Russia-Ukraine war live: air raid sirens in Kyiv and eastern regions; Zelenskiy denies responsibility for Kremlin drone attack

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Euromaidan reports that there are currently drones over Odesa, Kyiv and Cherkasy:

Ukraine’s armed forces have now confirmed the refinery is the Ilya oil refinery. It was hit by a drone, they said.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Russian oil refinery on fire – Ukraine armed forces

Ukraine’s armed forces have just said on Telegram that an oil “depot” in Krasnodor, southern Russia, “was hit”. Unconfirmed reports on social media say it is the Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodor Krai – a different oil depot from the one hit yesterday, which was also in Krasnodor, in the village of Volna.

Ilsky is one of southern Russia’s largest refineries, according to its website.

US embassy in Kyiv warns US citizens of 'ongoing heightened threat of missile attacks'

The US embassy in Ukraine has warned US citizens in the country that there is an “ongoing heightened threat of missile attacks, including in Kyiv and Kyiv oblast”.

The warning, issued late on Wednesday, says:

In light of the recent uptick in strikes across Ukraine and inflammatory rhetoric from Moscow, the Department of State cautions US citizens of an ongoing heightened threat of missile attacks, including in Kyiv and Kyiv oblast. The US embassy urges US citizens to observe air alarms, shelter appropriately, follow guidance from local authorities, and refer to additional safety information.”

Melinda Simmons, the UK’s ambassador to Ukraine, is in Kyiv, where she says she was “jolted awake by booms of air defence”.

This is the fourth night in seven days that Russia has launched strikes on Kyiv.

Ukraine Armed Forces report explosions in Odesa, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk

Ukraine’s armed forces have just posted on Telegram saying, “explosions in Odesa, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.”

It is unclear at this stage whether the explosions are the air defences working, or because Russia has managed to bypass air defence systems and strike.

Air raid sirens sound in several regions as explosions reported in Odesa

Russia is launching drone strikes on multiple regions Ukraine, including in Kyiv, where it is 3:30 am on Thursday morning.

Ukraine’s armed forces are reporting the attacks on Telegram, as air raid sirens sound in regions across most of the country’s east.

Ukraine’s armed forces reported that there were explosions in Odesa, and that Russia had launched shahed drones.

People were urged to remain in shelters.

The attacks are ongoing – we will bring you the latest as it happens.

Opening summary

Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine with me, Helen Sullivan.

Air raid sirens are sounding in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine, as Ukraine’s armed forces report that there are explosions in Odesa.

The early morning Russian attack comes as Moscow accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on the Kremlin, an assertion Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has denied.

Elsewhere:

• Moscow has accused Kyiv of attempting an overnight drone strike on the Kremlin with the aim of killing the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin said two drones had been used in the attack but were disabled by Russian defences. In a statement on its website, the Kremlin said it considered the attack a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the life of the president of the Russian Federation.

• Volodymyr Zelenskiy denied Ukraine was responsible. “We don’t attack Putin, or Moscow, we fight on our territory,” he said. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the US could not confirm Russian reports that Ukraine targeted Putin.

• Russian shells killed 21 civilians in Ukraine’s Kherson region on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said, including hitting a hypermarket, a railway station and residential buildings.

• Zelenskiy said Ukraine would soon start a counteroffensive on its own soil against Russian forces. “This is why I am sure we will soon have aircraft. Because we will soon conduct an offensive, and after it I am sure we will be given planes,” he said.

• Russia launched its third nightly round of attacks on Kyiv in six days, authorities in the Ukrainian capital said on Wednesday, with a drone hitting a building in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine’s air force command said its forces destroyed 21 of the 26 Iranian-made Shahed drones, while Kyiv officials said air defence systems eliminated those sent over the city, with no initial reports of casualties or destruction.

• A fuel storage facility near a key bridge in Russia’s south-western region of Krasnodar was on fire in the early hours of Wednesday, the regional governor said, but there were no reports of casualties. Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency has reported that the fire at an oil facility in Volna was caused by “the fall of a drone”. Smoke from the fire can be seen from across the Kerch Strait in occupied Crimea.

• Zelenskiy has said the White House did not advise him about the leak of highly classified US intelligence documents that received widespread attention around the world last month. The failure to brief him was “unprofitable for us”, he said. “It is not beneficial to the reputation of the White House, and I believe it is not beneficial to the reputation of the United States.”

• A group of Nordic countries have backed Ukraine to become a member of Nato and the EU after a joint statement during Zelenskiy’s visit to Finland. Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland issued a joint statement in which they said: “The Nordic countries will continue their political, financial, humanitarian and military support for as long as it takes.”

• Zelenskiy is due to make a visit to the Netherlands on Thursday, where he will deliver a speech and will have meetings with the prime minister, Mark Rutte, and members of parliament, according to the Dutch government.

• German police said Zelenskiy would travel to Berlin on 13 May though a security source later said public disclosure of the visit was premature and it was now unclear if it would go ahead.

• Ukraine and the EU have reached an agreement to continue their “economic visa-free” deal for another 12 months. The initial deal was struck last year after the outbreak of war. It means that Ukrainian businesses will be able to continue to sell goods to the EU without any quotas, export duties or tariffs.