Russia-Ukraine live news: US backs Finland, Sweden joining NATO

“God willing we will rescue them all.”2 hours ago (19:01 GMT)The United States is working to clarify Erdogan’s comments about Finland and Sweden but Ankara’s standing in the NATO alliance had not changed because of them, the Pentagon has said.“Nothing changes about their standing in the NATO alliance… we’re working to better clarify [their] position,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.3 hours ago (18:29 GMT)The United States is “working to clarify Turkey’s position” after its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki has said.The idea of the two nations joining the transatlantic alliance had received “broad support from NATO member countries,” Psaki said.3 hours ago (17:50 GMT)Russia says it is recommending that its citizens not travel to Britain, complaining that authorities there were making it “virtually impossible” for Russians to obtain visas.The foreign ministry alleged Russian applications were being delayed because Britain was giving higher priority to Ukrainian refugees.“…We recommend that Russian citizens refrain, if possible, from travelling to the UK and trying to obtain British visas,” it said.“Until the situation normalises, we will act in the same way with respect to the British.”3 hours ago (17:29 GMT)Ukraine has signed contracts to import 300,000 tonnes of diesel and 120,000 tonnes of petrol to cover consumption in May as Russia targets Ukrainian fuel infrastructure, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has said.Russia has destroyed 27 fuel depots and the Kremenchuk oil refinery in central Ukraine since it launched its invasion, the official said.4 hours ago (16:43 GMT)Italy will fully support NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio has said.“We as Italy will be very happy to welcome these two countries in this great alliance that defends its member countries and … which has guaranteed peace for decades,” Di Maio told reporters in Berlin.5 hours ago (15:48 GMT)Russia will suspend electricity supplies to Finland this weekend, a supplier has claimed, as tensions rise over Helsinki’s anticipated NATO bid.“We are forced to suspend the electricity import starting from May 14,” RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of Russian state energy holding Inter RAO, said.There was no immediate confirmation from Russia or Finland over the reported move.5 hours ago (15:37 GMT)The United States’s defence secretary has called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine during talks by phone with his Russian counterpart, the Pentagon says.Lloyd Austin also stressed the “importance of maintaining lines of communication” during his discussion with Sergei Shoigu, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.The talks marked the first time Austin had spoken with Shoigu since February 18, Kirby added.5 hours ago (15:33 GMT)The United Kingdom and Norway have penned a new joint declaration on “enhancing cooperation” between the two countries, just days after London signed deals with fellow Scandinavian nations Finland and Sweden aimed at bolstering European security.The agreement, which covers areas from security and defence to climate change and energy, came as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosted his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store for talks in London.“Both leaders underscored their full support for any sovereign choice made by Nordic partners to enhance their security,” a statement issued by Johnson’s office said.“The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Stoere agreed that neither NATO nor the Nordic region posed a threat and that the longstanding policy of ‘High North, low tension’ had created decades of stability and prosperity for the area.”PM @jonasgahrstore is in London today: meeting with PM @borisjohnson at No. 10, the two leaders signed a Joint Declaration on enhancing co-operation on areas from security & defence to climate change, environment & energy'The UK is without question one of our closest allies' pic.twitter.com/5ExJnX6G4d— Norway in the UK (@NorwayinUK) May 13, 20226 hours ago (15:22 GMT)Ukraine’s human rights ombudswoman has accused Moscow of having deported hundreds of thousands of children since launching its invasion on February 24 and wanting to make them Russian citizens.Lyudmyla Denisova said the more than 210,000 children were among 1.2 million Ukrainians who Kyiv alleges have been taken out of the country against their will.“When our children are taken out, they destroy the national identity, deprive our country of the future,” Denisova said on national television. Andrusiv said that Ukraine may attempt an attack because his country needs to safeguard the second-largest city, that sits 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border.“That’s why I think in the near future, they will find out what it’s like to run to basements, when their houses are burning,” Andrusiv said.Reporting by Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.7 hours ago (13:48 GMT)Ukrainian officials are negotiating the possibility of evacuating hundreds of wounded servicemen and medical workers from the besieged Azovstal factory in Mariupol.“We’re in talks about a possible second phase of humanitarian operations to save the healthcare workers and wounded, some 500 people,” Tetiana Lomakina, who coordinates humanitarian efforts at the presidential administration, said in televised remarks.She said the talks also involve “green corridors” to evacuate thousands of civilians from the Azov Sea port, mostly elderly, women and children.Reporting by Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.7 hours ago (13:40 GMT)A Moscow court has fined the United States-backed broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) 12.8 million roubles ($196,621) for not deleting what Russia calls “fake” content about its operation in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reports.Russia’s communications watchdog blocked websites of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and some other foreign media in early March.7 hours ago (13:33 GMT)A member of Pussy Riot, the Russian female punk rock band, has reportedly been charged with “desecrating” the Russian flag after burning an effigy of Putin.Wrapped in the white-blue-and-red banner, the figure was burned in late March in ex-Soviet Georgia as part of the band’s Shrovetide performance protesting Moscow’s offensive.Anna Kuzminykh, 27, a filmmaker and one of the band’s newest members, was charged on Wednesday and faces up to a year in jail, the Ostorojno Novosti Telegram channel, which often posts leaks from Russian officials and law enforcement agencies, reported.It was not immediately clear whether she is currently in Russia.Reporting by Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.8 hours ago (12:47 GMT)German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine as soon as possible during a telephone call, according to a government spokesperson.A truce was needed to improve the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and allow progress in finding a diplomatic solution for the conflict, the Reuters news agency quoted the spokesperson as saying.During the 75-minute call, Scholz reminded Putin of Russia’s responsibility for the global food situation, the spokesperson added.8 hours ago (12:38 GMT)Russia has expelled 10 Romanian diplomats in response to similar expulsions by Bucharest.Moscow’s foreign ministry added that it rejected Romanian attempts to blame Russia for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.In a separate statement, the ministry said a member of the Bulgarian embassy was also being expelled.Read more here.8 hours ago (12:30 GMT)Zelenskyy has said that he is ready to hold face-to-face talks with Putin over ending the war.“I am ready to talk to Putin, but only to him. Russia has denied targeting civilians or involvement in war crimes and accused Kyiv of staging them.The Kyiv district court’s website identified the soldier on trial as Vadim Shishimarin and said he was accused of “violations of the laws and norms of war”.12 hours ago (08:50 GMT)Russian forces killed at least 37 Ukrainian civilians who tried to flee the occupants in the villages north of Kyiv throughout March, the Wall Street Journal reports.They were mostly killed on a 6.5km-long (4 miles) stretch of road between the villages of Motyzhin and Yasnohorodka, which were occupied in March, the video report released on Thursday said.After analysing dashboard camera footage, locations of Russian forces, and interviewing survivors and police, the WSJ concluded that most of the fleeing civilians were killed by mortar fire.12 hours ago (08:37 GMT)Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has said that a decision by the UN Human Rights Council to set up an investigation into alleged human rights abuses by Russian troops shook members’ trust in the body.The UN Human Rights Council resolution to set up the investigation passed on Thursday by a strong majority, with 33 members voting in favour and two – China and Eritrea – against.Zhao said during a press briefing that China’s objection was due to the UN failing to look at some countries that wage war, while choosing to target others.13 hours ago (08:19 GMT)Daily nominations for Russian gas deliveries to Slovakia via Ukraine have risen, according to data from Slovakian operator TSO Eustream.Nominations via the Velke Kapusany border point rose to about 946,741 megawatt hours (MWh) per day, versus 625,135MWh per day on Thursday, the data showed.Russian gas producer Gazprom said it continues shipping gas to Europe via Ukraine at the Sudzha entry point, with volumes on Friday seen at 61.97 million cubic metres (mcm), compared with 50.6mcm on Thursday.13 hours ago (07:57 GMT)Russian gas producer Gazprom has said it continues shipping gas to Europe via Ukraine at the Sudzha entry point, with volumes seen at 61.97mcm, compared with 50.6mcm on Thursday.The application for gas supply via the Sokhranovka entry point was rejected by Ukraine, Gazprom said.Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine fell by a quarter on Wednesday after Kyiv halted the use of the Sokhranovka route.14 hours ago (06:51 GMT)Ukraine’s military says Russian forces have continued to launch artillery and air raids on the embattled port of Mariupol, focusing on blocking Ukrainian fighters at their last holdout at the Azovstal steelworks.In its daily operational note on Friday, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces also said Russian forces have staged assaults on multiple villages in eastern Ukraine as they try to expand control there, but not all were successful.Russian forces targeted villages near Donetsk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Kurakhiv as well, the Ukrainian military said.The update added that Russian forces are transferring additional artillery units to border areas near Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region, where deadly Russian attacks hit a school and dormitory on Thursday.14 hours ago (06:42 GMT)A Russian soldier is scheduled to go on trial on Friday for killing an unarmed Ukrainian civilian.Sergeant Vadim Shyshimarin stands accused of shooting the 62-year-old man in the head through an open car window in the northeastern village of Chupakhivka. We are begging, we are pleading in every possible way, we are asking for our loved ones to be saved.”Kyiv says new talks are underway with Moscow to rescue the most badly wounded servicemen, and that the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN were also involved.“We want a document signed on how an evacuation would take place at Azovstal,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told 1+1 television, adding that Turkey – which has offered to host talks between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine – was also acting as an intermediary.21 hours ago (00:01 GMT)Russian forces likely control all of Rubizhne as of Thursday and have likely seized the town of Voevodivka, north of Severodonetsk, the Institute for the Study of War has said.“They will likely launch a ground offensive on or around Severodonetsk in the coming days,” the institute said in its latest campaign assessment.“The relative success of Russian operations in this area combined with their failure to advance from Izium and the notable decline in the energy of that attempted advance suggest that they may be giving up on the Izium axis,” it added.21 hours ago (23:46 GMT)Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership, and the deployment of allied units on their territory, will make them possible targets for Russia, Moscow’s representative to the UN has said.“They know that the moment they become members of NATO it will imply certain mirror moves on the Russian side,” Dmitry Polyansky said in a video interview with online publication UnHerd.“If there are NATO detachments in those territories, these territories would become a target – or a possible target – for a strike.”“They were living normally as good neighbours with us for tens of years; if they suddenly choose to become part of a very unfriendly bloc, it’s up to them,” Polyansky said.