Russian ship Vsevolod Bobrov 'caught fire' in Black Sea after Ukraine strike

'Vsevolod Bobrov' is one of the newest vessels in the Russian fleet, Ukraine says

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  Russian Navy logistics support ship the 'Vsevolod Bobrov', pictured off Istanbul in January, has reportedly caught fire after a Ukrainian airstrike in the Black Sea. Reuters

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  A mother and child who fled Ukraine arrive back in Kyiv from Poland. The daily number returning has exceeded those leaving for the first time since the February invasion. AFP

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  A Ukrainian tank - with a soldier in it - is carried by a transporter near Bakhmut. AFP

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  A metro station used as a bomb shelter in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AFP

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  Rocket trails in the sky over Pylypchatyne, eastern Ukraine. AFP

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  A special session of the UN Human Rights Council on Ukraine is held in Geneva, Switzerland. AFP

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  Burnt vehicles and the remains of what appears to be a makeshift bridge across the Siverskyi Donets River in eastern Ukraine. Reuters

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  Protesters outside a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the war in Ukraine, in Geneva. Inside, Ukrainians lambasted the 'sheer horror' and 'pure evil' being inflicted on their country by Russian forces. AFP

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  Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on economic issues via a video link in Moscow. AFP

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  An explosion at the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters

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  Players walk onto the pitch before a benefit football match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and the national team of Ukraine at Borussia-Park in Moenchengladbach, Germany. EPA

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  Russian service members atop an armoured vehicle in Mariupol. Reuters

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  The Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine perform at the Eurovision Village in Turin, Italy. AP Photo

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  Borussia Moenchengladbach fans and Ukraine supporters stand united ahead of the benefit football match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and the national team of Ukraine. EPA

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  Children gather at a playground in Mariupol. Reuters

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  Three Ukrainian policemen stand at an explosion site in Novomykolaivka, eastern Ukraine. AFP

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  The Iron Spear 2022 military exercise led by Nato-enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup in Adazi, Latvia, on May 11. Reuters / Ints Kalnins

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  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto shake hands in Helsinki, Finland, after signing a declaration between the UK and Finland to deepen their defence and security co-operation. Reuters

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  Russian paratroopers go on the attack in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. EPA

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A Russian navy logistics ship has been damaged by Ukraine's naval fleet near the strategic Snake Island outpost in the Black Sea, Ukraine says.

Fighting around Snake Island may become a battle for control of the western Black Sea coast, defence officials told Reuters, as Russian forces struggle to make headway in Ukraine's north and east.

"Thanks to the actions of our naval seamen, the support vessel Vsevolod Bobrov caught fire - it is one of the newest in the Russian fleet," said Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa regional military administration.

Reuters said it could not independently verify the details and Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Satellite imagery provided by Maxar, a private US-based company, showed the aftermath of what it said were probable missile attacks on a Russian Serna-class landing craft near the island, close to Ukraine's sea border with Romania.

Images also showed recent damage to buildings on the island, which became famous for the foul-mouthed defiance of its Ukrainian defenders early in the invasion.

Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet logistics support ship Vsevolod Bobrov sails in the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, in January. The vessel has been damaged by Ukraine's naval fleet, Ukraine said. Reuters

Russia faced further setbacks on the battlefield as Ukraine drove its troops out of the region around the second-largest city Kharkiv, the fastest advance since forcing the Kremlin's forces from Kyiv and the northeast over a month ago.

Ukraine is now in control of territory stretching to the banks of the Siverskiy Donets River, around 40km east of Kharkiv, Reuters reported.

Regional authorities reported ongoing missile strikes around Poltava and shelling at Dergach, near Kharkiv, which killed two people.

It comes as relatives of Ukrainian soldiers holed up in Mariupol's besieged steelworks pleaded for them to be saved.

In the capital Kyiv, wives and relatives of Ukrainian fighters holed up in the Azovstal steel plant marched and chanted for their rescue.

Russian forces have been bombarding the steelworks, the last bastion of Ukrainian defenders in a city almost completely controlled by Russia after a siege of more than two months.

"I want all the defenders who are there to return home so that they can live a normal life with their children and relatives," said Maria Zimareva, whose brother is inside the steelworks. "They have earned it. Why the others can walk in the streets with their loved ones and they cannot? Why nobody helps them?"

Kyiv said it was working on a rescue of the servicemen, many badly injured.

"We have started a new round of negotiations around a road map for an (evacuation) operation. And we will start with those who are badly wounded," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told 1+1 television.