Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow threatens foreign embassies in Kyiv and tells countries to evacuate staffnewsline24

The sailor told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne on condition of anonymity how they could only watch on as three missiles “literally flew over our heads” as Iran opened fire on its neighbours on the afternoon of 28 February.

“We saw two downings and one ‘arrival’ near the airport in Dubai,” the captain said, adding that he was unmoved by the shelling after three years living through the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russian punk group Pussy Riot joined members of Ukrainian feminist organization FEMEN on Wednesday in a protest at the Venice Biennale against the opening of the Russian pavilion.

Yelling “Russia’s art is blood” and “Disobey” under a cloud of pink, blue and yellow smoke, the anti-Putin feminist groups covered their faces with pink balaclavas before rushing the venue in the Giardini exhibition area.

Italian police blocked the entrance to the site as the protest effectively blockaded Russia’s return for about 30 minutes.

At least two drones entered Nato member Latvia from Russia and crashed, the Latvian army said this morning.

One of the drones crashed into an oil storage facility in Rezekne, about 40km (25 ⁠miles) from the ​Russian ⁠border, said national broadcaster LSM, quoting the police.

A fire at the site was no longer burning by the time firefighters arrived, it said.

The Latvian authorities ‌have issued drone alerts to residents along the Russian border at 4.09am local ‌time (0109 GMT) today, asking them ‌to stay indoors.

All schools will be closed in Rezekne on Thursday, the municipality said.

The incident comes months after several stray Ukrainian drones ⁠hit Latvia and its Nato neighbours Estonia and Lithuania in late March, one of which slammed into a chimney at a local power station while another crash-landed in a frozen lake and exploded.

The Ukrainian drones were believed to have been launched to strike military targets in Russia. The three Baltic ‌countries have never allowed ⁠their territories and airspace to be used ⁠for drone attacks against targets in Russia, their foreign ‌ministers said ​in April.

Russia is warning diplomatic missions to evacuate staff promptly from Kyiv, saying Moscow will carry out a mass strike on the Ukrainian capital if Ukraine tries to disrupt its Victory Day commemorations.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a video posted on Telegram that her ministry “strongly urges the authorities of your country… to treat this statement with the utmost responsibility”.

On Monday, Russia’s defence ministry had warned that it would respond to Ukrainian attacks during the Victory Day celebrations with a “massive missile attack” on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Ukraine accused Russia of flouting a Kyiv-proposed ceasefire on Wednesday by carrying out dozens of battlefield assaults, air strikes and drone attacks.

Zelensky had floated the cessation, starting on 6 May, in response to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s own proposed ceasefire from 8 to 9 May to coincide with its Second World War victory commemorations.

In a statement, Zelensky said Russia – which did not confirm its adherence to Ukraine’s proposal – had committed 1,820 violations by late morning on Wednesday.

“Russia’s choice is an obvious spurning of a ceasefire and of saving lives,” he said. Speaking later in his nightly video address, Zelensky said Russia “has responded to the proposal ⁠only with new strikes and new attacks” and Ukraine would determine “our entirely justified responses”.

He said Ukraine was ready to work for peace but that “if the one person in Moscow who cannot live without war is interested only in a parade and nothing else, that is another matter”.

“Russia has fought to the point where even ⁠their main parade now depends on us,” he said.

Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have been on hold since February, when the United States shifted focus to its new war in the Middle East.

Moscow and Kyiv walked away from talks in Geneva no closer to a deal, as Ukraine suggested the US was unfairly demanding Kyiv alone make concessions to end the war.

Volodymyr Zelensky said the last round of direct talks had been “difficult” and accused Russia of deliberately stalling, with the issue of territory still in dispute.

What does either side want?

Russia insists on its demands for Ukrainian territory and the withdrawal of forces from its borders.

Ukraine insists it needs clear security guarantees from allies to stop Russia reopening the conflict and says it cannot and will not give up territory sought by Russia.

The lands in the east include industry heavy regions and Ukraine’s belt of ‘fortress cities’ to protect against invasion.

Volodymyr Zelensky said late in April that he was keen to meet with Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart, in an effort to restart negotiations.

While Ukraine claimed a string of wins on the ground, Zelensky warned that US attention on the war with Iran was soaking up resources and leaving Ukraine with critical shortages of air defences.

But the Kremlin said Putin would only meet Zelensky in Moscow for the purpose of finalising agreements on the conflict.

Turkey said it was making efforts to restart talks and bring together the leaders, after hosting delegations in July 2025.

Norway will provide 2.8bn krone ($301.96m) to Ukraine through Nato’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, the Norwegian government said yesterday.

With the new pledge, the country’s support to Ukraine through the mechanism totals 12.5bn krone.

“Together with European partners, Norway is financing military support packages from the United States for Ukraine’s defence,” prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement.

“I hope that more European countries will contribute further to ensuring that Ukraine quickly receives important military equipment.”

An oil storage facility has been hit in Latvia after two drones entered the Nato nation from Russian territory and crashed, the Latvian army said this morning.

Four empty oil tanks were damaged at a storage facility in Rezekne, about 40km (25 miles) from the Russian border, and possible debris of a crashed drone was found at the site, police and firefighters said.

The firefighters extinguished a smouldering ‌area of around 30 square metres in ‌one of the tanks.

The drones were probably launched by Ukraine against targets in Russia, Latvia’s defence minister Andris Spruds told national broadcaster LSM.

Military jets of the multinational Nato Baltic air police mission have been summoned to the site, he added.

Suspected Ukrainian drones have hit a military logistics facility in Moscow’s Naro-Fominsk, according to early reports from Telegram channels and social media this morning.

The Moscow facility is a large-scale logistics building for the Russian army and was attacked by Ukrainian drones overnight, independent Telegram outlet Exilenova Plus reported.

Local residents took to social media to say they spotted drone flyovers and activity from air defence systems near the facility.

Naro-Fominsk is located about 70km (45 miles) southwest of Moscow and approximately 390km (240 miles) from Ukraine’s northeastern border with Russia

The Independent has not verified the authenticity of the reports.

There are growing calls for Ukraine to disregard Russia’s unilateral Victory Day ceasefire, after Moscow ignored Kyiv’s own ceasefire this week and continued to carry out deadly strikes.

At least four people were killed yesterday in the northeastern region of Sumy, including two female workers at a kindergarten hit by a Russian drone, though children were not present, officials said.

Another person was killed when a house was struck by a drone and a man was killed by a mine thought to have been dropped by Russian forces.

In major cities such as Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih and Zaporizhzhia – where an attack on Tuesday killed 12 people – private buildings, infrastructure and industrial sites were damaged in air attacks after midnight, officials said.

“Maybe we should act the same way Russia does. ​That is, not to stay silent, not to observe the truce,” said 52-year-old Nataliia Fomenko in Kyiv. “We have no other choice,” she told Reuters.