The early-morning attack in Crimea was carried out with weapons from Kyiv's allies - which were "extremely effective", a Ukrainian military source said. Meanwhile, the Russian foreign minister has said he hopes nuclear drills will "knock sense" into the West after jets were pledged.
Thursday 30 May 2024 20:02, UK
NATO operation Steadfast Defender continues across Europe - the largest exercises since the Cold War.
The exercise is widely interpreted as preparation or a simulation of a response to a potential conflict with Russia.
Sky's Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins watched as tanks, helicopters and soldiers took part.
The US is close to completing a deal that would secure the bilateral security agreement with Ukraine that Joe Biden announced last year at a G7 meeting, a source has told Reuters.
G7 nations, led by Washington, unveiled a framework in July for the long-term security of Ukraine to boost its defences against Russia.
The comments from the official come after a Financial Times report published earlier today which claimed a deal was close.
Fierce fighting is intensifying near the eastern city of Pokrovsk, Ukraine's general staff has reported.
"The number of engagements in the Pokrovsk sector remains the highest," it said in its afternoon update.
The area, just northwest of the city of Donetsk, has had an increase in Russian activity in recent weeks.
"The enemy has already made 18 offensive attempts there [today]," it reported.
Five combat engagements have started in the vicinity of Novooleksandrivka, it added, noting a village about 30km east of Pokrovsk.
"Our troops also continue to repel the aggressor," the general staff said.
Building our last post - NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg is set to ask allies to pledge some €40bn in military aid to Ukraine each year, a source inside the alliance has told the Reuters news agency.
The funding would sustain at least the current levels of military support allies have been sending.
"We need to sustain that current level of support as a minimum to provide the predictability Ukraine needs, for as long as necessary," the NATO source said, adding that allies had provided some €40bn per year since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
No such deal has been publicly announced as of yet, but foreign minsters from allies are in Prague for talks currently.
NATO's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg says Ukraine can win its war against Russia, but only if allies give "continued robust support".
Speaking ahead of a meeting with foreign ministers in Prague, Mr Stoltenberg adds "the time has come" for NATO countries to "consider some of the restrictions on weapons" sent to Ukraine.
The secretary general has also called for the West to lift restrictions on Western weapons being used against targets in Russia throughout the week.
Last month, he suggested allies should commit to providing Kyiv €100bn (£85bn) over the next five years.
France and Germany said yesterday they support Ukraine striking military targets inside Russia, but Italy's foreign minister ruled it out earlier today (see 8.50am post).
Some Western allies have refused to let Ukraine use munitions it has supplied in Russian territory over fears it would escalate the conflict.
Lord Cameron said at the start of the month that Kyiv could use British weapons against targets in Russia - which the Kremlin called a "direct escalation".
This morning, Russia said it hopes nuclear deterrence would "knock some sense" into the West after Belgium promised to send 30 F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv over the next four years (see 7am post).
Robert Woodland, a US citizen who was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking in Russia, has appeared in a Moscow courtroom today.
Standing behind glass nearly five months after his arrest and with a shaved head, Mr Woodland was in court for a hearing.
Mr Woodland was detained in January, though it is unclear why he was in Russia at the time.
Russian media reports at the start of the year said his name matched that of a man who was interviewed by the daily newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda in 2020.
The man said in the interview that he was born in the Perm region in the Ural Mountains in 1991, and came to Russia to find his mother.
Russia has accused the US, NATO and others of escalating tensions with Ukraine and stoking a "senseless war".
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today the West has "in recent days and weeks embarked on a new round of escalation".
He added: "They are doing this deliberately. We hear a lot of bellicose statements… They are encouraging Ukraine in every possible way to continue this senseless war.
"This will all, of course, inevitably have consequences and will ultimately be very damaging to the interests of those countries that have taken the path of escalation."
Meanwhile, foreign ministers from NATO countries are set to meet in Prague today amid pressure to allow Ukraine to strike targets inside of Russia (see 12.10pm post).
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, NATO countries have since provided military aid worth millions to Kyiv but with strict conditions on its use.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday it is "unfair" that Ukraine cannot strike inside Russia despite receiving long-range missiles from the West.
Russian missiles have struck the village of Mala Danylivka today, leaving many buildings in ruins.
The town, just on the outskirts of Kharkiv, was hit as part of Russia's northeastern offensive, which it launched this month.
Foreign ministers from NATO countries are set to meet in Prague later today - as calls to let Ukraine use supplied weapons in Russian territory grow.
Officials will meet for two days ahead of a NATO summit in July, where a new support package for Ukraine is expected to be announced.
Kyiv has been pressing Western supporters, particularly the US, to let it use long-range missiles to hit targets inside of Russia.
France and Germany said yesterday they support Ukraine striking military targets inside Russia, but Italy's foreign minister ruled it out.
In an interview earlier today, Antonio Tajani said "all the weapons leaving from Italy should be used within Ukraine" (see 8.50am post).
Ukraine launched a major attack against a Russian naval base in occupied Crimea early this morning.
At 1am today, the Ukrainian armed forces struck targets near the Kerch Bridge with precision guided missiles.
A Russian Mangust patrol boat was destroyed in the attack, a Ukrainian military source has told Sky News.
The source also confirmed that Western supplied weapons were used, adding they "proved extremely effective against this Russian military target despite high concentrations of Russian Air Defence Systems".
Nikolai Lukashenko, Crimea's Russian-installed transportation chief, claimed on Telegram that Ukraine's overnight attack damaged two transport ferries.
The Kerch Bridge, linking Russia and Crimea over the Kerch Strait, is regularly used by Moscow as a logistics hub to resupply its forces. It was built in 2018 after Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea four years earlier.
Ukraine has launched frequent attacks on the crossing since the war began: in July last year, Kyiv attacked it with two suicide sea drones, damaging a span of the road bridge.
The explosions killed two civilians and injured one. Ukraine later formally admitted to launching the attack.
Our military analyst Sean Bell answered a reader's question on why Ukraine can't destroy the bridge earlier this month - click here to read more.
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