DIRECT. War in Ukraine: four explosions heard in kyiv this Sunday

The essential

• The key city of Sievierodonetsk came under the control of Russian forces on Friday, after a withdrawal of Ukrainian troops.

• US President Joe Biden arrived in Europe on Saturday evening for a G7 meeting and a NATO summit.

• Russia will deliver nuclear-capable missiles to Belarus, Ukraine's neighbor.

• The twenty-seven member countries of the European Union have granted the status of EU candidate country to Ukraine and Moldova.

06:41

Four explosions heard in kyiv

Even if for several weeks the fighting has been concentrated almost exclusively in the east of the country, the Ukrainian capital is regularly hit by Russian forces.

Four explosions were heard in kyiv early Sunday morning, a residential complex near the city center was hit causing a fire and the release of a large cloud of gray smoke.

The explosions occurred around 6:30 a.m. (5:30 a.m. in France), no information on possible victims was immediately available.

06:30

Putin to arm neighboring Belarus with nuclear-capable missiles

Russia will deliver "in the coming months" missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to Belarus, Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday when he received Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, in full tension between their countries and the West around Ukraine .

Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

AFP

06:25

Joe Biden in Germany

The American president arrived in Germany on Saturday evening for a G7 summit, during which he plans to close ranks with Westerners in the face of the threat from Russia.

06:20

Hello

And welcome to this live.

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06:20

The city of Sieverodonetsk now in the hands of Russian forces

Severodonetsk is “entirely occupied by the Russians”, recognized its mayor Oleksandre Striouk on Saturday.

The separatists, for their part, declared that they had "taken full control of the industrial zone of the Azot factory".

The conquest of the two cities is a crucial step for Russia in its desire to seize the entire industrial basin of Donbass, already partly in the hands of pro-Russian separatists since 2014.