaders thought it was best to do it just before an EU summit that is due to discuss Ukraine's bid to join the European Union.

Image source, AFP

Scholz has come under attack for not sending Ukraine enough weapons but the country's ambassador to Berlin, Andrij Melnyk, said he expected Scholz to make a commitment on heavy weapons that had been long promised but not yet delivered.

Scholz has dismissed criticisms that he has held back on military support, responding by saying that Germany was one of the biggest military and financial backers of Ukraine.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Ukraine's hopes of joining the European Union will no doubt be a topic of conversation as the leaders of France, Germany and Italy visit Kyiv today.

The trip comes a day before the European Commission is due to make a recommendation on Ukraine's status as an EU candidate.

Ukraine began the process of applying to join the EU in February, four days after Russia's invasion.

Last month French President Emmanuel Macron said the process would take several years, or even decades.

He suggested Ukraine could join a "parallel European community" while it awaited a decision, saying this would be "a way of anchoring countries which are geographically in Europe and share our values" without suspending the EU's strict membership criteria to fast-track Ukraine's application.

But on Thursday, Macron said Europe needed to reassure Ukraine over its EU ambitions. "We are at a point when we need to send clear political signals, us Europeans, towards Ukraine and its people when it is resisting heroically," he said.

More now from the UK Ministry of Defence's morning update on the situation in Ukraine.

The MoD says Russia's forces in the Donbas are likely to be operating in increasingly ad hoc and severely undermanned groupings.

It points out that Ukrainian authorities have said some Russian Battalion Tactical Groups, that would typically compromise 600-800 people, now only consist of about 30 soldiers.

Several weeks into the invasion, Russia changed its strategy to focus on the Donbas, the region in south-eastern Ukraine where Russian-backed separatist groups have been fighting for eight years.

Front-line fighting is often between small groups on foot on both sides, the MoD says, which makes some of Russia's overall advantages, such as having more tanks than Ukraine, less relevant.

"This is likely contributing to its continued slow rate of advance," the MoD concludes.

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The destruction of all the main bridges into Severodonetsk has left Russian troops needing to find a way to get to the embattled eastern city "to turn tactical gain into operational advantage", the UK's Ministry of Defence says.

For weeks capturing Severodonetsk has been a top military goal for Russia.

The MoD says Russia will likely need to either attempt a contested crossing of the Siversky Donets river, which links Severodonetsk with Ukraine-held territory, "or advance on its currently stalled flanks".

In its morning Ukraine intelligence update, the MoD says Ukraine has probably managed to withdraw a large proportion of its combat troops who were previously holding the town but adds "the situation continues to be extremely difficult for the Ukrainian forces and civilians remaining east of the river".

Earlier this week local governor Serhiy Haidai said all three bridges into the city had been destroyed, meaning delivering supplies and evacuating civilians was now impossible.

Image source, .

EU leaders in Kyiv to counter criticism of their supportpublished at 07:15 British Summer Time 16 June 2022

07:15 BST 16 June 2022

Joe Inwood
Reporting from Kyiv

Image source, EPA

The European Union’s three most powerful national leaders are putting on a united front.

Italy’s Mario Draghi, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz are travelling together to Kyiv – seeking to counter the criticism of their perceived lukewarm support for Ukraine.

The visit comes a day before the European Commission is set to make a recommendation on Ukraine's status as a candidate for EU membership.

Speaking ahead of the trip, President Macron said: "We are at a point when we need to send clear political signals, us Europeans, towards Ukraine and its people when it is resisting heroically."

That resistance has been greatly dependent on foreign military support.

The latest package of US aid is badly needed. It includes 18 howitzer artillery pieces and thousands of rounds of ammunition – plus two harpoon naval defence systems – all warmly welcomed by the Ukrainians.

The key question – how quickly do promises in Washington turn into reality on the eastern front?

An overnight Russian air-launched rocket strike that hit a suburb of the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy has killed four people and wounded six, the region's governor says.

Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi did not specify the target of the strike on the suburb. He says another rocket strike hit the Dobropillia district this morning, which is located next to the Russian border.

This attack was followed by 26 mortar rounds fired from across the Russian border, Zhyvytskyi adds.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify these claims.

Image source, EPA

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi have taken the night train to Ukraine's capital Kyiv to show their support, Italian daily La Repubblica has reported.

The visit by the three European leaders has taken weeks to organise with the three men looking to overcome criticism within Ukraine over their response to the war.

Ukraine has criticised France, Germany and, to a lesser extent, Italy, for alleged foot-dragging in their support, accusing them of being slow to deliver weapons and of putting their own economies ahead of Ukraine's security.