Wagner mercenaries 'to execute prisoners' after fighter threatened

Wagner mercenaries have been ordered to shoot dead any Ukrainian soldiers captured on the battlefield and to cease taking prisoners.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner boss, gave the order after listening to an alleged recording of a conversation between two Ukrainian soldiers discussing shooting a wounded Wagner fighter.

“We will destroy all those on the battlefield,” Mr Prigozhin said. “We will not take any prisoners.”

The Wagner mercenary group is renowned for its brutality. One of its symbols is a sledgehammer, which it uses to kill traitors and prisoners in the Middle East and Africa.

Earlier this month, Wagner soldiers were filmed handing over at least 100 captured Ukrainian soldiers in a prisoner exchange.

03:03 PM

That’s all for today

Today’s live coverage is ending. Here is a round-up of the day’s main events:

• A top Ukrainian commander said his troops were holding the frontline through the city of Bakhmut, after Russia claimed its forces had secured two further blocks on Sunday.

• The Crimean port of Sevastopol came under drone attack early on Monday, according to the Russian-installed governor of the city, Mikhail Razvozhaev, who also said the Black Sea Fleet had repelled the attack. Later the Russian defence ministry claimed three naval drones had been involved in the attack, saying all three had been destroyed with no casualties.

• China has said that it respected the "sovereign state status" of all former Soviet countries, following the ambassador to France’s comments on Friday. Lu Shaye had said that ex-Soviet states “don't have actual status in international law because there is no international agreement to materialise their sovereign status”. It was expected that the French government would give Lu Shaye a “stern rebuke” over the comments in a pre-scheduled meeting.

• Wagner mercenaries have been ordered to shoot dead any Ukrainian soldiers captured on the battlefield and to cease taking prisoners. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner boss, gave the order after listening to an alleged recording of a conversation between two Ukrainian soldiers discussing shooting a wounded Wagner fighter.

02:45 PM

Russian, Turkish, Syrian and Iranian defence ministers to meet in Moscow

Defence ministers from Turkey, Syria and Iran are to meet with their Russian counterpart in Moscow, the Turkish minister, Hulusi Akar, has said.

"Our aim is to solve the problems through negotiations and bring peace and tranquillity to the region as soon as possible," he said on Monday.

Mr Akar said that he had met the Syrian and Russian defence ministers in Moscow last December, and they had decided to continue their meetings, moving to include Iran.

"Later, views were exchanged on the participation of Iran in these meetings. This was approved by the relevant authorities," Mr Akar added.

02:12 PM

Kremlin spokesman says son Nikolai did fight in Ukraine war

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that his son Nikolai had taken part in Russia's offensive in Ukraine, following an interview his son gave to a Moscow-based newspaper in which he said he had served with the Wagner group.

"He took this decision. He's a grown man. Yes, he did indeed take part in the special military operation," Mr Peskov told reporters, without giving further details.

Nikolai has been accused of lying about serving in the war, with a Russian military blogger claiming that he was instead driving around Moscow in his Tesla.

01:48 PM

In pictures: War in Ukraine

01:36 PM

'Ukrainian' drone found outside Moscow, Russian official says

A "Ukrainian" drone has been found outside of Moscow, prompting local authorities to call off a Victory Day parade for security reasons, an official has said.

Head of the Bogorodsky city districy outside the capital, Igor Sukhin, said on Monday that a local resident had found a "Ukrainian" drone in a forest, AFP reports.

"This is not the first done that appeared in the Moscow region," Mr Sukhin wrote on Telegram, claiming that a similar drone was found in a town approximately 60 miles southeast of Moscow in February.

A planned parade for Victory Day, on May 9, had been cancelled, as well as a concert. "Everyone understands that security issues have always come and will always come first," he added.

Marches scheduled for May 9 have already been cancelled over fears they would have turned into protests over Ukraine war casualties, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.

01:07 PM

Ukraine foreign minister urges EU to speed up decision-making on ammunitions supplies

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has urged EU members to speed up the delivery of ammunition to Ukraine, after delays to the joint procurement agreement.

Speaking on Monday via video link to the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, Mr Kuleba said: "Russia's defeat is a guarantee of normal life for Europe.

"There is no more important task now. For this to be achieved Ukraine needs more weapons and ammunition, and all this should be delivered as soon as possible," Mr Kuleba added, according to reports by Evropeiskaya Pravda.

"We have a shared strategic goal: to ensure peace in Europe for future generations. This goal now depends on the speed of your decisions and their implementation."

12:23 PM

Mapped: Latest MoD intelligence update on Ukraine

12:07 PM

Three naval drones involved in Sevastopol attack, says Russian defence ministry

The Russian defence ministry has claimed that forces repelled an attack by three naval drones in the early hours of Monday morning on the Crimean port of Sevastopol.

"At about 3.30 a.m. (0030 GMT), the Kyiv regime tried to attack the base of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol with three unmanned high-speed boats," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry claimed that all three were destroyed and that there were no casualties.

Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, had previously spoken of two drones attacking the city overnight, in a post on Telegram. "According to the latest information: one surface drone was destroyed ... the second one exploded on its own," he wrote.

In a later post, Mr Razvozhaev said that the windows of four residential buildings had been broken in the attack.

Reuters has been unable to verify the battlefield reports

11:23 AM

France to use scheduled meeting for "stern rebuke" of China ambassador

The French government is to issue a “stern rebuke” to China’s ambassador in Paris on Monday in an already scheduled meeting, following his comments concerning the sovereignty of former Soviet states.

An official at the French foreign ministry told AFP news agency that a meeting of its chief of staff with Lu Shaye - which had been scheduled before Friday’s remarks on French television - “will be an opportunity for a stern rebuke”.

Beijing’s ambassador said that countries which emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union "don't have effective status under international law because there is not an international agreement confirming their status as sovereign nations".

China has since said that it “respects the sovereign state status of the participating republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union”.

11:05 AM

Woman charged with terrorism over St Petersburg cafe bomb blast appears in court via video link

Darya Trepova, the 26-year-old woman charged with terrorism over the bombing of a St Petersburg cafe at the beginning of April which killed military blogger Vladlen Tartarsky, has appeared via video link in a Moscow court ahead of her appeal hearing.

Moscow has claimed Ukrainian intelligence orchestrated the blast.

10:46 AM

Pictured: Ukrainian soldier writes a message on a howitzer shell on the frontline in Donetsk

10:29 AM

Agreement on ammunition for Ukraine to be reached 'in the following days', says EU foreign policy chief

The EU foreign policy chief has said he expects an agreement “in the following days” on a plan to buy ammunition for Ukraine, after the Kyiv foreign minister expressed frustration at the lack of action from the bloc on the matter.

Josep Borrell acknowledged that there was still “some disagreement”, but nonetheless expressed confidence that a joint procurement agreement would be reached.

“Yes, still there is some disagreement. But I am sure everybody will understand that we are in a situation of extreme urgency," Mr Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

"I am sure that in the following days we will reach (an agreement)," he said.

Last Thursday, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed frustration at “the inability of the EU to implement its own decision” on the ammunition deal, which had not been actioned because of disagreements over how much of the business has to stay in Europe.

“For Ukraine, the cost of inaction is measured in human lives,” Mr Kuleba wrote.

10:17 AM

Black sea grain deal has done nothing for Russia, says grain union

The head of the Russian Grain Union said that the Black Sea grain deal to facilitate Ukrainian agricultural exports had not yielded anything positive for Russia or helped facilitate supplies to the global market. 

The comments made on Monday, reported by Reuters, come after Russia has said it will not extend the agreement beyond May 18 if Western restrictions blocking Russia’s own agricultural and fertiliser exports are not addressed.

09:45 AM

West scrambles as Putin reveals his energy war trump card

In an effort to punish Vladimir Putin, western governments have hit Russia’s energy industry with a barrage of punishing sanctions since his invasion of Ukraine.

But one sector has conspicuously escaped their ire so far: nuclear power, Matt Oliver reports.

Since the conflict erupted, Russian nuclear exports are actually thought to have increased while those of coal, oil and gas have been squeezed.

Read more on this story here.

09:28 AM

China 'respects the sovereign state status' of ex-Soviet countries, foreign ministry says

China has said that it respected the "sovereign state status" of all former Soviet countries, following ambassador to France Lu Shaye's comments on Friday.

The comments made on French television sparked outrage across Europe, with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying on Twitter that the EU "can only suppose these declarations do not represent China's official policy". Politicians from France, Ukraine and the three Baltic states are among those which have expressed dismay at the remarks.

"China respects the sovereign state status of the participating republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.

Mao said: "China respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, China was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with relevant countries.

"Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China has always adhered to the principle of mutual respect and equality to develop bilateral friendly and cooperative relations."

The foreign ministry spokeswoman also defended the country's claimed neutral stance on Russia's war in Ukraine, saying: "Some media misinterpret China's position on the Ukrainian issue and are sowing discord in relations between China and relevant countries."

"We will be vigilant about this," she warned.

09:13 AM

In pictures: More from the Bakhmut front line

08:56 AM

Remarks by China’s ambassador to France 'totally unacceptable', says Czech foreign minister

Remarks by China’s ambassador to France which appeared to question the sovereignty of former Soviet states such as Ukraine are “totally unacceptable”, some EU foreign ministers have said.

Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky said that “it is totally unacceptable. I hope bosses of this ambassador will make these things straight,” ahead of a meeting with EU colleagues in Luxembourg on Monday.

In an interview with French television on Friday, ambassador Lu Shaye responded to a question about his position on whether Crimea is part of Ukraine or not by saying that the area was historically part of Russia but had been offered to Ukraine by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

"These ex-USSR countries don't have actual status in international law because there is no international agreement to materialise their sovereign status," Lu Shaye added. The comments have implications not only for Ukraine, but a number of ex-Soviet republics in eastern Europe.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also said such comments were "totally unacceptable" and said the three Baltic countries will officially ask China for clarification to check if its position has changed.

08:33 AM

Watch: Explosions in Sevastopol

Footage has emerged of explosions in the area of the Crimean port of Sevastopol, after the Russian-installed governor of the city said that it had come under drone attack overnight.

Mikhail Razvozhaev said on the Telegram messaging app: "one surface drone was destroyed ... the second one exploded on its own."

08:14 AM

Latest MoD update

In the latest intelligence update from the Ministry of Defence on the war in Ukraine, officials have said that authorities in occupied areas are "almost certainly coercing the population to accept Russian Federation passports."

"Residents in Kherson have been warned that those who have not accepted a Russian passport by 01 June 2023 will be ‘deported’ and their property seized," the Ministry of Defence said on Monday.

Last week, the Kremlin published undated footage of Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting the headquarters of his troops in the occupied Kherson region, which appeared to have taken place at some point before Russian Orthodox Easter on April 16.

08:02 AM

In pictures: The latest from Bakhmut

07:56 AM

'Our defence continues' in Bakhmut, says top Ukrainian commander

A top Ukrainian commander has said his troops were holding the frontline through the city of Bakhmut, after Russia claimed its forces had secured two further blocks on Sunday.

Following Sunday’s announcement by the Russian defence ministry, in which they said airborne units were also providing reinforcements to the north and south, Ukrainian Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi uploaded an image on his Telegram channel of him poring over a map with three other uniformed men and wrote: “Bakhmut frontline. Our defence continues."

"We hit the enemy, often unexpectedly for him, and continue to hold strategic lines," he added.

Reuters was unable to verify battlefield reports.

07:50 AM

Good morning

Good morning and welcome to today's Ukraine liveblog.

We will be guiding you through all the latest updates on Ukraine.