Russia-Ukraine war live: Belgorod governor urges Grayvoron residents not to return yet; Russian PM arrives in China | World news

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has arrived in China, Moscow’s foreign ministry said, for a visit in which he will meet with President Xi Jinping and ink a series of deals on infrastructure and trade, AFP reports.

Mishustin arrived late Monday in Shanghai, the ministry said, where he was greeted at the airport by Moscow’s ambassador to China Igor Morgulov and Beijing’s top diplomat to Russia Zhang Hanhui.

He will take part in a Russian-Chinese Business Forum and visit a petrochemical research institute in Shanghai, the Kremlin said, as well as hold talks with “representatives of Russian business circles”.

That forum has invited a number of sanctioned Russian tycoons – including from the key fertiliser, steel and mining sectors – as well as Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who handles energy issues, Bloomberg reported.

China last year became the top energy customer for Russia, whose gas exports had otherwise plummeted after a flurry of Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

Mishustin will then travel to Beijing, where he will meet with Xi and Premier Li Qiang, Russian state media TASS has said.

Belgorod governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, has just posted an update on Telegram. He has urged Grayvoron residents not to return to their homes – “It is not work it yet”, he says.

Gladkov added that there have been “no civilian deaths” as a result of the attacks.

“There are no civilian deaths to date. All necessary actions on the part of law enforcement agencies are being carried out. We are waiting for the completion of the counter-terrorist operation that was announced yesterday,” he wrote.

Fighting broke out along the Russian border with Ukraine on Monday after self-described Russian partisan forces claimed to have overrun a border village within Russia for the first time in the war.

The Freedom of Russia Legion, which describes itself as an anti-Kremlin militia seeking to liberate Russia from Vladimir Putin, said it had crossed the border and overrun the settlement of Kozinka, while sending units into the town of Grayvoron in Russia’s Belgorod region.

Footage of the raid, purportedly from a border checkpoint in Grayvoron, showed casualties including a Russian officer lying face down in a pool of blood next to Russian passports and other documents scattered on the floor. The video also showed armoured vehicles appearing to overrun the post.

The Belgorod governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said eight people were wounded after Grayvoron came under Ukrainian artillery fire, news agencies reported. Most residents had left the area but the situation remained “tense”, he said.

Fighting has broken out along the Russian border with Ukraine after self-described Russian partisan forces claimed to have overrun a border village within Russia for the first time in the war.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had been informed and work was under way to drive out the “saboteurs”, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The Freedom of Russia Legion, which describes itself as an anti-Kremlin militia seeking to liberate Russia from Vladimir Putin, said it had crossed the border and overrun the settlement of Kozinka, while sending units into the town of Grayvoron in Russia’s Belgorod region.

Another anti-Kremlin militia, the Russian Volunteer Corps, which is led by a prominent Russian nationalist, also said it had taken part in the raid. Late on Monday it released video footage showing what it said was a fighter inspecting a captured armoured vehicle.

The growing chaos in the Belgorod region, where local authorities announced a “counterterrorist regime” on Monday evening, was a rare case where Russian villages have come face-to-face with a conflict that their army has unleashed across Ukraine. Both Russia and Ukrainian officials have confirmed fighting at the border.

Our full story is here:

Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. This is Helen Sullivan with the latest.

Our top stories this morning: After fighting broke out along the Russian border with Ukraine – with self-described Russian partisan forces claiming to have overrun a border village within Russia for the first time in the war – Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had been informed and work was under way to drive out the “saboteurs”, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

And Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has arrived in China, Moscow’s foreign ministry said, for a visit in which he will meet with President Xi Jinping and ink a series of deals on infrastructure and trade.

Here are the other key recent developments:

• Twelve northern European countries met to discuss stepping up deterrence and security on Nato’s eastern flank and strengthening Ukraine’s defences. Defence ministers from the Northern Group met in Poland on Monday where talks described as “very good” by the Polish defence minister were focused on coordinating ways of providing security to countries in the group.

• At least eight people were wounded and scores of buildings were damaged in a Russian air attack on Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram, “The attack was carried out by 16 different types of missiles and 20 Shahed-136/131 strike drones,” adding that air defences brought down 20 Russian drones and four cruise missiles.

• Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer both reaffirmed their support for Ukraine in the UK’s House of Commons on Monday. The Labour leader also noted that Labour “[welcomes] the decision by our partners on F-16 fighter jets” and said “whichever party is in power in the UK, there will be no letup in Britain’s resolve. We will continue to support Ukraine’s military and its people in its quest for freedom, peace and justice.”

• The US State Department on Monday said Russia’s Wagner Group is trying to obscure the mercenary group’s efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, adding that Washington has been informed that Wagner is seeking to move those acquisitions through Mali to aid Russia in its war.

• The United Nations expressed concern on Monday that Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Pivdennyi had not received any ships since 2 May under a deal allowing the safe wartime export of grain and fertiliser. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric did not say who was to blame for the lack of ships travelling to the port, near Odesa.

• Russia’s ambassador to the US appears to have warned Washington that any strike on Crimea could be considered a strike on Russian territory by Nato after the US president, Joe Biden, said he would support training for Ukrainian pilots on US F-16 fighter jets.

• The EU’s top diplomat will propose further sanctions against Russia, following a promise by G7 leaders to intensify western restrictions on Vladimir Putin’s ability to wage war on Ukraine. Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, said he hoped to soon present “concrete proposals to implement the decision of the G7 on new kinds of sanctions against Russia”.