Temperature can go as low as 16ºC in the mountains and can go as high as 33ºC in the internal areas
weather3 hours ago
Russia said on Thursday the flagship of its Black Sea fleet was seriously damaged and its crew evacuated following an explosion that a Ukrainian official said was the result of a missile strike.
Russia's defence ministry said a fire on the Moskva missile cruiser caused ammunition to blow up, Interfax news agency reported.
It did not say what caused the fire but Maksym Marchenko, the Ukrainian governor of the region around the Black Sea port of Odesa, said the Moskva had been hit by two Ukrainian-made Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles.
Russia's navy has launched cruise missiles into Ukraine and its operations in the Black Sea are crucial to supporting land operations in south and east Ukraine.
Russia said 1,026 soldiers from Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade, including 162 officers, had surrendered in Mariupol and that the city was fully under its control.
"Russian forces are increasing their activities on the southern and eastern fronts, attempting to avenge their defeats," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Wednesday night video address.
The United States said on Wednesday it would send an extra $800 million worth of military hardware to Ukraine including artillery, armoured personnel carriers and helicopters. France and Germany also pledged more.
11.15am: Russia accuses Ukraine of shelling border town, injuring residents
The governor of Russia's southern Bryansk region on Thursday accused the Ukrainian army of shelling a Russian town about 10 kilometres (six miles) from their joint border, injuring civilians.
"Today the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired at the town of Klimovo. As a result of the shelling, two residential buildings were damaged and some of the residents are injured," governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram.
He added that emergency services were working at the scene and residents receiving "medical care".
A representative of Russia's Health Ministry told the RIA Novosti news agency that seven people were injured in the alleged attack by Ukrainian forces.
12.24pm: Russia opens criminal cases into alleged torture of its soldiers by Ukraine
Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Thursday it was opening criminal cases into Ukrainian servicemen’s alleged torture of their Russian counterparts as Moscow continues its military campaign in Ukraine.
The committee, which probes major crimes, said some Russian soldiers had been captured by Ukrainian forces in the Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv regions and held illegally by Ukraine’s security service.
11.46am: Russia warns Nato over Sweden and Finland membership
Russia on Thursday warned Nato that if Sweden and Finland joined the military alliance then Russia would have to bolster its defences and that there could be no more talk of a 'nuclear free' Baltic.
"There can be no more talk of any nuclear–free status for the Baltic - the balance must be restored," said Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council.
11.15am: Nine humanitarian corridors agreed for Thursday
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said nine humanitarian corridors had been agreed for Thursday to evacuate civilians, including by private car from the besieged city of Mariupol.
Other evacuation routes are from Berdiansk, Tokmak and Enerhodar, and ones in the eastern Luhansk region will operate if occupying Russian forces stop their shelling, Vereshchuk added in a statement.
9.00am: European Space Agency stops cooperation with Russian lunar missions
The European Space Agency on Wednesday ended cooperation with Russia on three missions to the Moon due to Moscow's attack on Ukraine, following a previous decision to do the same for a Mars mission.
The ESA said it would “discontinue cooperative activities” on Luna-25, 26 and 27, a series of Russian lunar missions on which the European agency had aimed to test new equipment and technology.
In late March, collaboration on ExoMars, a plan to land a rover on Mars to drill into the soil and search for signs of life, was suspended as well.
8.15am: Canada to provide Ukraine with $398m loan
The Ukrainian Finance Ministry said it had signed a $398 million loan agreement with the Canadian government amid the Russian military operation.
“Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko has signed a loan agreement with the Canadian government on providing Ukraine with a loan of 500 million Canadian dollars [$398 million] on favourable terms. The term of the loan amounts to 10 years,” the ministry said in a statement on its Twitter page on late Wednesday.
6.30am: US weighing high level official visit to Ukraine
Senior US officials are weighing whether to send a top Cabinet level official to Kyiv as a high profile representative in a show of solidarity with Ukraine, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken or Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd are potential candidates to pay a surprise visit to Kyiv, the source said.
Temperature can go as low as 16ºC in the mountains and can go as high as 33ºC in the internal areas
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