Ukraine-Russia war latest: Fall of key city a 'matter of time', Ukraine admits; Kyiv has 'right' to strike inside Russia, Cameron says

At least five people have been killed and 17 injured due to Russian strikes in the past day, according to local Ukrainian authorities.

Kharkiv

Nearly 15 settlements have been attacked in the Kharkiv region, governor Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.

One man died and 10 people were injured. 

In the city of Kupiansk, a 66-year-old man was killed after his house was struck, another 66-year-old man was injured.

Eight children and a 75-year-old man were also injured in an attack on the town of Derhachi.

Donetsk

Two people were killed, including a 12-year-old boy, and two were injured in a strike on the village of Memryk, governor Vadym Filashkin reported.

A strike on the city of Kurakhove killed two others and injured two people, the head of the Kurakhove military administration, wrote on Facebook.

Two more people were reportedly injured in two other villages in the region.

Kherson

One person was reportedly injured after Russia struck 14 settlements, Oleksandr Prokudin, Kherson governor said.

Other regions such as Zaporizhzhia and Sumy have also been the target of recent Russian attacks, no casualties or injuries have been reported.

As we have been reporting, Lord Cameron was in Kyiv yesterday where he promised £3bn of annual military aid for Ukraine for "as long as it takes". 

He met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials and visited a display of destroyed Russian military vehicles in Saint Michael's Square in the centre of the city.

He was also seen paying respects to fallen Ukrainian troops at a memorial wall.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the UK for its continued support as Lord Cameron visited Kyiv. 

The Ukrainian president said it is important that weapons included in the UK support package announced last week arrive as soon as possible.

Russian attacks have ramped up in the last few weeks as Ukraine waits for promised supplies not only from the UK but US and Germany - both of which have agreed to send in-demand Patriot systems. 

"I am grateful to the government and people of the United Kingdom for their unflagging support for Ukraine," he said.

The fall of the embattled eastern city of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region is probably only a matter of time, a Ukrainian military intelligence officer has said. 

"Not today or tomorrow, of course, but all depending on our reserves and supplies," Major General Vadym Skibitsky said in an interview with The Economist.

He compared the situation in the city to Avdiivka, from which Ukrainians withdrew in February after becoming outnumbered. 

Ukrainian officials believe that Moscow wants to seize Chasiv Yar by 9 May, when the Russians celebrate Victory Day.

If they succeed, it would place some of the largest Ukrainian-held cities in the Donetsk region within artillery range, military analysts from Black Bird Group - a group of volunteers in Finland - said yesterday.

Troops have described Russian attacks in the region as steady but often unpredictable.

Lord Cameron was in Kyiv yesterday, where he promised £3bn of annual military aid for Ukraine for "as long as it takes".

He added Ukraine had a right to use weapons provided by Britain to strike targets inside Russia, and that it was up to Kyiv whether to do so.

"Ukraine has that right. Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it's defending itself," Lord Cameron said.

The foreign secretary said continued support from Britain will have to come in the form of financial aid because it has "emptied all we can in terms of giving equipment" after the latest £500m military aid package - which included vehicles, boats, strike and air defence missiles.

"Some of that [equipment] is actually arriving in Ukraine today, while I'm here," Lord Cameron said.

In Kyiv - his second trip as foreign secretary - he met Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Read the full story here...

Welcome back to our coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Lord Cameron was in Kyiv yesterday, where he promised a further £3bn of annual military aid for Ukraine for "as long as it takes".

The foreign secretary also said Ukraine had a right to use weapons provided by Britain to strike targets inside Russia, and that it was up to Kyiv whether to do so.

Before we start bringing you live updates today, here's a brief rundown of the other key events of the past 24 hours:

• Russia claimed that its air defence forces destroyed six drones that Ukraine launched overnight - five over the Belgorod border region and one over the Crimean Peninsula;
  
• Ukrainian workers picked through the ruins of a postal depot destroyed in a Russian attack yesterday, which set off a large fire;
• Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said he would consider sending troops to Ukraine if Russian troops broke through the frontline;
• At least six children and an adult were injured in a Russian guided bomb attack in Kharkiv;
• Sweden had a surge in cyberattacks as it moved towards NATO membership, analysis found;
• Russia said it had seized control of the village of Berdychi in eastern Ukraine.

The map below shows the territorial picture in Ukraine...

That's it from our live coverage for today - thanks for following along. 

Before we go, here is a quick reminder of today's updates: 

• French President Emmanuel Macron said he would consider sending troops to Ukraine if Russian troops broke through the frontline
• Ukrainian workers picked through the ruins of a postal depot destroyed in a Russian attack yesterday, which set off a large fire
• At least six children and an adult were injured in a Russian guided bomb attack in Kharkiv 
• Sweden saw a surge in cyber attacks as it moved towards NATO membership, analysis found
• Russia said it had seized control of the village of Berdychi in eastern Ukraine.

The Ukraine war is unlikely to end anytime soon, the top US intelligence official has predicted. 

Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, said that Vladimir Putin sees domestic and international developments going in his favour, making it likely he will press on with actions in Ukraine. 

"Putin's increasingly aggressive tactics against Ukraine, such as strikes on Ukraine's electricity infrastructure, are intended to impress Ukraine that continuing to fight will only increase the damage to Ukraine and offer no plausible path to victory," she said.

"These aggressive tactics are likely to continue and the war is unlikely to end anytime soon."

It comes as the White House said it remains "deeply concerned" that it is not seeing China make any changes with helping Russia's military - after concerns raised by US secretary of state Antony Blinken.

During a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials last week, Mr Blinken said: "Fuelling Russia's defence industrial base not only threatens Ukrainian security, it threatens European security.

"Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China's support."

Mr Blinken did not elaborate on how the US would address the matter if China continues to help Russia, but today White House spokesperson John Kirby said imposing further sanctions on Russia and North Korea is not off the table.

Sweden's succession to NATO prompted a surge in Russia-linked cyber attacks that not only targeted the Swedish nation but also other countries including the US and Ukraine, according to new analysis.

NetScout says it observed a "massive shift" in distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks as Sweden worked towards joining the alliance after over two centuries of neutrality.

Note: DDoS refers to when attackers flood a server or network with excessive traffic that it is unable to process fast enough.

NetScout says Swedish government infrastructure was targeted in such an attack in May 2023, with the attacks "strengthening" throughout last year and into 2024 as the country achieved NATO succession after a nearly two-year wait, the firm said. 

There was an "onslaught" in February when Sweden's foreign minister hinted at Hungary dropping its objection to Stockholm becoming part of NATO, it said.

Attacks peaked on 4 March this year, three days before Sweden officially joined the alliance, with 2,275 recorded in a single day.

An investigation by NetScout found that the "likely culprits" of the DDoS attacks were Russia-supporting cyber groups which it described as "politically motivated".

Russia-linked groups have been behind a number of cyber attacks since the war began. One of the most dramatic saw services provided by Ukraine's biggest telecoms operator knocked out for days for some 24 million users.

At least six children and one adult have been injured after Russian guided bombs hit Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region.

The bombs struck civilian infrastructure and private houses, injuring at least six children and one adult, local officials said.

Houses and civilian infrastructure in the town of Derhachi - a frequent site of Russian aerial strikes - was damaged due to the strike.

"Two of the children received minor injuries to their limbs, and four - moderate injuries," regional governor Oleh Synehubov said on Telegram.

Kharkiv, which lies about 30km from the border with Russia, and the surrounding region have long been targeted by Russian attacks but the strikes have become more intense in recent months, hitting civilian and energy infrastructure.

Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians.