Russia-Ukraine live news: Kyiv rules out concession to Moscow
- Ukraine rules out a ceasefire or any territorial concessions to Moscow as Russia steps up its attack in the country’s east and south.
- Kyiv extends the period of martial law and general mobilisation in the country for an additional 90 days, until August 23.
- Russian gas producer Gazprom says it has continued to supply gas to Europe through Ukraine.
- African Union chief announces visits to Moscow, Kyiv
- Polish leader visits Kyiv, lends support to Ukraine
- Russia’s lead negotiator in peace talks with Ukraine says that Moscow was willing to resume negotiations, but that the ball was in Kyiv’s court.
Here are the updates on Monday, May 23:
1 min ago (01:30 GMT)
Kharkiv’s rescuers recovered 150 bodies in region since invasion began
Kharkiv’s emergency services have said that since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, they have cleared 98 locations of rubble and recovered 150 bodies across the region, Interfax reports.
Around 250 people were rescued, but five emergency services workers died during the operations, the deputy head of the regional emergency services, Anatoly Toryanik, said during a national telethon.
Toryanik said the areas subject to the most severe shelling were the Kharkiv suburbs of Severnaya Saltovka, Pyatikhatki and Gorizont, as well as the villages of Zhukovsky and Rohan.
18 mins ago (01:14 GMT)
US and 6 others say they support APEC after Russian invasion protest
Representatives of seven nations, including those who walked out of the APEC meeting in Bangkok to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have said they support the organisation and host nation Thailand.
Representatives of the United States, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand said in a joint statement that they had “grave concerns” over the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
“Reaffirming the importance of the rules-based international order that underpins an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific region, we strongly urge Russia to immediately cease its use of force and completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from Ukraine,” the nations said.
Representatives from Canada, New Zealand, Japan and Australia joined the Americans, led by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in walking out of the meeting on Saturday, while Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov was speaking.
29 mins ago (01:02 GMT)
Hundreds of protesters in Tokyo rally against Biden’s visit, support for Ukraine
Hundreds of Japanese people rallied at Shiba Park in Tokyo on Sunday to protest against US President Joe Biden’s three-day visit to Japan, as international tensions are running high over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“West European countries and NATO members led by the US have intensified the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, provided military supplies [for Ukraine], imposing sanctions on Russia. All this will not stop the conflict, but intensify and prolong it, instead. I can’t forgive such actions,” one protestor, Ota, said.
“From a historical perspective, it is the eastward expansion advanced by the US and NATO that provoked Russia’s resistance. The root cause is the US,” said Shunkichi Takayama, a lawyer.
Biden is set to attend a summit on Tuesday where he will meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to promote the “Quad” mechanism.
1 hour ago (00:24 GMT)
More than 100 m people forcibly displaced in the world: UN
More than 100 million people have been driven from their homes around the world, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has said, citing new data and adding the war in Ukraine was one of the factors propelling millions to flee.
The UNHCR added that protracted conflict in places like Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo were other factors behind the high numbers.
Nearly 6.5 million people have now fled Ukraine due to the war.
1 hour ago (00:06 GMT)
Russia seeks new advance at Severodonetsk: Think-tank
Russian forces continued ground assaults around the major Luhansk city of Severodonetsk on Sunday but made only minimal gains in the east of the country, the Institute for the Study of War has said.
In its latest campaign assessment the institute noted that Russia had been unsuccessful at encircling Severodonetsk from the east to support its previous advances towards the city from the north (via Rubizhne), west (via Bilohorivka), and south (via Popasna). But it added that there had been confirmed reports Russia seemed to have broken through Ukrainian defences around Popasna.
“Russian forces likely seek to open a new line of advance north from Popasna to complete the encirclement of Severodonetsk while simultaneously driving west toward Bakhmut, though Russian forces are unlikely to be able to fully resource both lines of advance simultaneously,” the institute said.
Russia seeks to capture Severodonetsk as this is the last stronghold of the Luhansk region.
May 22, 2022. Russian forces have secured advances to the north and west of Popasna since at least May 20. Russian forces likely seek to push further west toward Bakhmut and north to support the encirclement of Severodonetsk.
A thread on our daily map updates for @TheStudyofWar. https://t.co/LESeWdhb4p
— George Barros (@georgewbarros) May 22, 2022
2 hours ago (23:56 GMT)
Zelenskyy dubs Poland’s Rzeszów ‘Rescuer City’
Zelenskyy has given the Polish city of Rzeszów the honorary title of “Rescuer City” for its help in welcoming millions of Ukraine’s refugees.
“I have introduced a special honorary title of ‘rescuer city’ for the partner cities of our state, which today do the impossible to help us, to help our people, to help our army,” Zelenskyy said in parliament during a visit from Poland’s President Andrzej Duda.
“On behalf of the entire Ukrainian people, I would like to express great gratitude to the city of Rzeszów, the first rescuer city,” he added.
Rzeszów lies about 100 km from the border with Ukraine and has been acting as a reception point for people fleeing the war.
2 hours ago (23:39 GMT)
Ukraine to reach verdict on Russian soldier Monday
A Ukrainian court is expected to reach a verdict on Monday for a Russian soldier who was the first to go on trial for an alleged war crime.
The 21-year-old sergeant, who has admitted to shooting a Ukrainian man in the head in a village in the northeastern Sumy region on February 28, could get life in prison if convicted.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova has said her office was prosecuting war crimes cases against 41 Russian soldiers for offences that included bombing civilian infrastructure, killing civilians, rape and looting.
She said it was looking into more than 10,700 potential war crimes involving over 600 suspects, including Russian soldiers and government officials.
3 hours ago (22:45 GMT)
Russia’s lead negotiator says Moscow willing to resume negotiations
Russia’s lead negotiator in peace talks with Ukraine said on Sunday that Moscow was willing to resume negotiations, but that the decision remained with Kyiv.
“Freezing talks was entirely Ukraine’s initiative,” Vladimir Medinsky told Belarusian TV, adding that the “ball is completely in their court”.
He spoke a day after Zelenskyy said the war “will only definitively end through diplomacy”.
3 hours ago (22:41 GMT)
Polish leader first to address wartime Kyiv parliament
Poland’s president has travelled to Kyiv to become the first foreign leader to address the Ukrainian parliament since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Ukrainian legislators stood on Sunday to applaud Polish President Andrzej Duda, who thanked them for the honour of speaking in a place where, he said, “the heart of a free, independent and democratic Ukraine beats”, according to remarks carried by the Polish state-run news agency PAP.
“The free world has the face of Ukraine,” Duda told the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s legislature.
Read more here.
4 hours ago (21:44 GMT)
UK’s Johnson discussed Russia’s blockade of Odesa with Zelenskyy
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s shipping port Odesa, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Johnson resolved to redouble efforts to provide vital food and humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine and ensure the country was able to export to the rest of the world, the spokesperson added.
4 hours ago (21:10 GMT)
Ukraine parliament bans Russian war symbols
Ukraine’s parliament has banned the symbols “Z” and “V”, used by Russia’s military to promote its war in the country but agreed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call to allow their use for educational or historic purposes.
Yaroslav Zheleznyak, an opposition member, announced the decision on the Telegram messaging app, saying 313 deputies had voted in favour in the 423-member Verkhovna Rada assembly.
Zelenskyy had vetoed an earlier version of the bill and called for the two symbols to be allowed in displays in museums, libraries, scientific works, re-enactments, textbooks and similar instances.
Neither of the two letters exists in the Russian alphabet. They have been widely used, particularly on Russian military vehicles and equipment, to promote the aims of the conflict.
4 hours ago (21:01 GMT)
Ukraine rejects concessions as Russians attack in east and south
Ukraine rules out a ceasefire or any territorial concessions to Moscow as Russia stepped up its attack in the eastern and southern parts of the country, pounding the Donbas and Mykolaiv regions with air strikes and artillery fire.
Kyiv’s stance has become increasingly uncompromising in recent weeks as Russia experienced military setbacks while Ukrainian officials grew worried they might be pressured to sacrifice land for a peace deal.
“The war must end with the complete restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff said in a Twitter post.
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Read all the updates from Saturday, May 22 here.