Ukraine war latest: Anti-Putin Russian group involved in setting fire to Russian warship, official says; China 'could end war with one phone call' (2024)

We'll return tomorrow with the latest updates on the war in Ukraine.

Follow the Sky News website in the meantime for major developments overnight.

Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv has come under attack again this afternoon, according to regional governor Oleg Sinegubov.

Mr Sinegubov said "at least three strikes" were reported by security forces in a northeastern district of the city.

Two private houses were destroyed and a child was rescued by emergency workers, he said, while a grass fire broke out at another home.

No casualties have been reported, Mr Sinegubov said.

Moscow has stepped up its attacks on Kharkiv since it opened a new front in the northeastern region nearly two months ago.

Vladimir Putin told Chinese President Xi Jinping that their countries were acting in their own interests and not against any other state as they met at a security summit in Kazakhstan.

It's the second meeting between the two leaders in as many months.

Mr Putin also met Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan earlier at the summit of theShanghaiCooperation Organisation (SCO).

The growing security and defence club, whose members include Iran, India and Pakistan, is part of Moscowand Beijing's ambition to counter the influence of the US and its allies.

It's also seen as a meansto project their influence across Asia.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is "tired" of his prime minister, Denis Shmyhal, and plans to sack him, according to a report.

A source close to the Ukrainian presidenttold Ukrainska Pravdathe leader was "tired of Shmygal".

His feelings about Mr Shmyhal were "evident from his attitude at meetings".

"He doesn't even really listen to him any more," they said, adding that he was looking for someone with more "creative solutions and proposals".

Another reportedly high-ranking source said there had been two events that provided cause "to dismiss Mr Shmyhal in the last two months".

They suggested Mr Shmyhal could be replaced by Ukraine's economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

The number of people wounded in Russia's daylight attack on Dnipro city has risen to 47, the prosecutor general's office has said.

A 14-year-old girl is among those injured but the total number of victims is still being established, the office said.

The attack left at least five people dead.

Three Ukrainian drones struck an area near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, its Russian-installed management has claimed.

In a Telegram post, the plant's management said drones hit an electricity substation, damaging the facility and injuring eight staff.

The power plant - the largest in Europe - has been occupied by Russian forces since early in the war.

Russian state news agency TASS reported earlier today that drones had hit the plant itself.

Sky News cannot independently verify either claim.

People living in Dnipro have described their shock as Russian missiles and drones hit the city in broad daylight.

The attack has killed at least five people and injured dozens more.

"Inside, everything is damaged, outside everything isalso damaged. I've got jitters on my body, my hands... it's allvery complicated and scary," said Olha, the manager of a cafe thatwas hit.

She said some of her staff were injured and concussed.

Georgyi, an older man who had a bandaged nose and blood on his face, said: "There was such a strong explosion that thewave hit me and I fell."

Dnipro city mayor Borys Filatov said this morning's attack also caused damage to nurseries, schools and hospitals, and sparked several fires.

Ukraine's military spy agency says a joint operation with a pro-Kyiv Russian group led to a Russian warship being set on fire in the Baltic Sea earlier this year.

A fire broke out on the Serpukhov missile ship, which was stationed in the Kaliningrad region, on 7 April.

The GUR military spy agency claimed responsibility shortly after.

In an update today, agency head Andriy Yusov said the operation was conducted intandem with the Freedom of Russia Legion - a group of Russians opposed to Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

"As a result of the sabotage, [we] managed to ruin theship from inside and completely destroy communication and itsmeans of automation," the legion said on its Telegram account.

NATO members have agreed to provide €40bn (£33.9bn) worth of military aid to Ukraine next year, a Western European diplomat has told the Reuters news agency.

It comes ahead of a meeting of NATO allies in Washington next week, where support for Ukraine is expected to be a major topic.

Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg had urged members to keep military aid for Kyiv at the same level as in the years following Russia's invasion, adding up to around €40bn per year.

Leaders will reportedly sign off on the pledge for 2025 at the summit next week.

Russia has sentenced a 19-year-old to 12 years in prison for allegedly donating money to Ukrainian forces, according to media reports.

Russia's security service (FSB) said the teenager had helped the Ukrainian army buy drones and food for troops.

He was arrested at an airport as he tried to leave Russia, it said.

"The Rostov regional court found the man guilty and sentenced him to a punishment in the form of 12 years in a strict penal colony," the Russian state-owned RIA news agency quoted the FSB as saying.

Russia has been cracking down on dissent in the country, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine, with arrests, trials and long prison terms now more commonplace.