Live: Explosions rock Kyiv as Russia takes control of Sievierodonetsk

Issued on: 26/06/2022 – 10:00

9:38am: Five people wounded in missile strike in central Kyiv says police chief

At least five people were wounded when a missile hit a building in central Kyiv on Sunday, the head of Ukraine’s police force Ihor Klymenko said on national television.

9:14am: Russia’s Defence Minister Shoigu visits troops in Ukraine

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected Russian troop units in Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Sunday. “At the command posts of Russian units, Army General Sergei Shoigu heard reports from the commanders on the current situation and actions of the Russian Armed Forces in the main operational areas,” the ministry said in a statement.

9:12am: Gazprom’s gas exports to Europe via Ukraine steady

Russian gas producer Gazprom said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 42.1 million cubic metres (mcm) on Sunday, same as on Saturday, Russian news agencies reported citing the company.

An application to supply gas via another major entry point, Sokhranovka, was again rejected by Ukraine, Gazprom said.

8:23am: Russia’s Kyiv strike aims to ‘intimidate Ukrainians’ before NATO summit, says mayor

A Russian missile strike that hit Kyiv on Sunday was intended to “intimidate Ukrainians” in the days leading up to a NATO summit, the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The first Russian strike in the capital in nearly three weeks was aimed to “intimidate Ukrainians… at the approach of the NATO summit” to be held in Madrid from June 28-30, said Klitschko, who visited the scene of the explosion. 

7:04am: Four explosions heard in Ukraine capital Kyiv

Four explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Sunday, with AFP journalists reporting a residential complex near the centre of the city had been hit, causing a fire and cloud of grey smoke. The blasts occurred around 6:30 am (0330 GMT), half an hour after air raid sirens sounded in the capital, which has not not come under Russian bombardment for nearly three weeks.

“Ambulances and rescuers are on site. In two buildings, the rescue and evacuation of residents is underway,” he added. Thick smoke was seen in the affected residential area, which was cordoned off by police. At the end of April, a Ukrainian journalist from Radio Liberty was killed in her apartment by a Russian strike on Kyiv during a visit by UN chief Antonio Guterres.

6:05am: Several explosions heard in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskiy district

Several explosions took place early on Sunday in the Shevchenkivskiy district of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app. “Ambulance crews and rescuers dispatched to the scene. More detailed information – later,” Klitschko said.

5:50am: Indonesian president to visit Ukraine, Russia on peace-building mission

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Sunday he will urge his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts to open room for dialogue during a peace-building mission to the countries because “war has to stop and global food chains need to be reactivated”.

Speaking before leaving for Germany to attend the G7 summit on Monday, he said he will also urge Russia’s Vladimir Putin to order an immediate ceasefire.

1:20am: Ukraine’s shelling forces Russian army to halt evacuation from Sievierodonetsk plant

Ukrainian shelling on Saturday forced Russian troops to suspend the evacuation of people from a chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk, just hours after Moscow’s forces took the city, Tass news agency quoted local police as saying.

Separately, a senior advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said special forces were still in Sievierodonetsk, directing artillery fire against the Russians. The adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, spoke in a video address.

1:00am: G7 summit kicks off under shadow of Ukraine war, stagflation risk

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomes leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies on Sunday to a three-day summit in the Bavarian Alps overshadowed by the war in Ukraine and its far-reaching consequences, from energy shortages to a food crisis.

The summit takes place against a darker backdrop than last year when the British, Canadian, French, German, Italian, Japanese and US leaders met for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic and vowed to build back better. Soaring global energy and food prices are hitting economic growth in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The United Nations warned on Friday of an “unprecedented global hunger crisis”.

Climate change, an increasingly assertive China and the rise of authoritarianism are also set to be on the agenda. The G7 leaders are expected to seek to show a united front on supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary and cranking up pressure on the Kremlin – although they will want to avoid sanctions that could stoke inflation and exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis affecting their own people.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)