Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had thanked Pope Francis during a meeting in the Vatican Saturday for focusing on the plight of millions of Ukrainians after the Russian invasion. Earlier in the day, Germany pledged to send a new weapons package to Ukraine worth €2.7 billion ($2.97 billion), reportedly Berlin's largest since the Russian invasion last year. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
10:44pm: Zelensky says he spoke to South African president, urged him to help end war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday and urged him to help implement Kyiv's peace plan to end the war with Russia.
Zelensky made the remarks in a video address from Rome, a day after Ramaphosa spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin. South Africa has positioned itself as neutral in the conflict.
7:51pm: Zelensky meets with Pope Francis at Vatican, says he sought backing for his peace plan
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had private talks with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday, later saying he sought support for his peace plan from the pontiff , who in the past has offered to try to help end the war launched by Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
Zelensky held his hand over his heart and said it was a “great honor" to meet with the pope. Francis, using a cane for his knee problem, came to greet the Ukrainian president before ushering him into a papal studio near the Vatican's audience hall. "Thank you for your visit,'' Francis said, as their 40-minute-long meeting began.
7:01pm: Ukraine says its troops are advancing in two directions in Bakhmut suburbs
Ukrainian troops are advancing in two directions in the eastern city of Bakhmut but the situation in the city centre is more complicated, deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said on Saturday.
"The enemy is not able to take control of the city," she wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
6:11pm: Zelensky says he thanked pope for focusing 'on tragedy of millions of Ukrainians'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had thanked Pope Francis during a meeting in the Vatican Saturday for focusing on the plight of millions of Ukrainians after the Russian invasion.
"I am very grateful to him for his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians," Zelensky said on Telegram, adding that they had also discussed the fate of "tens of thousands of children" that Kyiv says were deported to Russia.
"We must do everything to bring them home," he added.
6:01pm: Zelensky and the Pope discuss Ukraine's humanitarian needs
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a private audience with Pope Francis on Saturday where they discussed the need to help "innocent victims" of the conflict, the Vatican said.
During their 40-minute talk, they discussed issues relating to "the humanitarian and political situation in Ukraine caused by the ongoing war", a Vatican statement said, without mentioning Russia by name.
The 86-year-old pontiff assured Zelensky "of his constant prayers, witnessed by his many public appeals and continuous invocation to the Lord for peace since February last year", when Russia invaded its neighbour.
"Together they agreed on the need to continue humanitarian efforts to support the population. The pope stressed in particular the urgent need for 'human gestures' towards the most fragile people, innocent victims of the conflict."
4:44pm: Zelensky arrives at Vatican to meet Pope Francis
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the Vatican on Saturday for what was expected to be a private audience with Pope Francis.
The 86-year-old pontiff has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February 2022, including offering to mediate with Moscow.
4:24pm: French broadcaster honours AFP reporter killed in Ukraine
French broadcaster Canal Plus paid tribute to AFP journalist Arman Soldin on Saturday, after he was killed this week in Ukraine.
Soldin, AFP's video coordinator in Ukraine, died on Tuesday when an AFP team came under fire from Grad rockets while they were with a group of Ukrainian soldiers near Bakhmut, which has been the epicentre of the fighting for months.
The 32-year-old had worked for four years for Canal Plus television on its "Match of ze Day" programme covering English Premier League football.
During Saturday's broadcast, a four-minute package was played of Soldin's contributions to the channel.
4:14pm: Girl among two killed in Russian shelling in east Ukraine, says official
Russian shelling on Saturday killed two people, including a 15-year-old girl, and wounded another 10 in eastern Ukraine, prosecutors in Kyiv said.
"The occupation forces of the Russian Federation once again shelled Kostiantynivka," the Office of the Prosecutor General said.
3:51pm: Italy PM Meloni pledges full support to Ukraine as long as is needed
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday promised Italy's full support to Ukraine in its efforts to repel Russia's "brutal and unjust aggression".
Speaking alongside Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Meloni said Italy would continue to supply Ukraine with weapons and back his country for as long as is necessary.
"We are betting on Ukraine's victory," Meloni said.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky met Italy's head of state Sergio Matttarella in the president's Quirinale palace and he will shortly head to the Vatican for talks with Pope Francis.
FRANCE 24's correspondent in Rome Seema Gupta provides more details below:
3:46pm: Moscow says Russian forces advancing inside Bakhmut
Russia said Saturday that its forces were still pushing inside the frontline town of Bakhmut and had wrested control of an area in the eastern Ukrainian city.
"In the Donetsk direction, assault detachments liberated a block in the northwestern part of the city of Artemovsk," the defence ministry said, referring to Bakhmut by its Russian name.
The announcement came after the head of Russia's Wagner paramilitary group, which is leading the Russian assault on Bakhmut, claimed that regular Russian troops were fleeing the flanks of the town and exposing his forces in its centre.
The defence ministry said earlier that it had redeployed forces north of Bakhmut, suggesting a possible pulling back of forces from the front.
3:38pm: Zelensky to travel to Germany on Sunday, says a government source
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Germany on Sunday to meet with leaders of Europe's top economy, a government source in Berlin told AFP. The trip comes just after Berlin said it was preparing a new weapons package worth €2.7 billion ($3 billion) for Kyiv, including tanks, armoured vehicles and air-defence systems.
Zelensky is currently on a visit to Rome to thank Italian leaders for their support and meet with Pope Francis.
Details of Zelensky's Germany trip have not been released, but media reports say he will meet with both Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
2:25pm: Moscow accuses Kyiv of using UK missiles to hit 'civilian targets'
Moscow said Saturday that Kyiv used British long-range missiles to target civilian sites in the eastern city of Luhansk, wounding six children. The defence ministry said that Ukraine's armed forces had struck two civilian enterprises on Friday evening.
"Storm Shadow air-to-air missiles supplied to the Kyiv regime by Great Britain were used for the strike, despite London's declarations that these weapons would not be used against civilian targets," the ministry said in a statement.
"Nearby residential buildings were damaged. Civilians were injured, including six children," the statement added.
FRANCE 24 could not immediately verify the claims. Kyiv correspondent Emmanuel Chaze discusses Moscow's allegations in the video below.
1:52pm: EU must speed up ammunition supplies to Ukraine, foreign policy chief says
The European Union must speed up the supply of ammunition to Ukraine as the country's forces need 1,000 artillery shells every day in the Bakhmut area alone, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Saturday.
Borrell said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had told his EU counterparts at a meeting in Stockholm that Kyiv needed more support to defend itself against Russia's invasion. Around the eastern battlefield city of Bakhmut, "Ukraine needs about 1,000 shells of artillery per day," Borrell told reporters after the meeting.
Borrell said member countries needed to dig into their own stockpiles and overcome logistical challenges to speed up supply.
1:32pm: Poland detects object in airspace from Belarus, says likely observation balloon
Poland's defense ministry said on Saturday that it has detected an object in Polish airspace that came from the direction of Belarus, adding that the object was probably an observation balloon.
NATO-member Poland is on alert for infractions of its airspace as war rages in neighbouring Ukraine after incidents in November and December in which missiles landed on its territory.
Captain Ewa Zlotnicka, press officer of the Armed Forces Operational Command, told broadcaster TVN 24 the object entered Polish airspace on Friday evening. The ministry said radar contact with it was lost near Rypin, a town in north-central Poland. A Territorial Defence Force spokesman said a search for it was under way.
12:32pm: Ukraine says ‘moving forward’ along parts of Bakhmut front
A senior Ukrainian military commander said Saturday that Kyiv's forces were advancing along parts of the front line against Russian forces near the eastern town of Bakhmut.
"Our soldiers are moving forward in some areas of the front, and the enemy is losing equipment and manpower," Commander of Ukrainian ground forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said on social media.
This comes as Britain’s defence ministry said, in its daily intelligence update on Saturday, that Russian forces have likely withdrawn from their positions on the southern flank of Bakhmut operations in bad order over the last four days.
10:11am: Germany announces €2.7 billion weapons package for Ukraine
Germany is preparing a new weapons package for Ukraine worth 2.7 billion euros ($2.97 billion), the defence ministry said Saturday. The weapons will include tanks, armoured vehicles and air-defence systems.
"We all hope for a rapid end to this terrible war by Russia against the Ukrainian people, but unfortunately this is not in sight," Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement.
The package will include 30 additional Leopard-1 tanks, Marder armoured vehicles, air-defence systems and surveillance drones, the ministry said.
Der Spiegel magazine reported that it would be Germany's largest since the outbreak of the war.
Germany last year provided military support worth €2 billion and had earmarked sending aid worth €2.2 billion for this year.
9:50am: Zelensky to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Rome where he will meet with Pope Francis and Italian leaders on Saturday, the Vatican said. Zelensky will hold midday meetings with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who staunchly backs military and other aid for Ukraine, and with President Sergio Mattarella.
Zelensky’s exact schedule wasn’t being publicly announced because of security concerns, and the Vatican only confirmed a papal meeting shortly before the Ukrainian president's arrival in Rome. Italian state television reported that, as part of protective measures, a no-fly zone was ordered for Rome skies and police sharpshooters were strategically placed on high buildings.
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Key developments from Friday, May 12:
Moscow acknowledged on Friday that its forces had fallen back from areas of Ukraine's battlefield city of Bakhmut after a new Ukrainian offensive, a retreat that the head of Russia's Wagner mercenaries called a "rout". The rare acknowledgement of a battlefield setback came after Ukraine said its forces had made significant advances around the embattled eastern city, which has been the epicentre of fighting with Russia for months.
Russian-installed officials said on Friday missiles fired by Ukrainian forces had injured six children and a Russian parliamentarian and damaged two disused factories in eastern Luhansk region's main city, about 100km (60 miles) behind the front lines.
The Ukrainian military said in a daily update that Russia was focusing its efforts near Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka. "The enemy carried out 36 attacks in these directions in the last 24 hours."
South Africa's foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, had "admitted that he crossed a line" and "apologised unreservedly" after he said a Russian ship had picked up weapons in South Africa last year, causing a diplomatic uproar on Thursday. Following the US ambassador's statements, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would appoint an independent inquiry to look into the allegations.
Read yesterday's live blog to see how the day's events unfolded
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
