Russia

Russia destroys hospital in latest missile attack

Of the 23 injured, 21 are in hospital and three are in a serious condition.

Two boys aged three and six were also among the wounded, governor Serhiy Lysak said.

Russian strikes on Ukraine have intensified in recent weeks ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Mr Zelensky posted a video of the damaged clinic that showed firefighters at the scene and smoke billowing from the building.

"Russian terrorists once again confirm their status of fighters against everything humane and honest," he said.

Russia launches ninth wave of missile attacks on Kyiv this month

Kyiv's authorities said it seemed all incoming missiles had been destroyed, but debris falling from the air caused some damage in two districts.

One person has been killed and two more wounded in a missile strike on the Black Sea port of Odesa, officials say.

Blasts were also heard in the central-western regions of Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky and Zhytomyr.

Overall, 29 out of 30 missiles launched by Russia overnight were shot down, Ukraine's Air Force said in a statement.

Russia arrests US journalist Evan Gershkovich on spying charge

An experienced Russia reporter, he was working in the city of Yekaterinburg at the time of his detention.

The White House has condemned his detention "in the strongest terms".

The Kremlin claimed he had been caught "red-handed" but the Wall Street Journal vehemently denied the allegations against him.

Mr Gershkovich, 31, is well known among foreign correspondents in Moscow and BBC Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg describes him as an excellent reporter and a highly principled journalist.

End of Ukraine war no closer after Xi-Putin talks

But Mr Putin said the plan could be put forward only when they are ready "in the West and Kyiv".

The Russian leader met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in Moscow to discuss the conflict, and relations between the two countries.

BBC reports China's plan, published last month, does not explicitly call for Russia to leave Ukraine.

Listing 12 points, it calls for peace talks and respect for national sovereignty, without specific proposals.

Ukraine killed Putin ally's daughter, Russia says

Journalist Darya Dugina, aged 29, died on Saturday when a vehicle she was driving exploded near Russia's capital.

Her prominent ultra-nationalist father, Alexander Dugin, said to be close to Mr Putin, may have been the intended target of the attack.

Ukrainian officials have denied any involvement in the explosion.

But Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday it had solved the case and said that Ukraine was directly responsible.

Blasts at Russian base in Crimea suggest Ukrainian fightback

The blasts engulfed an ammunition depot at a military base in the north of the Crimean peninsula, disrupting trains and forcing the evacuation of 2000 people from a nearby village, according to Russian officials and news agencies.

Plumes of smoke were later seen at a second Russian military base in central Crimea, Russia's Kommersant newspaper said, while blasts hit another facility in the west last week.

Russia bars entry to 32 New Zealanders in sanctions response

The political move was announced Saturday.

The list includes New Zealand's Military Secretary to the Minister of Defence, Shane Arndell, and other leading figures in the country's defence force as well as the mayors of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Nelson.

Journalists named include Whena Owen, Matthew Hooton and James Hollings.

The sole academic named was Stephen Hoadley, an associate professor in the faculty of politics and international relations at the University of Auckland.

Ukraine condemns Russia's 'humiliating death' tweet after prison attack

The embassy tweet came after more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) held by Russia were killed - Azov soldiers reportedly among them.

They died in an attack on Olenivka prison in Russian-held eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia blame each other for Friday's attack in the Donetsk region.

Twitter acknowledged that the post from the Russian embassy violated the social media company's "rules about hateful conduct" - but added that it may be in the public interest to keep it accessible.

Key Russian pipeline resumes pumping gas to Europe

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline restarted following a 10-day maintenance break but at a reduced level.

On Wednesday, the European Commission urged countries to cut gas use by 15% over the next seven months in case Russia switched off Europe's supply.

Russia supplied Europe with 40% of its natural gas last year.

Germany was the continent's largest importer in 2020, but has reduced its dependence on Russian gas from 55% to 35%. Eventually, it wants to stop using gas from Russia altogether.

Ukraine shopping mall hit by Russian missile strike

President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 1000 people were in the shopping centre at the time of the attack on Monday, which witnesses said caused a huge fire and sent dark smoke billowing into the sky.

"It is impossible to even imagine the number of victims ... It's useless to hope for decency and humanity from Russia," Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app.