Ukraine’s grid operator Ukrenergo said it would impose hour-long power cuts throughout the country this evening as demand exceeds agreed limits.

The rolling cuts would apply to domestic and industrial customers and be in effect from 4pm to 10pm (1300 GMT to 1900 GMT), Ukrenergo said on its Telegram channel.

The restrictions will not apply to “critical infrastructure” sites providing vital services.

Russia over the past two months has intensified attacks on the Ukrainian energy system, knocking out the bulk of thermal and hydropower generation capacity.

As a result, Ukraine has likely lost about 9GW of its energy-generating capacity since March, according to prime minister Denys Shmyhal.

On Friday, Kyiv ordered all ministries and regional authorities to stop using air conditioning and switch off external lighting.

Joe Biden has said in France that Russian president Vladimir Putin is not going to stop with the war in Ukraine and all of Europe was threatened.

French president Emmanuel Macron welcomed his American counterpart, Mr Biden, in Paris yesterday for a state visit that included talks about the Middle East, Ukraine, and trade.

“The United States is standing strong with Ukraine. We’re standing with our allies,” Mr Biden said.

“We are standing with France,” he added.

“Putin is not going to stop with Ukraine…. All of Europe will be threatened. We’re not going to let that happen.”

The two countries will work harder to prevent a regional escalation from Israel’s war with militant group Hamas in Gaza and focus on calming tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, Mr Macron told reporters at the Elysee presidential palace, with the US president at his side.

As Russia continues pressing on with its all out war in Ukrainian territories, many families have made desperate attempts to flee their war-ravaged towns.

A family of refugees now living in the city of Kharkiv recounted the horrifying story of their last-minute evacuation as Russian soldiers approached.

A mother and her five children were living in the village of Zakharivka, just a few miles from the Russian forces advancing across the border into Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region. The region has been the scene of intense fighting for weeks.

“Mummy, when will this war end?” nine-year-old Sasha asked his mother.

Read Tom Watling’s full report recounting the family’s escape.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian army has failed in its Kharkiv offensive.

“A very significant result is that the Russian army failed. The direction is strengthened. And it will be strengthened more,” Mr Zelensky said.

Russia launched its offence in Kharkiv Oblast on 10 May where it managed to advance as far as 10kms. However, the Ukrainian push halted the Russian military’s advance near the first line of defence.

“We are now restraining them as much as possible and destroying the Russian units that enter our land and terrorize the Kharkiv region,” he said.

A Moscow court has ordered a French citizen accused of collecting information on military issues in Russia be held in jail pending investigation and trial.

Laurent Vinatier was arrested in the Russian capital on Thursday as tensions have flared between Moscow and Paris following French president Emmanuel Macron’s statements about the possibility of deploying the country’s troops in Ukraine.

The authorities accused Mr Vinatier of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information about Russia’s “military and military-technical activities”, which could be used to the detriment of the country’s security.

They did not provide details of the accusations beyond alleging that Mr Vinatier repeatedly travelled to Russia to collect this information. Under Russian law, it is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison.

Mr Vinatier appeared in court on Friday. Russia’s state news agency Tass cited his lawyer as saying in the courtroom that he admitted his guilt and maintained that he simply did not know about the requirement.

Mary Dejevsky travels to Finland, the Baltic states and Poland, where one issue stands above all others

Russia has put former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on its wanted list, Russian state media reported, citing the Interior Ministry’s database.

Russian state news agency Tass said Tymoshenko was listed as wanted on unspecified criminal charges.

She reportedly joins Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, on the same list, which also includes scores of officials and lawmakers from Ukraine and NATO countries.

A family of refugees now living in the city of Kharkiv recount to Tom Watling the horrifying story of their last-minute evacuation as Russian soldiers approached

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian army has failed in its Kharkiv offensive.

“A very significant result is that the Russian army failed. The direction is strengthened. And it will be strengthened more,” Mr Zelensky said.

Russia launched its offence in Kharkiv Oblast on 10 May where it managed to advance as far as 10kms. However, the Ukrainian push halted the Russian military’s advance near the first line of defence.

“We are now restraining them as much as possible and destroying the Russian units that enter our land and terrorize the Kharkiv region,” he said.

Russia has put former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko on its wanted list, Russian state media reported, citing the Interior Ministry’s database.

Russian state news agency Tass said Ms Tymoshenko was listed as wanted on unspecified criminal charges.

She reportedly joins Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, on the same list, which also includes scores of officials and lawmakers from Ukraine and Nato countries.

Ms Tymoshenko and her Batkivshchyna (the Fatherland) party did not immediately comment Saturday.

Mediazona, an independent Russian news outlet, reported that both Mr Zelenskyy and Mr Poroshenko had been listed since at least late February.