Explosion of improvised bomb was followed by a second as police and medics arrived, say prosecutors; drones hit major Russian military chemical maker. What we know on day 1,388

Two improvised bombs exploded in Kyiv on Thursday killing a serviceman and wounding four others , including two police officers, in a “terrorist” attack, prosecutors said. “The first explosion occurred while two national guard servicemen were patrolling the area, as a result one of them died,” the Kyiv city prosecutor’s office said, adding that the second bomb was detonated when police and medics were responding to the first .

Ukrainian drones hit two chemical plants in Russia’s Novgorod and Smolensk regions , the commander of drone forces said on Thursday. Maj Robert “Magyar” Brovdi said the factories were producing components for explosives used by Russian troops fighting in Ukraine . Other sources including the dissident Russian social media channel Astra reported the strikes and posted pictures. The Kyiv Independent described the PJSC Acron plant at Veliky Novgorod city as one of the largest such facilities in Russia.

The Ukrainian army’s eastern command on Thursday denied Russian claims to have taken control of Siversk. It is located about 30km (18 miles) east of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the last two major cities still under Ukrainian control in the Donbas. The area “remains under the control of the armed forces of Ukraine” said the army. “The enemy is trying to infiltrate Siversk in small groups, taking advantage of unfavourable weather conditions but most of these units are being destroyed on the approaches.” The Institute for the Study of War said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces had recently advanced near Pokrovsk; while Russian forces recently advanced in northern Kharkiv oblast and the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area and near Oleksandrivka.

Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, has warned allies “we are Russia’s next target” in a speech in Berlin in which he said “too many don’t feel the urgency, too many believe that time is on our side” and painted a vision of European war with Russia within next five years.

The estimated €210bn of Russian central bank assets in the EU will stay frozen for the foreseeable future under a plan to be put before EU finance ministers for formal approval on Friday. A majority of ambassadors from EU member states on Thursday approved the plan to use exceptional powers under article 122 of the EU treaty to fast-track the measure. Hungary’s Kremlin-friendly government has hit out at the decision. The freeze will no longer require a twice-yearly vote that Hungary could veto. It helps pave the way for an loan to Ukraine, funded by the frozen Russian assets, that the Europeans are scrambling to finalise .

Kim Jong-un hailed North Korean troops’ fighting in the Ukraine war , state media said on Friday. It came at the end of a three-day meeting of the dictatorship’s central committee. The soldiers, Kim said, had “demonstrated to the world the prestige of our army and state as the ever-victorious army and genuine protector of international justice”. At least 600 of them have been killed and thousands more wounded , according to South Korean estimates.

The US wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops where they still hold the Donbas region and Washington would then turn it into a “free economic zone” run by “they don’t know [who]”, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday. The idea was that Ukrainian troops would withdraw but Russian troops would not advance into the territory, said the Ukrainian president.

As Shaun Walker writes from Kyiv, Zelenskyy continued: “If one side’s troops have to retreat and the other side stays where they are, then what will hold back these other troops, the Russians? Or what will stop them disguising themselves as civilians and taking over this free economic zone? This is all very serious. It’s not a fact that Ukraine would agree to it, but if you are talking about a compromise then it has to be a fair compromise.” If Ukraine did agree to such a scheme, only “the Ukrainian people” could ratify it via elections or a referendum.