Latest news about Russia and the war in Ukraine

The Russian Foreign Ministry advised its citizens not to travel to the Middle East, warning against travel to Israel, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories in particular, except in cases of extreme necessity.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the RIA Novosti news agency: “The tense situation in the Middle East region continues. The situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, as well as in the Blue Line area between Lebanon and Israel, remains unstable.”

Zakharova urged citizens to follow updates published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies.

– Holly Eliatt

Switzerland has confirmed that it will host a high-level conference on how to achieve peace in Ukraine, the Swiss government announced on Wednesday evening.

The summit will be held on June 15 and 16 in the Bürgenstock resort. Ukraine is expected to use this event to promote its 10-point peace plan to end the war with Russia.

The conference – which is not the first to be held to discuss ways to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict that has been going on for 26 months – is expected to focus on developing “a common understanding among the participating countries with the aim of achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.” The Swiss Federal Council said in a statement: “In Ukraine.”

She added that after consulting with international partners, “including G7 member states, the European Union, and representatives of the Global South such as China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia,” she found that there was “sufficient international support” to hold a high-level conference to launch the process. peace”.

The Ukrainian “peace formula” calls for the complete withdrawal of all Russian forces from its territory, which is one of the conditions that is unlikely to be met after Russia annexed four Ukrainian regions and declared them Russian territory.

Russia was not invited to this peace conference or previous ones, raising question marks about how much such summits can achieve. A spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in Switzerland confirmed to CNBC that it had not received an invitation to the upcoming summit, saying it would decline the invitation in any case.

“The idea of ​​a ‘peace conference’ promoted by the organizers is inappropriate for us, because it is just another version of pushing through an unworkable ‘peace formula’ that does not take into account Russian concerns,” said Vladimir Khokhlov, the commission’s press secretary. Embassy.

– Holly Eliatt

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian drone and missile air strikes targeting infrastructure in several regions across Ukraine early Thursday showed the need for more air defense systems.

Zelensky said on Telegram that more than 40 missiles and about 40 attack drones participated in the recent attacks, noting that although some missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down, not all of them were intercepted.

“Russian terrorists once again targeted vital infrastructure targets. There was another despicable missile attack on Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region. Targets were also targeted in other regions: Kiev, Zaporizhia, Odessa and Lviv,” Zelensky stated.

“All of our neighbors in Europe, and every one of our other partners, see how important Ukraine’s need for air defense is,” he said, adding that “air defense and other forms of defense support are needed, without turning a blind eye and protracted discussions.”

He added: “If Russia is allowed to continue doing this, and if Russian missiles and Shahed drones (Iranian-made drones) strike not only Ukraine, but also with the design of its partners, this will be a global license for terrorism.”

Ukraine is increasingly frustrated with stonewalling on additional military aid, as Republican lawmakers have blocked $60 billion in US aid. On the other hand, Ukraine's military needs are acute, with reported shortages of manpower and critical artillery shells.

– Holly Eliatt

Thousands of people were left without power after an early morning Russian missile and drone attack on the northeastern Kharkiv region, officials said Thursday.

Oleksiy Kuleba, deputy head of the Ukrainian President's Office, said: “This morning, another massive Russian attack on Ukraine's energy sector. The enemy launched dozens of drones and missiles in the Kharkiv, Kiev, Zaporizhia and Lviv regions. Fortunately, there were no casualties.” , he said on a telegram.

He stated that more than 200,000 consumers were affected by the recent strikes in the Kharkiv region.

“The most difficult situation is in the Kharkiv region. There are more than 10 missile strikes in the city alone. The terrorist state is trying to destroy the infrastructure of Kharkiv and leave the city in the dark. Currently, there are already power outages in the region – more than 200 thousand consumers in the region – he said. Kharkiv were left without power supplies.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Thursday that Russia had directed “at least 10 strikes on the vital infrastructure of the city of Kharkiv and the region.”

He added in a post on the Telegram application that there is no information about casualties in the attacks, and that the authorities are working to fix the power outage.

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, but it has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's energy grids, seeking to destabilize and disable energy infrastructure.

– Holly Eliatt

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called on allied countries to deliver air defense systems and combat aircraft to Ukraine in order to help better protect cities amid the Russian offensive.

Ukraine also needs artillery to repel Russian forces on the front line, Zelensky said on the social media platform

“All this is quite realistic,” Zelensky said, referring to statements he made in his speech to the Delphi Economic Forum in Greece.

“And this depends only on the political will of our partners. Putin can only use his aggression to compensate for the lack of global solutions. A shortage that has persisted for too long. It is possible to win this war. But the lack does not mean that.” “Victory progress,” he added.

-Sam Meredith

Photos posted via Getty Images over the past 24 hours in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv show a damaged apartment building, rescue workers taking cover during an air raid warning, and people visiting an area devastated by Russian attacks.

The Russian Orsk oil refinery, which suspended production after widespread flooding, declared a state of force majeure on fuel supplies as of April 8, according to a document issued by Fortenvest, which owns the refinery, and seen by Reuters.

Russian oil refineries were already reeling from Ukrainian drone attacks and technical outages, forcing the country to ban gasoline exports, with some exceptions, for half a year from March 1.

Forteinvest said the factory was closed to avoid environmental risks and ensure worker safety. Last year, the refinery processed 4.5 million metric tons (90,000 barrels per day) of oil.

Floods swept across cities and towns across Russia and Kazakhstan on Wednesday, after the third-longest river in Europe overflowed its banks, forcing about 110,000 people to evacuate and submerging parts of the Russian city of Orenburg.

– Reuters

The water level in the Ural River in the city of Orenburg, the epicenter of massive floods in southern Russia, has risen to 996 cm, city mayor Sergei Salmin told Russia 24 TV channel on Wednesday.

The level is 66 cm above the danger level and higher than readings taken earlier this morning, TASS news agency reported.

“At 12 noon local time (10:00 am Moscow time) the water is still rising, and now we have already exceeded all the highest marks. Our dangerous value is 930 cm. At the moment we have already recorded 996 cm.” Salmin said, TASS reported.

He said that 1,910 homes were flooded and 865 people were evacuated from the city. Salmin said evacuations are continuing.

– Holly Eliatt