Russia Ukraine war update: Putin soldiers surrender after counter attack as G7 leaders agree to $50bn Kyiv loan

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the West’s seizure of Russian sovereign assets was theft and would not go unpunished.

Speaking at a meeting with Foreign Ministry officials, Putin said the way the West had treated Moscow showed that any country could fall victim to a similar Western asset freeze.

“Despite all the chicanery, theft will certainly remain theft. And it will not go unpunished”, Putin said.

“Now it is becoming obvious to all countries, companies (and) sovereign funds that their assets and reserves are far from safe in both the legal and economic sense of the word.

“Anyone could be next in line for expropriation by the U.S. and the West.”

Putin was speaking a day after the leaders of the Group of Seven major democracies agreed on an outline deal to provide $50 billion of loans for Ukraine using interest from Russian sovereign assets frozen after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022 in what it called a special military operation.

The Ukrainian military said on Friday its forces downed seven of 14 missiles and all 17 drones launched by Russia in overnight attacks in the west of the country.

Russian forces targeted critical infrastructure and military objects during the raid, air force spokesperson Illia Yevlash said on national television.

The Ukrainian military destroyed 11 aerial targets over the western region of Khmelnytskyi, according to the governor. One attack started a fire on infrastructure but no casualties were reported.

Air defence shot down seven of 10 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles, the Ukrainian military said.

Russia also launched three Iskander-M ballistic missiles, targeting Zaporizhzhia region, and one Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile in its attack, according to Yevlash.

“(Kinzhal) headed for Khmelnytskyi region where it did not reach its target,” he said.

Zaporizhzhia’s governor said a missile struck an open area with no damage nor casualties immediately reported.

The air force also destroyed five drones over the Dnipropetrovsk region, its governor said, with no reports of damage or casualties.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage suggested Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky should enter negotiations with Russia, although he acknowledged Kyiv’s Western allies will continue support to support them.

Mr Farage, challenged about his previous remarks praising Russian president Mr Putin as an operator, told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Yeah, but not as a human being.”

Asked why, Mr Farage replied: “How many years has he been in power? He’s gone from prime minister, to president, he’s a clever political operator. He kills journalists, I don’t like him as a human being in any way at all.

“You can recognise the fact that some people are good at what they do even if they have evil intent.”

With patriotic songs broadcast and thousands of exiled Ukrainians in the stadium, the men’s national team was made to feel at home at its first training in Germany for the European Championship.

After the national anthem played, and before the warmups began, there was a vivid reminder of the war at home that is a constant and uniting force for this Ukraine squad.

Each player had a ball to give to a fan and Oleksandr Zinchenko presented his to a military veteran who had prosthetic legs below each knee.

Ukraine plans record power imports on Friday after significant energy infrastructure damage by Russian missile attacks, Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo said.

Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine‘s energy sector have intensified since March, resulting in blackouts in many regions, forcing Kyiv to start large-scale electricity imports from the European Union.

A ministry statement said that the country would import 31,904 megawatt hours (MWh) of power on Friday versus the previous record of 29,796 MWh on Wednesday.

It came after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected “important decisions” from the summit in Italy, with leaders from the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan seeking to shore up support for Kyiv as several of them face elections or political turmoil at home.

Also on Thursday, US President Joe Biden agreed to a sweeping bilateral security agreement that will see his country and Ukraine work together “to help deter and confront future aggression against the territorial integrity” of either state.

An explosion rang out across the region outside the Ukrainian capital on Friday, a Reuters witness said, following an air raid siren and warnings by the military of a possible Russian missile attack.

“Air defence forces are working in Kyiv region. Stay in your shelters! The missile danger continues,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

It was unclear if the explosion indicated air defences had shot down a target. Public broadcaster Suspilne cited local residents saying they had heard explosions in the western region of Khmelnytskyi.

After the air raid siren sounded, the Air Force said long-range missiles had been fired at Khmelnytskyi region and told Kyiv residents to take cover. The military then declared the air raid alert over, but there was no further official information.

Dozens of Russian soldiers have appeared to surrender to Ukraine troops after Kyiv launched a counter attack around the city of Vovchansk.

A video released by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade shows Ukrainian soldiers taking at least 24 Russians as prisoners of war.

A possible impending visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to North Korea could deepen military ties between the two countries in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, officials of South Korea and the United States warned on Friday.

South Korea’s vice foreign minister, Kim Hong-kyun, in an emergency phone call with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, said Putin’s visit should not result in more military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow in violation of the resolutions, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry.

Echoing Kim’s concerns, Campbell pledged continued cooperation to tackle potential regional instability and challenges caused by the trip.

“While closely monitoring related developments, the two sides agreed to resolutely respond through airtight cooperation to North Korea’s provocations against South Korea and actions that escalate tensions in the region,” the ministry said in a statement.

On Wednesday, a senior official at Seoul’s presidential office said Putin was expected to visit North Korea “in the coming days”. Russia‘s Vedomosti newspaper on Monday reported Putin would visit North Korea and Vietnam in the coming weeks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday declined to give a date or agenda for a possible visit but said Russia‘s right to develop closer ties with North Korea should not be in doubt or a source of fear for anyone.

Ukraine and Japan signed a “breakthrough” security deal worth $4.5 billion on Thursday, Volodymyr Zelensky announced on X.

The Ukrainian president said the agreement includes “security and defense assistance, humanitarian aid, technical and financial cooperation, as well as joint efforts on the Peace Formula”.

He added: “Additionally, the agreement implies sanctions against the aggressor and efforts to hold the aggressor accountable.”