The Telegraph:Follow View Profile Ukraine-Russia war: Zelensky’s car crashes into motorcycle- latest

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has escaped without injury after he was involved in a car accident on Thursday, his office said.

The president was travelling in a motorcade through Kyiv on Wednesday when a motorist collided with his vehicle.

“In Kyiv, a passenger car collided with the car of the President of Ukraine and escort vehicles,” spokesman Sergiy Nikiforov said in a statement on Thursday morning.

“Medics accompanying the President provided the driver of the passenger car with emergency aid and transferred him to an ambulance,” he continued.

“The president was examined by a doctor, no serious injuries were detected. The law enforcement officers will investigate all the circumstances of the accident.”

No further details of the accident have been provided, though in a nightly address posted shortly after, Mr Zelensky said he had just returned from Kharkiv after making a surprise visit to Izyum.

The region has been the scene of a lightning offensive by Ukraine to reclaim swathes of Russian-occupied land. Ukrainian flags were recently hoisted over towns in the north east for the first time in months.

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08:34 AM

Von der Leyen arrives in Kyiv

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has arrived in Kyiv for a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky.

“In Kyiv, for my 3rd visit since the start of Russia’s war. So much has changed. Ukraine is now an EU candidate. I’ll discuss with Zelensky and [Prime Minister] Denys Shmygal how to continue getting our economies and people closer while Ukraine progresses towards accession,” she said.

08:04 AM

Ukraine needs $350bn to rebuild – Germany

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has said that Ukraine needs 350 billion dollars for reconstruction, according to Kyiv’s estimates.

Mr Habeck welcomed G7 trade ministers during a meeting at Neuhardenberg Castle in the state of Brandenburg on Thursday, Reutes reported earlier.

07:30 AM

Russia losing ‘high value equipment’

According to a UK intelligence assessment, the Russian army has left behind kit which was “essential” to its “artillery-centric” approach to the invasion.

This is said to include one ZOOPARK counter-battery radar and an IV 14 command and control vehicle.

07:12 AM

Footage emerges of crash scene

Video footage is appearing online which shows the aftermath of the crash involving Mr Zelensky’s car. He was not hurt according to officials and the wider circumstances are unclear.

06:31 AM

Ukraine continues to consolidate its control in Kharkiv area, UK says

Ukrainian forces continue to consolidate their control of newly liberated areas of Kharkiv Oblast, Britain’s defence ministry said.

Russian forces have largely withdrawn from the area west of the Oskil River, the MoD said in its daily intelligence bulletin on Twitter.

High-value equipment abandoned by retreating Russian forces included capabilities essential to enable Russia’s artillery-centric style of warfare, the tweet added.

06:14 AM

US, EU step up pressure on Turkey over Russia sanctions

The United States and European Union are stepping up pressure on Turkey to enforce Russian sanctions, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

The United States is focusing on Turkish banks that have integrated into Russia’s Mir payments system, the paper reported citing two Western officials involved in the plans, as Brussels prepares a delegation to express its concerns to Turkish officials directly.

05:36 AM

Putin, Xi set to meet on Thursday in Samarkand

Vladimir Putin plans to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan early on Thursday afternoon, a schedule distributed by the Russian delegation to media showed.

The two leaders are in Samarkand to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional security group. They will also hold a three-way meeting with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh.

Separately, the Uzbek government said Putin was travelling to Samarkand and would also meet Iranian, Kyrgyz, Pakistani, Turkmen and Uzbek leaders.

On Friday, Putin is set to meet the leaders of Azerbaijan, India and Turkey, it added in a statement

03:42 AM

Zelensky vows ‘victory’ on visit to Kharkiv region

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday promised “victory” on a visit to the strategic city of Izyum that was recently recaptured from Russia.

The visit came at a decisive moment in Russia’s six-month-old invasion, with Ukraine expelling Moscow’s forces from swathes of the east and seriously challenging the Kremlin’s ambition to capture the entire Donbas region.

“Our blue-yellow flag is already flying in de-occupied Izyum. And it will be so in every Ukrainian city and village,” Zelensky said in a statement on social media.

“We are moving in only one direction – forward and towards victory.”

03:38 AM

Zelenksy visits residents in liberated towns

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky heard firsthand what people in recaptured northeastern towns experienced under Russian forces while a major city struggled to contain damage to its water system from Russian missle attacks.

Kryvyi Rih, the largest city in central Ukraine with an estimated pre-war population of 650,000, was targeted by eight cruise missiles on Wednesday, officials said.

“The water pumping station was destroyed. The river broke through the dam and overflowed its banks. Residential buildings are just a few meters away from the river,” Ukrainian legislator Inna Sovsun said.

03:33 AM

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