Ukraine Russia news – live: Putin claims he ‘shares pain’ of troops’ mothers

More than 15,000 people have gone missing since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

The figures were provided by an official at the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), reported Reuters.

The actual figure of those who are missing might be considerably higher.

Matthew Holliday, ICMP’s programme director for Europe, said it was unclear how many people were held in detention, had been forcibly transferred, were separated from their family members, or had died.

Vladimir Putin will meet the mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine in time for the country’s celebration of Mother’s Day this weekend.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports:

An increasing number of reservists’ families are prepared to risk arrest by protesting against the conditions their relatives are serving under, the UK defence ministry has said.

It comes as the ministry reported that “mobilised reservists have highly likely experienced particularly heavy casualties after being committed to dig ambitious trench systems while under artillery fire around the Luhansk Oblast town of Svatove”.

The defence intelligence added that the eligibility of Russian reservists has often been questionable, and the training and equipment they are given is “inadequate”.

The air defence system has been triggered in the town of Armiansk in Russia-annexed Crimea peninsula, TASS news agency quoted a local mayor as saying on Friday.

British foreign minister James Cleverly will pledge millions of pounds in further support for Kyiv during a visit to Ukraine to ensure the country has the practical help it needs through the winter, his office said.

Cleverly, who is set to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on the trip, also condemned Russia for its “brutal attacks” on civilians, hospitals and energy infrastructure.

A statement from his office issued early on Friday said Cleverly had travelled to Ukraine, which this week suffered the most devastating Russian air strikes on its energy infrastructure so far in the months-long war.

“The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine,” said Cleverly, as he set out 3 million pounds to help rebuild vital infrastructure and committed another 5 million for a Ukraine-led initiative to ship grain to countries at risk of famine.

“I’ve seen here first-hand how the UK’s efforts are helping brave citizens to resist and rebuild. Our support will continue for as long as it takes for this remarkable country to recover,” he added.

Cleverly’s trip to the European country comes just days after new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made his first visit to Kyiv during which he vowed to continue the firm support for Ukraine that Britain provided under his predecessors.

James Cleverly has announced a package of “hands-on” support to help Ukraine through the winter while on a visit to the war-torn nation.

The Foreign Secretary was due to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky during his trip, which comes days after Prime MinisterRishi Sunak travelled to Kyiv.

Mr Cleverly announced the practical support as Ukraine’s power grid and other critical infrastructure has been pounded by Russian strikes, causing blackouts and leaving millions without heat, power or water as temperatures plummet.

Residents of Ukraine‘s bombed capital clutched empty bottles in search of water and crowded into cafés for power and warmth Thursday, switching defiantly into survival mode after new Russian missile strikes a day earlier plunged the city and much of the country into the dark.

In scenes hard to believe in a sophisticated city of 3 million, some Kyiv residents resorted to collecting rainwater from drainpipes, as repair teams labored to reconnect supplies.

Friends and family members exchanged messages to find out who had electricity and water back. Some had one but not the other. The previous day’s aerial onslaught on Ukraine‘s power grid left many with neither.

Cafés in Kyiv that by some small miracle had both quickly became oases of comfort on Thursday.Oleksiy Rashchupkin, a 39-year-old investment banker, awoke to find that water had been reconnected to his third-floor flat but power had not.

His freezer thawed in the blackout, leaving a puddle on his floor.

So he hopped into a cab and crossed the Dnieper River from left bank to right, to a café that he’d noticed had stayed open after previous Russian strikes.

Sure enough, it was serving hot drinks, hot food and the music and Wi-Fi were on.“I’m here because there is heating, coffee and light,” he said. “Here is life.”

Warmonger Vladimir Putin has insisted he has no regrets about unleashing his bloody conflict in Ukraine as he prepares to meet the mothers of soldiers whose lives he has put at risk on the front line.

Up to 100,000 Russian troops and reservists have been killed or wounded so far in the illegal war, which Mr Putin continues to say is a “special military operation” to end what he claims - without evidence - is genocide against ethnic Russians in the country.

The war in Ukraine has killed and wounded tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides, according to the United States, and the Russian invasion has triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile crisis.

"On the eve of Mother’s Day, which is celebrated in Russia on the last Sunday of November, Vladimir Putin will meet with the mothers of servicemen participating in the special military operation," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Nato has reaffirmed its support for Ukraine, which has made major gains in recent weeks around Kherson - a regional economic centre.

Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said the military alliance would “not back down” in its efforts to supply Kyiv with non-lethal aid.

“NATO will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he said.

“We will not back down,” he told reporters in Brussels on Friday ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting of the alliance in Bucharest next week.

Kherson on Thursday came under its heaviest bombardment since Ukrainian forces recaptured the southern city two weeks ago.

The barrage of missiles killed four people outside a coffee shop and a woman was also killed next to her house, witnesses said, speaking to Associated Press reporters.

Hospitals without power and water are also contending with the gruesome after-effects of intensifying Russian strikes.

They hit residential and commercial buildings on Thursday, setting some ablaze, blowing ash skyward and shattering glass across streets.