Ukraine war live: Zelensky attends Singapore summit as Russia assault energy grid

The pro-Russian leader of Moldova’s largest opposition party has called for better relations with Russia and China and urged other groups to join forces in fielding a single challenger to pro-European president Maia Sandu in an October election.

Ms Sandu views Russia as one of the biggest threats facing Moldova, which is located between Ukraine and Romania, and has led the effort to join the European Union. A referendum on EU membership will take place alongside the presidential election.

Igor Dodon, the leader of the leftist Socialist party and a former president who was defeated by Ms Sandu in 2020, said Moldova was ignoring its traditional allies, and its pro-European stance ran the risk of dragging the country into conflict.

“Let us return to a normal dialogue with our partners – Russia, China and other countries. This is what we should be doing,” Mr Dodon said in a weekly online broadcast. “There is a lot of work to be done.”

Moldova, he said, should take no further part in military exercises with foreign partners – as have been conducted with US and Romanian forces – or maintain large numbers of reservists.

“Everyone should understand that Moldova stands for peace and will not allow itself to be dragged into geopolitical quarrels as Ukraine has been dragged,” he said.

Ms Sandu sees EU membership for Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, as the best way to safeguard its sovereignty in the face of what she sees as Russian threats.

A poll published this week put support for Ms Sandu at 30 per cent versus 18 per cent for Mr Dodon. Recent surveys suggest Moldovans will back EU membership, with about 60 per cent in favour of joining the bloc.

Askold Krushelnycky visits the concealed base of the ‘Barney Unit’ in eastern Ukraine. Created by Stepan Barna in the wake of the death on the front line of his older brother Oleh, its drone operators claim to have achieved more than 100 kills

Volodymyr Zelensky and his defence minister, Rustem Umerov, will meet US defence secretary Lloyd Austin today on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

They will discuss the current battlefield situation in Ukraine and Mr Austin will “underscore US commitment to ensuring Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression,” the official said.

Mr Zelensky is also scheduled to speak at the security summit’s final discussion session on Sunday on “Re-Imagining Solutions for Global Peace and Regional Stability.”

Ukraine is facing a renewed assault from Russian forces, particularly around the northeastern city of Kharkiv. The United States recently relaxed restrictions on the use of US-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, which experts say will help Ukraine blunt attacks before they gather momentum.

Sri Lanka and Russia are starting talks to resolve the issue of Sri Lankans fighting alongside Russians in the war against Ukraine, after at least 16 people were reported missing in action.

On Thursday, Junior Foreign Minister Tharaka Balasuriya said that the Sri Lankans, mostly retired soldiers, had been duped into traveling to Russia with promises of good salaries and privileges including Russian citizenship.

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, who fled Russia a decade ago for fear of persecution, may face a criminal case in Moscow for violating the Kremlin’s “foreign agent” law, TASS news agency reported.

Russian law enforcement officials, the state news agency reported, said there is “every reason” to charge Kasparov, without providing further details. The fierce Kremlin critic could face up to two years in prison or a fine if a case is initiated, the unnamed officials said.

Russia added Kasparov to the list of individuals acting as foreign agents, which includes dozens of critics of Vladimir Putin, soon after the Russian president launched his full-scale invasion on Ukraine in 2022.

Kasparov’s media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the law, a foreign agent is a person who receives support from foreign states or is under foreign influence and is engaged in political activities in Russia.

The foreign agent law, broadly condemned by the European Union and Washington, requires anyone identified as having foreign support or influence to register with the justice ministry and declare themselves foreign agents.

The law also subjects those registered to onerous bureaucracy and disclosures.

A Russian missile hit residences in Balakliia in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region yesterday, injuring 13 people including eight children, prosecutors said.

Pictures posted online showed homes in the town southeast of Kharkiv reduced to rubble.

The accounts from either side could not be independently verified.

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians. Thousands have been killed and injured since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The city of Kharkiv and the surrounding region has been a focal point of Russian attacks in recent weeks.

Russian forces last month pushed their way across the border into northern districts of Kharkiv region and officials say they have seized about a dozen villages.

A military spokesperson, Nazar Voloshin, told national television on Saturday that Ukrainian forces controlled 70 per cent of Vovchansk, a town 5km inside the border which Russian troops have been trying to capture.

Prosecutors also announced that recovery operations had concluded at the site of three missile strikes early on Friday in the city of Kharkiv, with a death toll of nine, most in a badly damaged apartment building.

A court in Russia on Friday ordered a detained Russian American journalist to be held until at least Aug. 5, pending investigation and trial, a further step in the Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent and free speech.

Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir service, was taken into custody on Oct. 18 and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent while collecting information about the Russian military. Later, she was also charged with spreading “false information” about the military.

In an address to delegates on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit, Chinese defence minister Dong Jun said his country had been careful not to support either Russia or Ukraine.

“On the Ukraine crisis, China has been promoting peace talks with a responsible attitude,” he said. “We have never provided weapons to either party of the conflict. We have put strict controls on exports of dual-use items, and have never done anything to fan the flames. We stand firmly on the side of peace and dialogue.”

Earlier, the UK defence secretary suggested British and US intelligence contradicts Beijing’s previous attempts to present itself as a moderating influence on Moscow and president Xi Jinping’s government is instead helping to arm Russia.

“I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine,” Grant Shapps said on 23 May.

The European Union has slapped more sanctions on North Korea over its continued efforts to develop ballistic and nuclear missiles and its support for Russia.

The EU Council said Friday that nine additional individuals and entities will be hit by asset freezes and travel bans. No names were provided.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky met heads of state and legislators in Singapore, seeking security assistance and support for a peace summit after arriving for a surprise visit to the Shangri-La Dialogue.

On the social media platform X, Mr Zelensky said he had met Indonesia’s president-elect, Prabowo Subianto; a delegation from the US Congress; and the president of Timor-Leste, Jose Ramos-Horta.

“It is very important for us to begin the process of establishing a just peace,” Mr Zelensky said. “Russia does not want to end the war. Therefore, we must work together with the entire world to bring peace closer.”

He said Mr Ramos-Horta had agreed to attend the summit, scheduled for mid-June in Switzerland. At last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, Mr Prabowo had proposed an Indonesian plan for ending the war in Ukraine.