Russia Ukraine war live: Ukraine air defences wipe out Putin’s drones in overnight strike as three killed in Zaporizhzhia

A pro-Western career diplomat and a close ally of Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico are facing each other in a presidential runoff on Saturday to determine who will be the next head of state.

Former Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok is up against Peter Pellegrini, who heads a coalition party in Fico’s government, in the vote for the largely ceremonial post as president of the nation of 5.4 million.

A victory for Pellegrini, who currently serves as Parliament speaker, would cement Fico’s power by giving him and his allies control of major strategic posts.

The 27-year-old has already donated £1m to help those back home following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Asked by BBC’s Newsnight whether he would answer a call-up, Zinchenko said: “I think it’s a clear answer. I would go.”

Speaking to The Independent from an undisclosed location in Donetsk, deputy commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade, Maksym Zhorin, issued a troubling warning to Kyiv’s Western partners.

The West, he said, must urgently prepare. “Create serious defence systems that could counteract Russia because it will undoubtedly open its mouth and try to swallow the rest of Europe,” he warned.

The overwhelming majority of the British people stand with the Ukrainian people in their time of need. The Ukrainians’ brave resistance against Vladimir Putin’s aggression meets all the tests of a just war, and it is in our national interest that Putin should not succeed.

Now, however, we are coming to the hard part. Two years have passed since the Russian attempt to take Kyiv, and the balance of the war has started to shift in Putin’s favour. Ukrainian forces have had to retreat from Avdiivka, close by Donetsk, the capital of one of the eastern provinces claimed by Putin.

Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Sunday, damaging a truck parked near the station’s canteen, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the plant authorities.

Russian authorities on Friday again tried to link the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall to Ukraine, saying one of the detained suspects had photos on his phone depicting troops in camouflage uniforms with the Ukrainian flag.

Ever since the March 22 mass shooting and fire at the Crocus City Hall concert venue that killed 145 people, Russian officials have sought to blame Ukraine for the massacre, even though Kyiv has denied any involvement and an affiliate of the Islamic State claimed responsibility.

Authorities, including President Vladimir Putin, have provided no evidence for the link as they sought to shift the narrative from the failure by security services to prevent the attack.

Speaking to The Independent from an undisclosed location in Donetsk, deputy commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade, Maksym Zhorin, issued a troubling warning to Kyiv’s Western partners.

The West, he said, must urgently prepare. “Create serious defence systems that could counteract Russia because it will undoubtedly open its mouth and try to swallow the rest of Europe,” he warned.

Among the incorrect allegations being made by pro-Kremlin campaigners is the suggestion circulating on fake news sites that King Charles has sold his royal residence Highgrove House to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for £20m.

The bizarre report was initially made in a YouTube video that featured someone who claimed to be the estate agent behind the made-up sale. However, security experts told The Times the character, named Sam Murphy, appeared to be AI-generated.

The Ukrainian energy system, severely damaged by Russian missile attacks in recent weeks, is now almost completely stabilised and the energy ministry said on Sunday no major imports were expected.

Ukraine‘s electricity imports reached a record high at the end of March after a string of Russian missile strikes on critical infrastructure caused blackouts in many parts of the country.

Since March 22, Russian forces have been attacking Ukrainian thermal and hydropower stations as well as main networks on an almost daily basis, which has led to the blackouts.

“Ukraine‘s energy system is stable and balanced,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said power exports were expected at 115 megawatt hours (MWh) on Sunday while imports could total 1,179 Mwh.

National grid company chief Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytskyi told Reuters last week that Russian attacks had caused significant damage to the power system, but a total collapse was unlikely.

“A local resident was sentenced to life imprisonment for guiding the occupiers’ missile attack on the pizzeria in Kramatorsk,” the office of the war-torn country’s prosecutor general said on Wednesday.