This is CNBC’s live blog tracking developments on the war in Ukraine. See below for the latest updates.
Russian missiles hit several locations in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region overnight, killing five people and injuring at least 25, according to the regional head.
Oleh Syniehubov, head of Kharkiv’s military administration, described the evening as a “difficult night for Kharkiv.”
Elsewhere, two people were injured after a Ukrainian air strike set multiple fuel tanks ablaze at an oil depot in southern Russia, local officials said Friday.
Fedor Babenkov, the head of the Temryuk district in the Krasnodar region, said in a Google-translated post via Telegram that the fire has since been extinguished.
CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.
China has reportedly turned down the chance to attend Ukraine’s peace conference in Switzerland next month.
Beijing has declined an invitation to join the June 15-16 summit because the conditions necessary for them to participate were not met, Reuters reported, citing three unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Ukraine says Russian missiles hit multiple sites in Kharkiv, killing five
Russian missiles hit several locations in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region overnight, killing five people, according to the head of the Kharkiv region.
Oleh Syniehubov said via Telegram that Russian rocket attacks took place at several locations, hitting residential and administrative buildings and damaging emergency vehicles.
Syniehubov said five people died in what he described as a “difficult night for Kharkiv.”
CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.
— Sam Meredith
Two injured in Russia’s Krasnodar region after Ukrainian attack on an oil depot, local officials say
A Ukrainian air strike on Friday hit an oil depot in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia, setting the facility on fire and inuring two employees, Russian officials said.
Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said via the Telegram messaging app that three of the depot’s petroleum tanks caught fire after the attack.
CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.
Fedor Babenkov, the head of the Temryuk district in the Krasnodar region, said in a Google-translated post via Telegram that the fire had since been extinguished.
“As a result of the emergency, two oil depot employees were injured. Doctors recorded minor injuries on the men; their health was not in danger,” Babenkov said.
— Sam Meredith
China reportedly turns down invitation to join Ukraine peace talks
China has declined an invitation to attend a Ukraine peace conference due to be held in Switzerland next month, Reuters reported Friday, citing four unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Beijing turned down the offer to attend because the conditions necessary for them to participate were not met, Reuters said, citing three of the sources.
The Chinese Embassy in London did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
At the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Switzerland is set to hold peace talks on June 15 and 16. The aim of the conference is to bring heads of state together to chart a course for lasting peace in Ukraine, although the Kremlin has not been invited to attend.
— Sam Meredith
Russian missile attack sparks fire in Kyiv, Ukraine military says
A Russian missile attack early Friday sparked a fire at a non-residential building in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, according to the head of the city’s military administration.
In a post published via the Telegram messaging app, Serhiy Popko said a fire broke out in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district as a result of falling debris. There were no injuries reported, according to preliminary information.
CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.
— Sam Meredith
NATO chief says ‘time has come’ to re-consider restrictions on weapons sent to Ukraine
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday said it was time for members of the military alliance to re-consider restrictions placed on weapons they send to Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Allies were sending various types of limitary support to Ukraine, and any restrictions on the support are national decisions, he said ahead of a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting.
“But I think that in light of how this war has evolved … the time has come to consider some of these restrictions, to enable the Ukrainians to really to defend themselves.”
Opinions on restrictions on weapons and military supplies are split among Ukraine’s allies. Some including the U.K. have said Ukraine could use weapons it supplied for strikes on Russian soil, while Italy has said weapons it supplied should only be used within Ukraine.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Sri Lanka tightens controls to stop men being duped into Ukraine fighting
Sri Lanka will tighten controls to try to stop its men being lured to Russia to fight in Ukraine with often false promises of salaries and benefits, a minister said on Thursday.
Colombo will also send a delegation to Moscow in June to bring back dozens of Sri Lankans already fighting in the front line who want to come home, some of them wounded, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya told reporters.
Countries across the region, including India and Nepal, have raised the alarm about their men being persuaded to travel to fight for Russia in Ukraine with offers of salaries, visas and sometimes university places.
Russia’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Levan S. Dzhagaryan, told the press conference on Thursday his embassy would cooperate with the efforts to stop Sri Lankans travelling illegally to Russia. He said his government was not involved in the recruitment offers.
Under the new controls, men will have to produce a “no-objection” document from the Sri Lankan defence ministry when they apply for a tourist visa to Russia, Tharaka Balasuriya told reporters.
— Reuters
