Ukraine-Russia war latest: Devastation of Ukrainian town laid bare in drone footage - as Russia 'shifting battlefield focus'

If you're just joining us or briefly dipping in, here's a quick rundown of all the key events of the day so far:

• Russia's focus on the battlefield may be shifting north of Avdiivka, according to a leading US thinktank. It said troops appear to be concentrating more in the direction of Chasiv Yar;
• Keeping on Chasiv Yar, drone footage released by Ukraine's police patrol shows the scale of bombardment in the city. Russian aggression is thought to be focusing there due to its potential to lead to cities further in the east;
• Two people have died and six people have been injured - including an 11-year-old boy - after Russian guided bombs struck the region of Kharkiv;
• The Russian military claimed it has attacked the headquarters of the Ukrainian army's southern grouping. The attack was carried out using Russian air force missiles and artillery, Moscow's defence ministry said. 

An exhibition showing more than 30 pieces of Western military equipment captured from Ukrainian forces has opened in the Russian capital.

A US-made M1 Abrams battle tank, a Leopard 2 tank and a Marder armoured infantry vehicle from Germany, and a French-made AMX-10RC armoured vehicle are on display.

The month-long exhibit at the Second World War memorial in Moscow was branded a "brilliant idea" by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The Russian authorities have criticised supplies of Western weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, casting them as evidence of NATO's direct involvement in the conflict.

Britain, the US and the European Union are pressing the United Arab Emirates to show it is cracking down on firms evading sanctions imposed on Russia.

Three separate Western sources said they are particularly concerned about the UAE exporting computer chips, electronics, machinery and other sanctioned products to Russia that could be used to aid Moscow's military effort against Ukraine.

Some exports have increased since Russia was hit with Western sanctions, the sources claimed.

Western states implemented sanctions against Russia soon after the war began in February 2022 but other countries do not necessarily have to apply them too.

A UAE official said it remains in close dialogue with its international partners, including the US and EU, concerning the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and its implications for the global economy.

Months of Russian artillery strikes have devastated the strategically important town of Chasiv Var in eastern Ukraine.

Drone footage - reminiscent of Bakhmut after its capture by Moscow's forces last year - lays bare the effects of strikes on the town, once home to 12,000 people.

Russia's focus may be shifting more towards Chasiv Yar, which is around 80km north of Avdiivka, as if captured it would make it easier for Moscow to advance further in the east.

Ukraine hopes to store 4bn cubic metres of gas from foreign companies and traders this winter despite an increase in Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. 

Oleksiy Chernyshov, chief executive of state energy company Naftogaz, said Russia had attacked company infrastructure five times since March.

The company is working on strengthening defences that can protect vulnerable above ground gas facilities, but stresses it has underground facilities big enough to store 31bn cubic metres.

That's enough for Ukraine's annual needs and surplus storage from Europe. 

Storing gas helps Ukraine to make a profit while providing Europe with additional supply flexibility after the continent cut Russian gas imports at the start of the war. 

Earlier, we reported that Russian guided bombs had struck the northeast Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, killing two people.

The number of injured has risen to six, including an 11-year-old boy, the regional governor said. 

Oleh Syniehubov said a 64-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman were killed while driving their car.

Also injured were a 50-year-old man and 41-year-old woman, who received medical treatment.

More than 20 cars were damaged and a house was destroyed. 

Each week we ask readers for their questions on the war for our military analysts and international correspondents.

This week, military analyst Sean Bell answers:

Why are Ukraine finding it so hard to completely destroy the Kerch Bridge?
DC

Thank you for this question.

Europe's longest bridge connects Russia to the city of Kerch in Crimea, which was illegally annexed from Ukraine by Moscow in 2014.

The bridge runs over the Kerch Strait and is the only direct road link between Russia and the annexed peninsula. 

It consists of a separate roadway and railway - fortified by concrete stilts - which give way to a wider span held by steel arches at the point where ships pass between the Black Sea and the smaller Azov Sea.

On 17 July 2023, the Ukrainians attacked the Crimean bridge 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.

Resilient bridge design

Although the road surface was damaged, the supports remained intact.

Despite the impressive capability of "smart" weapons, some bridges are very difficult to destroy due to their design.  

The opposite is also true: The cantilever design of the Baltimore bridge in the US that was struck by a container ship on 26 March led to its collapse.

In contrast, individual spans on the Kerch Bridge can be damaged or destroyed with limited impact on the structural integrity of the rest of the bridge, so the focus of any military strike would be the concrete stilts, which would take longer to repair or replace.

Although the Kerch Bridge provides a vital conduit for Russian military resupply lines, the Ukrainians have shown they have the capability to deny its use - at least temporarily - to Russia's military forces.  

Focus closer to home - for now

Although Ukraine is struggling to contain Russia's latest offensive efforts on the frontline in the Donbas, at some stage Ukraine might decide to focus its offensive efforts on Crimea.

Most analysts believe Ukraine would struggle to liberate Crimea completely, but the strategically important port of Sevastopol is a centre of gravity for Vladimir Putin - something he will not want to lose.

Ukraine does not have a navy, but has successfully targeted the Russian Black Sea Fleet and pushed it further east.

That leaves Crimea relatively exposed, and if Ukraine were to mount a serious assault against the occupied enclave, that would be the time to exploit the lessons learned from previous attacks against the Kerch Bridge to deny its use for any Russian reinforcements.

For now, Ukraine is focusing its limited weapons on specific strategic targets, which might eventually include a more determined attack against the Kerch Bridge.

Starting tonight, Estonia will close a border crossing with Russia nightly after an influx of migrants and asylum seekers.

The Narva-1 crossing will close between 11pm and 7am local time each night, the Estonian public broadcaster, ERR, reported.

The crossing connects the two countries via a bridge over the Narva River. 

Marek Liiva, head of the border crossing, told ERR that anyone who is left on the bridge after 11pm will still be seen by border control and allowed to cross. 

Using a splintered piece of wood for stability and wearing a pair of slippers on her feet, a 98-year-old Ukrainian woman managed to escape Russian-occupied territory. 

Lidia Stepanivna Lomikovska and her family decided to leave the frontline town of Ocheretyne, in the eastern Donetsk region, last week after Russian troops entered and fighting intensified.

The elderly woman became separated from her son and two daughters-in-law while fleeing, but she kept going to reach Ukrainian lines. 

She walked along one of the main roads for six miles (10km) without food or water. 

"Once I lost balance and fell into weeds. I fell asleep… a little, and continued walking. And then, for the second time, again, I fell. But then I got up and thought to myself: 'I need to keep walking, bit by bit,'" Ms Lomikovska said.

She was reunited with her family after being taken to a shelter for evacuees.

A senior Russian defence official has reportedly been questioned by the Federal Security Service after the detention of one of his colleagues on bribery charges. 

Ruslan Tsalikov is the "number three" in Moscow's defence ministry after Sergei Shoigu, the minister, and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov, the UK defence ministry says in its intelligence update today.

He was reportedly pulled in for questioning after the arrest of deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov, his close ally, on 21 April.

As first deputy defence minister, Mr Tsalikov ranks above Ivanov.

Ivanov is accused of accepting large bribes and will be kept in custody until 23 June after appearing at a Moscow district court last week.

He was in charge of property management, housing, construction and mortgages at the ministry - whose spending has spiralled since the Ukraine war began.

A number of defence ministers have already been questioned or detained after Ivanov's arrest.