Liveblog: ++ Another nationwide air alert ++

A nationwide air alert has been triggered again in Ukraine. The military warns of possible Russian missile attacks in central Ukraine. Loud explosions were heard in Kiev early in the morning. All developments in the live blog.

According to official information, the Chinese efforts to reach an arbitration have not made any progress for the time being. After Li’s two-day visit to Kiev, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing announced that special envoy Li Hui had established that there was no panacea for the conflict.

Li called on all parties involved to create the conditions for peace talks. On his trip, Li also wants to explore the possibilities for an end to the fighting in Russia and European countries – including Germany.

According to the military administration, one person was killed in a Russian missile attack in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa. In addition, two were injured in the attack on an industrial plant.

According to Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, falling debris caught fire at a company in the Darnytskyi district of Kiev. An explosion was heard in the Desnjansky district. “The attack on the capital is ongoing. Do not leave the shelters during the air raid,” he urged on Telegram.

According to the army, there were also attacks with “cruise missiles” in the Vinnytsia region inland. Local media reported explosions in Khmelnytskyi about a hundred kilometers to the west.

Loud explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev early in the morning. The population was asked to stay in shelters. The extent of the recent Russian attack on Kiev is still unclear. Information about victims and damage would be checked, said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kiev military administration, in the messenger service Telegram.

The air defense “is working,” he added. It was the ninth time in May that Russian air raids had hit the city – a recognizable escalation after weeks that had been comparatively quiet compared to the course of the war.

According to initial findings, all enemy targets had been destroyed, Popko said. Modern air defense systems, including US-made Patriot systems, have increased Kiev’s defense capabilities against air attack.

The Ukrainian authorities have issued a nationwide air alert. The military warned of possible Russian missile attacks in central Ukraine and issued alerts for the Vinnytsia, Kirovohradska, Cherkassy and Dnipro regions. Russian attacks are also to be expected in the central Poltava region and further south in the Mykolaiv region, according to other Telegram channels.

The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, confirms an advance by Ukrainian troops in the embattled city of Bakhmut. “Despite the fact that the enemy has only a few percent of the territory in Bakhmut, it doesn’t seem possible to encircle the enemy,” he says in an audio message. “As a result of the enemy’s advance … Russian paratroopers took up positions advantageous to the enemy.” The situation on the battlefield could not be independently verified.

“Russian troops lost the initiative on the flanks – our troops cut off those flanks,” Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Mussiyenko told NV Radio. The protracted battle commemorates the defeat of Nazi troops by the Soviet Army at Stalingrad in 1943 after five months of heavy fighting.