Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv electricity plant destroyed by Russian missiles and drones

Ukraine Gen Yuriy Sodol told parliament Russian forces outnumber Ukrainian troops seven to ten times, before the military mobilisation bill was voted on in Kyiv, Ukraine. Ukraine’s parliament passed the law on Thursday. Photograph: Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images

Ukraine’s parliament passed a controversial bill on Thursday that will change the rules on civilian military mobilisation in an effort to address fledgling manpower among its forces. The legislation, which must be signed by the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is seen as crucial for Ukraine to address what military analysts say are major manpower problems as it fights a better armed and larger foe.

Russian forces outnumber Ukrainian troops seven to ten times in eastern regions, Ukraine’s Gen Yuriy Sodol told parliament on Thursday. “The enemy outnumbers us by 7-10 times, we lack manpower,” said Sodol, who is commanding the troops in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine.

Russian missiles and drones destroyed a large electricity plant near Kyiv and hit power facilities in several regions of Ukraine on Thursday, officials said. The major attack destroyed the Trypilska coal-powered thermal power plant near the capital, a senior official at the company that runs the facility told Reuters.

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, on Thursday called on Americans to overcome their “self-doubt” and referenced the war in Ukraine, as he offered a paean to US global leadership before a bitterly divided Congress. While Kishida was careful not to touch on US domestic politics, the address comes amid a deadlock in Congress on approving billions of dollars in additional military aid to Ukraine, due to pressure from hard-right Republicans aligned with Donald Trump. “Without US support, how long before the hopes of Ukraine would collapse under the onslaught from Moscow?” Kishida asked.

The mass use of “drop-and-forget” guided bombs containing foreign components is driving Russian advances in Ukraine, with up to 500 now being fired a week, according to a Ukrainian government analysis. High explosive and cluster bombs fitted with “UMPC” guiding systems with a range of 40-60km (25-37 miles) are now said to be a central threat on the frontline, forcing back Ukrainian forces.

A Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv on Thursday killed two people. At least four more were injured, the regional governor said.

Ukraine and Latvia signed a bilateral security agreement, Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced during a visit to Vilnius. Zelenskiy said: “It envisages Latvia’s annual military support for Ukraine at 0.25% of GDP. Latvia also made a 10-year commitment to assist Ukraine with cyber defence, demining, and unmanned technologies, as well as support for Ukraine’s EU and Nato accession.”

Drone attacks on the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine must stop as they could pose “a new and gravely dangerous” stage in the war, the UN nuclear watchdog chief, said on Thursday, Reuters reported. Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of targeting the plant since Russia seized it weeks after invading Ukraine. Both countries requested an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)‘s board after an attack on Sunday. “It is of paramount importance to ensure these reckless attacks do not mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war,” IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said, adding: “Strikes must cease.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that any negotiations on Ukraine without Russia were meaningless, Reuters reported. “We have repeatedly said that negotiations without Russia were meaningless … President Putin has repeatedly emphasised that we remain open to the negotiation process,” Peskov said. The Swiss government will host a two-day high-level conference in June aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, it said on Wednesday, although Russia has made clear it will not take part in the initiative.