Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky warns of ‘massive attack’ from Moscow as strikes kill at least six people – UK Times

The European Union does not intend to be mediators in case of peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, as it sides with Kyiv, European Council president Antonio Costa said on Friday.

A diplomatic overture to the Kremlin ⁠by European Council president Antonio ​Costa ⁠has exposed ‌divisions at a summit of EU leaders over how to ‌handle relations with ‌Russia.

Costa at a press conference after the summit said there were “no credible signs” that Russia wanted to engage in serious negotiations.

“What I’m doing through my office is to establish a diplomatic channel, ‌because we cannot ​depend only on others ‌to interpret Russian ⁠messages and we must ⁠be able to convey to Russia ‌our ​own messages,” ‌Costa said.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that an escalation between Russia and Nato could lead to a nuclear strikes exchange with catastrophic consequences.

“A direct confrontation between Nato and Russia could rapidly escalate into an exchange of nuclear strikes, with catastrophic consequences,” he wrote in an article posted on the Russian foreign ministry’s website.

“Under the banner of ‘strategic autonomy,’ Europe is witnessing a significant build-up of its military capabilities, including in the nuclear sphere.

“Paris’s intention to extend its ‘nuclear umbrella’ to several EU and NATO member states is a source of deep concern.

“This will do nothing to strengthen the security of France itself or the recipients of its so-called protection.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky has accepted an offer from Brazilian ​leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to help work for a peace deal in Russia’s war in Ukraine, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said on Friday.

Zelensky and Lula met ⁠on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in the French resort of Evian-les-Bains on Wednesday, where the Ukrainian leader urged allies to increase pressure on Russia to end the more than four-year-old war.

The ⁠two presidents discussed what could ​reactivate ⁠diplomacy and Lula proposed several ideas, including contacts with permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, presidential communications adviser Dmytro ⁠Lytvyn told reporters.

“They agreed that, in particular, based on such ​ideas ⁠and contacts, they would try to ‌achieve something and later they would discuss it based on the results,” Lytvyn said.

Britain has tested new long-range strike weapons, with the government hoping for delivery to Ukraine within months.

The initiative aims to produce munitions more quickly and affordably than existing systems like Storm Shadow missiles.

New systems, capable of hitting targets at least 500km away and carrying a 225kg warhead, have been fired at a range in the Hebrides, with further UK trials planned.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) challenged firms to develop weapons exceeding 600km per hour, costing around £400,000 per unit, and producing at least 20 a month within months of an order.

Some 27 industry bids were received, with “Dragon’s Den”-style pitches held last February. Six companies were then awarded contracts worth around £5 million each to design and test the weapons in just seven months.

By last December, only three suppliers remained – MBDA UK, which makes Storm Shadow; MGI Engineering, a UK SME with a background in Formula 1 technology; and Rotron Aerospace, another UK SME with a history of working with the MoD.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said on Saturday he was renouncing a Polish state medal after President Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelensky of Poland’s top honour over a historical dispute.

The move by Kyrylo Budanov threatens to deepen a diplomatic rift between the close strategic partners as Kyiv rallies allies to push Russia to end its war on Ukraine.

Nawrocki said on Friday he was revoking the Order of the White Eagle from Zelensky after he renamed a military unit in honour of World War Two-era Ukrainian insurgents blamed for massacring Poles.

Budanov said he was renouncing the Golden Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, awarded to him last year, to protest against a move he described as “a gift” for Russia.

“Our nations have long-standing relations and different pages of history – both heroic and tragic,” he posted on social media. “However, this should be an occasion for deep reflection, not crude political speculation.”

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha had earlier called Nawrocki’s decision a “strategic error”, and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, a Nawrocki opponent, urged both leaders to remain calm.

Russian air defences repelled a drone attack on an oil refinery in the Western Siberian region of Tyumen, the regional governor said on Saturday.

“A drone attack on the Tyumen oil refinery has been repelled. Emergency services are working at the site where the debris fell. According to preliminary information, the refinery has not been damaged and staff have been evacuated,” governor Alexander Moor wrote on Telegram.

Tyumen, more than 2,500 km (1,550 miles) east of the Ukrainian border, is one of Russia’s most important oil and gas producing regions.

The Tyumen refinery, one of the country’s most modern and complex, has a nominal capacity of around 8 million metric tons per year. It processes roughly 6 million tons of crude annually, producing about 0.5 million tons of gasoline and 2.5 million tons of diesel, according to industry estimates.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost off-site power for the 20th time during the conflict with Russia due to an issue with the site’s internal power lines affecting its only remaining 330 kV connection, Ferosplavna-1.

Emergency diesel generators were activated to maintain reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety functions, the agency said in a post on X.

Britain has tested new long-range weapons system that it could soon offer to Ukraine to hit Russian targets, The Telegraph reported.

These systems can hit targets situated more than 300 miles away and have been tested at a range in the Scottish archipelago Herbrides.

The weapons system have experimental platforms, each carrying a 250kg warhead, and the range allows it to potentially reach Moscow.

Further trials for the new systems are expected to take place in the UK over the coming months.