Ukraine-Russia war: Putin visits Kaliningrad exclave

Vladimir Putin has flown to Kaliningrad amid warnings of arms build ups in Russia’s Baltic exclave.

The Russian president toured the Kant Baltic Federal University and signed a commemorative note on a rare visit to the province.

Kaliningrad is sandwiched between Nato members Poland and Lithuania and would likely become a key battleground in any conflict between Russia and the West.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said Putin’s visit was not about “sending messages” to Nato.

The alliance is currently conducting its largest war games since the Cold War in the region, with 90,000 troops taking part in Operation Steadfast Defender 2024 in Germany, Poland and the Baltic states until the end of May.

Gen Martin Herem, the commander of Estonia’s army, warned on Tuesday that Putin could invade the Baltic states within one year of the war in Ukraine ending.

03:13 PM GMT

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03:12 PM GMT

Today’s headlnes

• The Kremlin said it backed Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for an international investigation into the downing of the Russian Il-76 transport plane on Wednesday

• Ukraine opened a war crimes probe into the incident

• The Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner said the absence of bodies in photos from the scene of the crash proved 65 POWs had not been on board

• The HUR military intelligence agency claimed just five people died in the crash

• Andriy Yusov, its spokesman, said Russia’s FSB had warned senior VIPs not to board the plane at the last moment

• Ukraine’s air force chief accused Russia of spreading fake news about the crash to discredit Kyiv

• Ukraine announced it would build four nuclear reactors this year to replace the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant

• Darya Trepova, who blew up a pro-war blogger in a St Petersburg cafe, was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

• Igor Girkin, a prominent Russian nationalist, was jailed for four years on extremism charges

• Ukraine blew up a Russian oil terminal on the Black Sea

• The head of Estonia’s army said Russia could invade the Baltic states within one year of the war in Ukraine ending

• A Russian drone attack on Odesa left six people wounded

• Vladimir Putin visited Kaliningrad, Russia’s Baltic exclave

03:09 PM GMT

Woman who blew up pro-war blogger jailed for 27 years

A Russian woman who blew up a pro-war blogger in a St Petersburg cafe has been sentenced to 27 years in prison.

Darya Trepova, 26, was convicted on Thursday of multiple charges including terrorism over the death of Vladlen Tatarsky, a pro-Russian blogger.

He was killed in April 2023 by a bomb concealed in a statuette bearing his likeness which Ms Trepova handed to him as he gave a talk at the cafe.

Ms Trepova said she had been set up by a man in Ukraine who had been sending her money and instructions online for several months, who told her the statuette contained a listening device.

“I feel great pain and shame that my gullibility and my naivety led to such catastrophic consequences,” she told the court earlier this week. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

The prosecution dismissed her defence and argued that she had “acted deliberately with the aim of destabilising the Russian Federation and discrediting the special military operation”.

Dmitry Kasintsev, a friend of Ms Trepova’s husband, was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison on Thursday for letting Ms Trepova stay at his apartment on the night of the explosion. She was arrested there the next day.

Mr Tatarsky was one of a group of prominent bloggers who have built up large online audiences as cheerleaders for Russia’s war in Ukraine, while occasionally criticising its tactics.

02:45 PM GMT

Ukraine recovers £30m in embezzled artillery shell funds

Ukraine has recovered £30million ($38million) that was embezzled from a fund for artillery shells.

The national prosecutor’s office said the eight-figure sum was secreted abroad when a bulk ammunition shipment was purchased for an inflated price.

The Ukrainska Pravda newspaper reported that the contract had been approved by Oleksandr Nahorskyi.

He is a senior former procurement official at the Ukrainian defence ministry who was detained in December on corruption charges.

Mr Nahorskyi remains in custody awaiting trial.

02:10 PM GMT

Pictured: Putin in Kaliningrad

01:50 PM GMT

Russian nationalist who criticised Putin jailed for four years

A prominent Russian nationalist who accused Vladimir Putin and the Russian army’s top brass of not pursuing the war in Ukraine effectively has been jailed for four years on charges of inciting extremism.

Igor Girkin, who denied the charges and has attempted to put together a campaign to run against Putin in March’s presidential elections, was also banned from using the internet for three years.

“I serve the Fatherland,” he shouted after the verdict was delivered.

His legal team plan to appeal the verdict.

Mr Girkin is a former FSB officer who played a key role in the conflict between Kremlin-backed separatists and Ukraine in the Donbas.

He was one of three men sentenced in absentia by a court in the Netherlands last year to life imprisonment for the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines plane MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014.

Some 298 people were killed when a missile fired from rebel-held territory hit the jet. The Kremlin has always denied its involvement and refused to extradite Girkin to the Netherlands.

01:41 PM GMT

'Russia accustomed to lying', says France

France has urged caution about Russia’s account of how the Il-76 transport plane was downed on Wednesday.

Christophe Lemoine, a deputy foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters: “Russia has accustomed us to lying on these matters.”

01:18 PM GMT

Lithuanian foreign minister arrives in Ukraine

Lithuania’s foreign minister has arrived in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian officials.

It is Gabrielius Landsbergis’s eighth visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

12:46 PM GMT

Ukraine to build four new nuclear reactors

Ukraine will build four nuclear reactors this year to replace the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant.

Energy minister German Galushchenko said the four are part of an expansion of the Khmelnytskyi nuclear plant in the western Khmelnytskyi region.

The three nuclear power plants which remain in Ukrainian-controlled territory produce more than 55 per cent of its electricity.

Mr Galushchenko told Reuters that construction would begin in the summer or autumn, two using Russian-made technology imported from Bulgaria and two using Western technology from the firm Westinghouse.

Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and is now controlled by Russia, having been heavily shelled by its forces before they took control of it in March 2022.

The Chernobyl power plant, infamous for the eponymous disaster in 1986, is off limits to the public and has a metal shell over it to prevent nuclear radiation emissions.

12:34 PM GMT

'Only five people killed in crash', Ukraine claims

Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence agency has claimed that only five people were killed when the Il-76 transport plane crashed to the ground on Wednesday.

Andriy Yusov, its spokesman, told Radio Svoboda that there were just “five bodies” in the “morgue of Belgorod”, a number which he said corresponds with the size of the crew needed to man an Il-76.

He also said Russia’s FSB security service expelled investigators from the ministry of emergency situations from the crash site before they completed their investigation.

He added: “There really should have been several VIP officials on board from the military-political representation of the aggressor state.

“Their names are known and will be named, and materials will be provided as part of the international investigation.

“But at the last moment, the FSB actually ordered them not to board this plane and use other modes of transport.”

12:15 PM GMT

Photos from crash site 'disprove POW claim'

Photographs and video footage from the site of the Russian Il-76 plane disprove Russia’s claim that there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board, Ukraine’s chief ombudsman has said.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner, said there were no “signs that there were such a large number of people on the plane”.

“I’m not an expert, but if there were even photos and videos of our prisoners of war, (Russia) would have already posted it,” he said.

12:11 PM GMT

Putin arrives in Kaliningrad

Vladimir Putin has arrived in Kaliningrad, Russia’s Baltic exclave, on a visit.

11:36 AM GMT

Russia did not warn us of the flight, Ukrainian intelligence insists

Ukraine has denied claims that Russia told it to secure the airspace where the Il-76 transport plane was flying through when it was shot down.

Andriy Yusov, spokesman for the HUR military intelligence agency, told Radio Svoboda that Ukraine had not been warned of the flight.

“This time, the aggressor state did not make such requests either in written or verbal form,” he said, referring to a previous prisoner swap where air transport was used when Russia had given such a warning.

Andrei Kartapolov, a senior Russian MP and former deputy defence minister, said earlier that Russia had given a “15 minute warning” before it was shot down.

Mr Yusov also speculated that Russia had used the prisoners of war allegedly on board the plane as “a human shield.”

“Unfortunately, we can assume various scenarios, including provocation, as well as the use of Ukrainian prisoners as a human shield for transporting ammunition and weapons for S-300 systems,” he said.

10:59 AM GMT

Hackers attack three Ukrainian state bodies

Three major Ukrainian state organisations have reported cyber attacks or failures in their IT systems.

Ukraine’s state-run energy company Naftogaz said a “large-scale cyberattack” had taken out its websites and call centre.

Ukrposhta, the national postal service, reported a “significant technical failure” in its IT systems.

“Last night there was an attack on the information infrastructure of our partners,” Ukrposhta head Ihor Smeliansky said on Telegram.

Ukrtransbezpeka, a government agency providing transport and traffic security, also reported a technical malfunction on its website.

10:38 AM GMT

Ukraine repeats call for international investigation into Il-76

Ukraine has repeated its call for an international investigation into the downing of the Il-76 Russian military plane on Wednesday.

The country’s ombudsman told national television he would write to the United Nations and the Red Cross to request their involvement.

“We demand a recognised international investigation,” Dmytro Lubinets said.

“Regarding an international investigation, I believe that we will do our part to make it happen. But I am convinced that... the Russians will make loud statements but will not allow anyone in. They will not hand over any materials for analysis and will simply blame Ukraine,.”

He added: “According to my information, I cannot say positively that there were indeed prisoners of war. We did not see any indication that there was such a large number of people on the plane.”

10:22 AM GMT

Ukraine hits out at HBO for casting pro-Russian actor in White Lotus

Ukraine has hit out at the HBO television network for casting a pro-Putin Serbian actor in season three of the White Lotus.

“Milos Bikovic, Serbian actor who has been supporting Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, is now set to star in HBO’s The White Lotus Season 3,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on X.

“HBO, is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide and violates international law?”

Mr Bikovic, 36, was given Russian citizenship by presidential decree in 2021.

Season three of White Lotus is due to begin filming in Thailand next month.

Mr Bikovic and HBO are yet to comment.

09:54 AM GMT

Russia 'gave Ukraine 15-minute warning' about Il-76

Russia gave Ukraine a 15-minute warning about the Il-76 military transport plane which was shot down over Belgorod on Wednesday, a senior MP has said.

Andrei Kartapolov said the Russian armed forces had told Ukraine that the aircraft was about to enter the area and was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.

He heads the defence committee in Russia’s lower house and is a former deputy defence minister and army general.

09:48 AM GMT

Hungary signals it will drop EU Ukraine funding veto, says Finland

Hungary has signalled that it will drop its opposition to the European Union’s proposed £43billion ($54billion) military aid package for Ukraine, Finland’s foreign minister has said.

Elina Valtonen said Peter Szijjarto, Hungary’s foreign minister, “gave us a positive signal” at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday.

“And I’m very hopeful that we will finally be able to approve aid for Ukraine,” she said. “If not, we will find another solution.”

Viktor Orban previously vetoed the proposed aid package in December.

09:28 AM GMT

Prisoner swaps will continue, vows senior Russian MP

Russia will continue to engage in prisoner swap talks with Ukraine despite alleging that Kyiv shot down a transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs on Wednesday, an MP has vowed.

“We can’t abandon our guys and that’s why we will talk even to the devil, work even with the wicked, but we need to get our guys out, we have no other way out,” said Andrei Kartapolov.

He heads the defence committee in Russia’s lower house and is a former deputy defence minister and army general.

09:14 AM GMT

Ukraine opens war crimes investigation into downing of Il-76

Ukraine has opened a war crimes investigation into the downing of the Russian Il-76 transport plane on Wednesday.

The SBU security service told the RBC-Ukraine news agency that it had commenced “criminal proceedings” as part of the enquiry and was assessing the circumstances of the crash.

“The Security Service of Ukraine has opened criminal proceedings into the crash of the Russian Aerospace Forces Il-76 aircraft in the Belgorod region,” it said.

“The investigation is being carried out under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war).”

Russia has accused Ukraine of shooting down the aircraft and said 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board.

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that there should be an international investigation into the incident.

09:09 AM GMT

In pictures: Russian drones attack Odesa

08:55 AM GMT

Ukrainian SBU claims responsibility for oil terminal blast

Ukraine’s SBU security service has claimed responsibility for the explosion at a Russian Black Sea oil terminal.

Sources told the RBC-Ukraine news agency that a number of SBU drones attacked the depot in Tuapse.

The port town is 300 miles to the south-west of the current frontlines.

08:43 AM GMT

Latvian president demands ban on Russian grain

Latvia’s president has said he supports banning Russian grain imports into the country.

Edgards Rinkevics said the imports support the “Russian military machine” in a riposte to the prime minister, Evika Silina, who said a unilateral ban was pointless.

“I support the ban on Russian grain imports,” Mr Rinkevics said. “Both for political and economic reasons.”

08:27 AM GMT

Il-76 black boxes recovered

The black boxes from the downed Il-76 transport plane downed in Belgorod on Wednesday have been recovered.

State news agency Tass reported that they will be flown to Moscow to be analysed by the defence ministry.

Black boxes record data from the flight and record everything that is said in the cockpit and between crew members.

08:21 AM GMT

Russian drone attack on Odesa injures six

A Russian drone attack on the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa injured six people on Thursday morning.

The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 11 of 14 drones which were launched by Russia over the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions overnight.

“Law enforcement officers are recording yet another crime committed by Russian terrorists,” Odesa governor Oleg Kiper said.

08:03 AM GMT

Nato 'underestimated Russia's war machine'

Nato underestimated Russia’s ability to produce armaments and recruit new soldiers, Estonia’s army chief has said.

Gen Martin Herem told Bloomberg that Russia is able to produce several million artillery shells and recruit hundreds of thousands of new soldiers every year.

He said it was previously thought that Russia could only produce one million artillery shells.

“A lot of people thought they couldn’t go beyond that – today, the facts tell us otherwise,” he said. “They can produce even more – many times more – ammunition.”

Gen Herem also warned that Russia could attack the Baltic states within one year of the war in Ukraine ending.

“One year is enough for them to do something horrible in our direction,” he said.

07:56 AM GMT

Ukrainian air force chief accuses Russia of fake news

The commander of the Ukrainian air force has accused Russia of spreading propaganda about the downing of the Il-76 to discredit Ukraine and reduce its international support.

“Throughout the day on January 24, 2024, frantic Russian propaganda directed a fake stream of information to an external audience – trying to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the international community,”  Lt Gen Mykola Oleshchuk wrote in a statement on Telegram.

“The goal is obvious – they want to reduce international support for our country. This will not work!

“Ukraine has the right to defend itself and destroy the aggressor’s air assets.”

07:45 AM GMT

Watch: Ukraine 'blows up Russian Black Sea oil terminal

A Russian oil terminal on the Black Sea has been blown up in an apparent Ukrainian drone strike.

Video footage from the scene showed a drone flying towards the Tuapse oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar region on Wednesday night.

City mayor Sergey Boyko said there were no casualties and the fire was extinguished at 4.53am local time (1.53am GMT).

The prominent Baza Telegram channel said explosions were heard in the city before the fire started at the Rosneft depot as anti-air defences attempted to engage the drone.

Ukraine is yet to officially claim responsibility.

It has attacked four other oil depots in Russia this month, including one in St Petersburg more than 700 miles from Ukraine’s northern border.

07:41 AM GMT

UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Il-76

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the downing of the Il-76 at 5pm ET (10pm GMT) on Thursday.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is in New York City for talks on Israel and Ukraine.

07:33 AM GMT

White House has no position on who was responsible

John Kirby, the US national security spokesman, said on Wednesday night that the US did not have a position on who was responsible for the downing of the Il-76.

“We just don’t have enough information to comment on this plane crash,” he said.

“You know, the Ukrainians are claiming one thing, the Russians are claiming another and we just don’t know enough to comment on it.”

07:28 AM GMT

Kremlin welcomes Zelensky's call for international inquiry

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday morning that Russia would welcome an international investigation into the downing of the Il-76.

“If he means an international investigation into the criminal actions of the Kyiv regime, it is definitely needed,” he told reporters in remarks quoted by the Russian Interfax news agency.

“It is still not completely clear what happened. Only yesterday investigators began to study the remains of the plane.”

Mr Peskov added: “The fact that the Ukrainians killed their prisoners, their citizens, who should have been at home literally in a day, is, of course, an absolutely monstrous act.

“I can’t wrap my head around this.”

07:23 AM GMT

Zelensky demands international inquiry into downed ‘POW plane’

Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded an international inquiry into the downing of a Russian military aircraft on Wednesday.

“We need to establish all the clear facts,” he said on Wednesday evening.

“As much as possible, given that the downing of the plane occurred on Russian territory, which is beyond our control.”

Moscow has accused Ukraine of using missiles to shoot down the Il-76 in the Belgorod border region and claimed there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board.