The Ukrainian army said Moscow was focusing its main efforts to prevent Ukrainian air forces from operating effectively.
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Ukraine's military says Russia has been targeting airfields and infrastructure in the south and east of the country to try and stop the Ukrainian airforce from operating effectively.
Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that "as in 1945, victory will be ours", drawing many comparisons between the Second World War and the conflict in Ukraine on the eve of Victory Day celebrations in Red Square.
Ukrainian authorities fear up to 60 people sheltering in a school in Luhansk region may have been killed in a Russian strike on the building. It comes as leaders of the G7 countries pledged to ban or phase out Russian oil imports to their countries.
**Follow events as they unfolded on Sunday in our live blog below. **
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Sunday key points:
- Ukraine says Russia has been focusing its military efforts to target airfields and infrastructure to stop the country's air force from being able to operate effectively in the south and east.
- G7 leaders held a video call with President Zelenskyy on Sunday and said they will phase out or ban Russian oil imports to their countries.
- Ukrainian authorities say up to 60 people who were among a group of 90 villagers sheltering in the basement of a school in Luhansk region are feared dead after Russian forces bombed the building.
- Bono and The Edge from Irish rock band U2 have played a surprise concert in a Kyiv metro station. The duo traveled to Ukraine at the invitation of President Zelenskyy.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that "as in 1945, victory will be ours." He made the comments on Sunday in a message to former Soviet-bloc countries and the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine.
- The UK's Ministry of Defence says Russia is increasingly sending more senior military leaders to the front lines to try and take better charge of the war effort -- but that it's not clear this has lead to any "refined or altered operational concept."
- The World Health Organization is gathering evidence for a possible war crimes investigation into attacks it says it has documented by Russia on healthcare facilities in Ukraine
- All the civilian women, children and elderly people have now been evacuated from the sprawling Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol but it is thought there are still Ukrainian military elements holding out against Russian forces.
- Russia has been putting its military might on display in Moscow, holding rehearsals ahead of Monday's WWII Victory Day parade.
That's our Ukraine live blog for Sunday coming to a close.
We're back early Monday morning with all the latest developments.
Russia picking targets to stop Ukraine's air force operating effectively
The Ukrainian army said Sunday that Moscow was focusing its main efforts that day on destroying airfield infrastructure in eastern and southern Ukraine, in order to prevent Ukrainian air forces from operating effectively.
At least five explosions were heard in the key Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa on Sunday, according to reports in local news media. Odesa, Ukraine’s third-largest city and a cultural center of deep significance to both Ukrainians and Russians, has so far been largely spared in the ten-week-old war.
Multiple photos and videos appeared to show trails and clouds of smoke in the sky above the city. Local media also reported that at least one missile had been shot down. As of Sunday afternoon, there have been no reports of casualties, although one newspaper claimed that civilian infrastructure had been damaged.
According to a Facebook post Sunday on the profile of Ukraine’s General Chiefs of Staff, Russia also ramped up “operational and tactical aviation activity” in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.
The Kharkiv regional administration says three people were killed in shelling of the town of Bogodukhiv, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
(AP)
G7 leaders pledge to ban or phase out Russian oil imports
Leader from the G7 countries -- France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Japan, Canada and the USA -- held a video meeting with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy on Sunday afternoon. In a statement, they pledged to ban or phase out Russian oil imports to their countries, saying that stopping the flow of Russian oil will cut the main artery of Vladimir Putin’s economy and deny him the revenue he needs to fund the war.
Read more at our story here:
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau visits Ukraine
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Irpin on Sunday, a city devastated by intense fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian armies before its occupation by the Russians in March, the city's mayor announced.
"(Justin Trudeau) came to Irpin to see with his own eyes all the horrors that the Russian occupiers did to our city," Oleksander Markushin wrote on Telegram, accompanying his message with photos taken with Mr Trudeau in the destroyed city.
Justin Trudeau's visit to Ukraine had not been announced in advance.
"The Prime Minister is in Ukraine to meet with President Zelenskyy and reaffirm our unwavering support for the Ukrainian people," his office said.
Mayor Markushin said he "sincerely thanked" the Prime Minister for "Canada's support for Ukraine today".
"We believe in continued cooperation between our countries in the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities after our victory," he said.
Irpin, on the northwestern outskirts of Kiev, was the scene of heavy fighting between Russians and Ukrainians in the early days of the Russian invasion in late February.
The Russian army quickly took control of the town, which had a population of 60,000 before the war, and occupied it throughout March.
(AFP)
Ukrainian army video reportedly shows a strike on Snake Island
The Ukrainian military released a video on Sunday showing a Russian helicopter hit over Russian-held Snake Island.
Watch the video below:
US first lady Jill Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine
US first lady Jill Biden made an unannounced visit to western Ukraine on Sunday, holding a surprise Mother’s Day meeting with Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska.
Biden traveled under the cloak of secrecy, becoming the latest high-profile American to enter Ukraine during its 10-week-old conflict with Russia.
“I wanted to come on Mother’s Day,” Biden told Zelenska. “I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”
The first lady traveled by vehicle to the town of Uzhhorod, about a 10-minute drive from a Slovakian village that borders Ukraine. She spent about two hours in Ukraine.
The two came together in a small classroom, sitting across a table from one another and talking before reporters, before then meeting in private. Zelenska and her children have been at an undisclosed location for their safety.
Ukraine: Grigory Skovoroda museum in ruins after bombing
A museum dedicated to the Ukrainian philosopher Grigory Skovoroda in Skovorodinovka, Kharkiv region, was destroyed by a Russian missile.
Watch video of the aftermath here:
U2 plays surprise Kyiv concert
Two of the members of Irish rock band U2 have made a surprise appearance in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, and played a concert in a metro station.
Bono and The Edge sang some of their biggest hits to the audience who gathered to hear them, and also sang 'Stand by Me' with a member of the Ukrainian military.
Writing on their official U2 Twitter account, the band said: "President Zelenskyy invited us to perform in Kyiv as a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and so that’s what we’ve come to do."
Vladimir Putin says: 'Victory will be ours'
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that "as in 1945, victory will be ours", drawing many comparisons between the Second World War and the conflict in Ukraine.
He made the comments on Sunday in a message to former Soviet-bloc countries and the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine.
"Today our soldiers, like their ancestors, are fighting shoulder to shoulder for the liberation of their homeland from Nazi filth, with the confidence that, as in 1945, victory will be ours," Putin said in his greetings to former Soviet bloc countries and the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine on Sunday.
"Today, the common duty is to prevent the revival of Nazism, which caused so much suffering to the peoples of different countries," he added, wishing "that the new generations be worthy of the memory of their fathers and grandfathers.
In his greetings, Vladimir Putin also made numerous references not only to the soldiers, but also to the civilians of the "home front", "who crushed Nazism at the cost of countless sacrifices".
"Unfortunately, today, Nazism is raising its head again," the Russian president said, in a passage addressed to Ukrainians. "Our sacred duty is to prevent the ideological heirs of those who were defeated" in what Moscow calls the "Great Patriotic War" from "taking their revenge".
The president wished "all the people of Ukraine - a peaceful and just future".
On Monday, Moscow will commemorate the victory against Nazi Germany with a military parade.
Russia justifies the war launched in Ukraine on 24 February by saying they want to "demilitarise" and "denazify" the country.
(AFP)
Boris Johnson commits more military support for Ukraine
The British government will provide an extra £1.3 billion (€1.5 billion) in military support to Ukraine to help the country defend against Russian forces, officials said Sunday.
The funding, which comes from British government reserves, includes 300 million pounds of military kit promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this week, such as radar systems to target Russian artillery, GPS jamming equipment and night vision devices.
Britain's government said it is the highest rate of UK military spending on a conflict since Iraq and Afghanistan.
Officials said Johnson will meet with British arms companies later this month to discuss increasing production in response to the demand created by the conflict in Ukraine.
Johnson said Britain's aid to Ukraine will also help boost the British defense economy.
Britain has already committed to about 1.5 billion pounds for Ukraine, including humanitarian aid and loan guarantees.
(AP)
British YouTuber detained by Russian authorities
A popular British YouTuber, who specialises in travels through Russia and the former Soviet Union, has been detained by Russian authorities.
Rich Benjamin -- more commonly known by his YouTube channel moniker 'Bald and Bankrupt' -- and his Belarussian partner Alina Zelupa, were detained on Saturday at Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
"At 6:10 pm Moscow time, a report was received from the Space Centre [in Baikonur] about the detention of British citizen Rich Benjamin and Belarusian citizen Zelupa Alina," The head of Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, wrote on Telegram.
The arrests took place "in the area of launch pad 112," he added.
"Both are in the Department of Internal Affairs of the city of Baikonur. Investigations are underway," Rogozin added.
"Relationships are being established" that these two people are "linked in the organisation of illegal actions", he said.
Rogozin did not give further details on their identities or the nature of the charges against them.
Benjamin has attracted millions of followers -- and tens of millions of views -- for his videos where he explores unusual parts of the former Soviet Union like remote exclaves and conflict zones.
(AFP / Euronews)
EU negotiations on Russia oil ban continue
Diplomats from the EU's 27 member states are continuing talks in Brussels on Sunday, to try and overcome the last obstacles to an embargo on Russian oil.
On Friday, they had failed to reach an agreement on the implementation of the 6th package of sanctions against Moscow presented Wednesday by the European Commission. The plan calls for an embargo on Russian oil by the end of the year, which raises major problems for some member states.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose country is heavily dependent on Russia for its energy supplies, had hardened his tone on Friday morning, saying that the Brussels proposal was "damaging" to the unity of the European Union.
The unanimity of the EU-27 is required for the adoption of sanctions.
"There is no political blockage, but the need to guarantee alternative sources of supply to landlocked countries dependent on Russian oil by pipeline. And this is not an easy thing to do," a European diplomat said.
"It involves new infrastructure and changes in technology, which require not only European funding, but agreements between several member states. We are making progress but it automatically takes a little time," he added.
The proposal submitted to member states on Wednesday provides for a halt to Russian crude oil imports within six months and to refined products by the end of 2022.
(AFP)
Ukrainian refugees in France will be offered 400 hours of language lessons
Ukrainian refugees who arrive in France will be offered up to 400 hours of French language lessons.
The new scheme starts on Monday, and participants will first do an assessment of any existing written and spoken French skills they might already have.
"The organization offers training courses of one hundred or two hundred hours aimed at acquiring an A1 level", which corresponds to an elementary mastery of the language, "one hundred hours of training aimed at acquiring an A2 level and one hundred hours of training aimed at acquiring a B1 level", the official statement about the programme notes.
The 'temporary protection' status is open to Ukrainians or other foreign nationals who lived regularly in Ukraine before the start of the conflict, and lets them live legally in France, and benefit from a wide range of social benefits like accommodation allowances, access to unemployment benefits and health care.
At the end of April more than 70,000 Ukrainian had registered for an asylum seeker allowance according to the French Office for Immigration and Integration, which is responsible for setting up the language courses.
(AFP)
Ukraine warns of Moldova "full alert"
The Ukrainian military warned on Sunday that Russian and separatists troops are on “full alert" in neighbouring Moldova.
The region has increasingly become a focus of worries that the conflict could expand beyond Ukraine's borders.
Pro-Russian forces broke off the Transnistria section of Moldova in 1992, and Russian troops have been stationed there since, ostensibly as peacekeepers.
Those forces are on “full combat readiness,” Ukraine said Sunday, without giving details on how it came to the assessment.
Moscow has sought to sweep across southern Ukraine both to cut off the country from the sea and create a corridor to Transnistria. But it has struggled to achieve those objectives.
(AP)
UK military intelligence: Russia sending more senior officers to the frontlines
The latest British military intelligence assessment of the war in Ukraine confirms reports that Russia is sending increasingly more senior officers to the frontlines to take charge of efforts.
However the MoD says it's not clear whether these deployments have led to "a refined or altered operational concept."
"The forward deployment of commanders has exposed them to significant risk, leading to disproportionately high losses of Russian officers in this conflict. This has resulted in a force that is slow to respond to setbacks and unable to alter its approach on the battlefield," the MoD said on Sunday morning.
Read the full Twitter thread here:
Up to 60 feared dead after Russians bomb Luhansk school
Russia's bombing of a school in the eastern Ukrainian village of Bilohorivka killed two people and left 60 in the debris feared dead, the governor of the Luhansk region said on Sunday.
Governor Serhiy Gaidai said Russian forces dropped a bomb on Saturday afternoon on the school where about 90 people were sheltering, causing a fire that engulfed the building.
"The fire was extinguished after nearly four hours, then the rubble was cleared, and, unfortunately, the bodies of two people were found," Gaidai wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
"Thirty people were evacuated from the rubble, seven of whom were injured. Sixty people were likely to have died under the rubble of buildings."
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Gaidai wrote on Telegram the "Russian assassins 'fought' with unarmed civilians. The racists dropped an air bomb on a school where almost the entire village was hiding. Everyone who did not have time to evacuate. After hitting the club, the basement of the school was the only place of salvation, but the Russians took away from people and this chance."
Ukraine and the West have accused Russian forces of targeting civilians and war crimes, charges Moscow rejects.
(Reuters / Euronews)
