Ukraine says it hit and destroyed the Russian missile ship Tsiklon in Crimea over the weekend. Meanwhile, analysts say Moscow is seeking to draw out Kyiv's forces - as Putin makes another significant change to his cabinet.
Tuesday 21 May 2024 23:00, UK
We're pausing our coverage of the Ukraine war for the moment.
Scroll through the blog below to catch up on today's developments.
Vladimir Putin has praised the late president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, and said he was a "reliable partner".
Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash near the Azerbaijan border over the weekend along with his foreign minister and seven others.
Speaking on the leader, Mr Putin said he was "a man of his word" who carried out any agreements the pair made.
"He was truly a reliable partner, a man sure of himself, who acted in the national interest," Russian news agencies quoted Mr Putin as telling Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's lower house of parliament.
"He was, of course, a man of his word and it was always good to work with him. What I mean is if we came to an agreement on something, you could be sure the agreement was carried out."
The Kremlin leader asked Mr Volodin, who will be attending memorial events in Iran, to pass on "words of our sincere condolences in connection with this tragedy".
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has strengthened political, trade and military ties with Iran in a deepening relationship that the US and Israel view with concern.
Heavy fighting in the Pokrovsk area in eastern Ukraine has forced Ukrainian troops to engage in "manoeuvres," the Ukrainian military's general staff have said.
Their report said Pokrovsk, northwest of the Russian-held city of Donetsk, remains the front's "hottest" sector.
"In some areas, the situation requires our troops to engage in manoeuvres," the general staff report reads.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has referred to the region and adjacent areas as "extraordinarily difficult" in his nightly video address.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said allies are taking too long when it comes to decisions on military support for Ukraine.
In an interview with Reuters, the Ukrainian leader said every decision which everyone came to was "late by around one year".
"But it is what it is: one big step forward, but before that two steps back. So we need to change the paradigm a little bit," he said.
"When we're quick, they fall behind. And then there's a gap - six, eight months of unpassed (aid) packages, and then two-three months of supplies - and a year goes by. We would like not to lose the advantage."
Mr Zelenskyy also said Ukraine had never used Western weapons on Russian territory.
A senior Russian diplomat has said that the EU plan to channel profits from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine would have "unpredictable" consequences, according to the TASS news agency.
According to TASS, Kirill Logvinov, Russia's acting permanent representative to the EU in Brussels, told Russia journalists: "The only predictable thing is that those in the EU will be obliged sooner or later to return to our country what has been stolen."
For context: In March the European Commission proposed transferring to Ukraine profits generated by Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe.
The plan would see 90% channeled through the European Peace Facility fund to buy weapons for Ukraine.
The rest would be used for recovery and reconstruction.
Russia's defence ministry has said it has begun a round of drills involving tactical nuclear weapons.
The exercises were announced by Russian authorities this month in response to remarks by senior Western officials about the possibility of deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine.
It was the first time Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, although its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises.
According to the ministry's statement, the first stage of the new drills include nuclear-capable Kinzhal and Iskander missiles.
The maneuvers are taking place in the southern military district, which consists of Russian regions in the south.
A Moscow court has ordered a Russian journalist who covered the trials of the late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and other dissidents must remain in custody pending an investigation and trial on charges of extremism.
Antonina Favorskaya was arrested in March.
She is accused of collecting material, producing and editing videos and publications for Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which had been outlawed as extremist by Russian authorities, according to court officials.
Today, Moscow's Basmanny district court ordered that she remain in custody until at least 3 August.
Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokeswoman, said earlier that Ms Favorskaya did not publish anything on the foundation's platforms and suggested that Russian authorities have targeted her because she was doing her job as a journalist.
Former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson has launched his own show in Russia.
The controversial US media personality, who this year became the first Western journalist to interview Vladimir Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine, will host his show on the state-owned Russia 24 (Rossiya 24).
In the first episode, Carlson will discuss the dangers of ticks and Lyme disease.
Who is Carlson?
Carlson, who has been a vocal supporter of Mr Putin in the past, was sacked from Fox News in April last year.
He took up the prime-time weekday evenings spot on Fox News in 2016 with his show Tucker Carlson Tonight, and quickly established himself as a key player in the network and an influential voice in Republican politics.
The presenter often embraced conspiracy theories and far-right issues. He repeatedly questioned the efficacy of COVID vaccines and compared mandates to "Nazi experiments".
While he found success with viewers, his inflammatory comments caused some advertisers to distance themselves from the programme.
After his departure from Fox News he rebooted his show on X last year, calling Elon Musk's site the last big remaining platform to allow free speech.
Ukraine says it has destroyed the last Russian warship armed with cruise missiles that was stationed on the occupied peninsula of Crimea.
It comes after we reported earlier comments by Ukraine's military, which said they had hit the Russian missile ship Tsiklon (see post at 3.09pm).
Ukraine's military reported conducting a long-range attack that destroyed the Russian minesweeping navy vessel on Sunday and said it needed more time to confirm what else had been damaged.
"According to updated information, the Ukrainian defence forces hit a Russian project 22800 Tsiklon missile ship in Sevastopol, on the night of 19 May," the general staff said today.
The Ukrainian navy later said on X that the vessel had been "destroyed".
Ukrainian navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said the Tsiklon was Russia's "last cruise missile carrier" based on the peninsula.
Tsiklon never fired a cruise missile while on active service, Mr Pletenchuk said in televised comments.
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 and is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters at Sevastopol.
The Russian defence ministry has not commented.
European Union countries say they have reached an agreement to use the profits from frozen Russian assets to provide military support to Ukraine and help rebuild the war-torn country.
The 27-nation EU is holding around €210bn (£179bn) in Russian central bank assets, most of it frozen in Belgium, in retaliation for Moscow's war against Ukraine.
It estimates that the interest on that money could provide around €3bn (£2.56bn) each year.
Ukraine is desperate for more weapons and ammunition as Russia presses its military advantage.
EU headquarters said 90% of the money would be put into a special fund known as the European Peace Facility that many EU countries already use to get reimbursed for arms and ammunition they send to Ukraine.
The other 10% would be put into the EU budget. The programmes that this money funds would help to bolster Ukraine's defence industry or to help with reconstruction, should some countries object to their share being used for military purposes.
A small group of member states, notably Hungary, refuse to supply weapons to Ukraine.
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