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Ukraine war – latest: Mystery over reported attack on Russian territory; Putin nuclear threats condemned; ‘we could lose’, pundit tells state TV in highly unusual comments
The US is today expected to confirm an extensive new package of military aid for Ukraine, including armoured vehicles that can launch bridges to allow troops to cross rivers. Listen to the latest episode of the Ukraine War Diaries while you scroll.
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Putin nuclear threats condemned View post
Mystery over reported attack on Russian territory View post
US to announce $400m of new military aid for Ukraine View post
‘We need to admit that we could lose’, Russian pundit says View post
Russians threatened in UK in hate crimes linked to Ukraine war View post
Alex Rossi: Inside the battered town of Vuhledar on the frontline View post
Live reporting by Andy Hayes, with Deborah Haynes in Ukraine and Diana Magnay in Moscow
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4m ago
12:20
Is Bakhmut about to fall – and who was involved in the Bryansk attack? Our expert gives his thoughts
Our security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke has provided us with his expertise throughout the war in Ukraine – and as fears grow that Bakhmut could be about to fall, here is what he has to say…
Will Russia capture Bakhmut?
Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s assertion that Russian forces have almost taken Bakhmut is “probably true”, Clarke says.
However, he says the capture of the town will not matter strategically.
Instead, it would be a “symbolic victory” for Russia after months of little battlefield success.
What’s happening in Vuhledar?
This eastern town, southwest of Bakhmut, is more strategically important as it sits on high ground.
Clarke says Russian forces have been attacking here for a couple of weeks – but the Ukrainians have a successful tactic.
They have been leaving the roads open and clear but mining the fields in between, so that when tanks coming up the roads are fired upon by Ukrainian troops they are forced into the fields – where they then hit the mines.
Ukrainian soldiers have been putting in more mines secretly at night as well as using artillery to drop them.
Clarke describes a “tremendous battle” between Russia’s tanks and Ukraine’s land mines.
Who was behind the attack on Russian territory?
As we’ve been reporting today, there has been an alleged attack on villages in Russia’s southern Bryansk region.
Questions have arisen over who was behind the attack and whether Kyiv was aware beforehand, but Clarke says it was “almost certainly a free enterprise”.
He explains that if it were a Russian false flag attack, it would have been “a lot more serious” – and if it were a sabotage by the Ukrainian government, it would have been done “on a much bigger scale”.
Either way, he says it is “not very helpful to Kyiv”.
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39m ago
11:44
Police and civilians injured in Kherson attack
Two police officers and three civilians have been injured after coming under fire in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, officers there have said.
In a post on Facebook, they said settlements are under “constant enemy fire”, adding that the Russian army uses “all kinds of weapons against civilians”.
In their update, they said police and a car containing volunteers came under attack in the village of Zmiivka in the Beryslav district.
They added: “Upon arrival at the scene, the police reported that they and another car came under heavy fire – a projectile hit the car directly.
“After that, contact with the investigative team disappeared.
“Then three civilians and two policemen were injured.”
The force said Ukrainian soldiers went to help the wounded, and volunteers were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
“The police officers independently reached the medical facility, where they were diagnosed with contusions and bruises on the brain,” it added.
Pic: Kherson police
Pic: Kherson police
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1h ago
11:17
Russian analyst claims London was involved in Bryansk incident
The UK was somehow involved in the incident in Russia’s Bryansk Region, a Russian military analyst has claimed without evidence.
Moscow has alleged Ukrainian saboteurs crossed into western parts of Russia to carry out some attacks on villages.
What exactly happened is still unclear – and whether Kyiv was aware is also not certain.
In a video shared by Francis Scarr from BBC Monitoring, Igor Korotchenko alleges London was involved and calls for the UK’s ambassador to be “kicked out of Moscow on camera”.
He adds that while the US has superior resources, the “Anglo-Saxon brain is in London”.
Russian state TV has regularly aired anti-Western sentiment.
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1h ago
10:52
Russian oil and gas revenues down almost half year-on-year
Russian oil and gas revenues were down by 46.4% in February compared with the same month last year, finance ministry data shows.
However, they were up by 22.5% in February compared with January.
Tax and customs revenue from oil and gas sales fell in January to its lowest level since August 2020.
Income from oil and gas sales reached 521.2bn roubles last month, compared with 425.5bn in January and 971.7bn roubles in February 2022.
Moscow relies on energy revenue to fund government spending.
It has been forced to sell foreign reserves to cover the cost of the war in Ukraine.
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2h ago
10:23
Ukraine has enough power but needs to build undergound facilities – PM
Ukraine has enough power to service its needs but will need to build more secure infrastructure, its prime minister has said.
Denys Shmyhal has told reporters that between 40% and 50% of his country’s energy system has been damaged in Russian missile and drone attacks through the winter.
While millions of people have been left at times without power, the country has been able to carry out repairs, partly with equipment provided by its allies.
“Ukraine is for now provided with (power) generating and network capacities,” Mr Shmyhal said.
“The next step is to secure the network infrastructure for the next (cold) season.”
Measures will include constructing concrete and underground shelters to protect facilities from attack.
The Kharkiv TEC-5 thermal power plant was hit by a Russian missile last September
The Kharkiv TEC-5 thermal power plant was hit by a Russian missile last September
Reuters
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2h ago
09:59
EU helping Ukraine with ‘energy security’
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the bloc is supplying Ukraine with solar panels to help its “energy security”.
She tweeted: “I promised to work with Ukraine on renewable energy sources, important for its energy security.
“Now we deliver: a first batch of 5,700 solar panels will be sent to Ukraine soon.
“I am confident more donations will come.”
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2h ago
09:36
Ukrainian servicemen attending combat training in the Kyiv region today
AP
AP
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2h ago
09:24
Putin urges additional ‘anti-terrorism measures’
As we reported earlier, Vladimir Putin has been meeting members of Russia’s Security Council in Moscow.
He told them they needed to discuss additional “anti-terrorism measures”.
That was necessary to safeguard facilities controlled by law enforcement bodies, he added.
Mr Putin claimed yesterday that Russia had been hit by a “terrorist attack” in the southern Bryansk region bordering Ukraine.
Ukraine has accused Russia of staging a false “provocation”.
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3h ago
08:48
Death toll from Zaporizhzhia strike rises
The number of people killed in a Russian missile strike on the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine has risen to five today.
The strike on a residential building took place yesterday.
It was initially thought four people had died in the strikes, but police in the region confirmed another body was found early today.
As of 8am local time, eight people were injured and 10 were considered missing.
Rescuers initially said 11 people – including a pregnant woman – had been rescued from the building. Another 20 were later evacuated.
The aftermath of the strike
The aftermath of the strike
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3h ago
08:37
Putin meets with Russia’s Security Council after claims of cross-border attack
Russian President Vladimir Putin has opened a meeting with members of Russia’s Security Council in Moscow today.
Although Security Council members convene regularly, Mr Putin called this meeting yesterday following reports of an attack on villages in the southern Russian region of Bryansk.
Moscow has claimed Ukrainian saboteurs crossed into western parts of Russia to carry out the attacks – and it is still unclear exactly happened and whether Kyiv was aware (see 11.52 post).
Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Mr Putin had received reports from the FSB, defence ministry and National Guard on the alleged attacks.
Speaking during the security council meeting, the president asked his interior minister to report on the anti-terrorist security of various facilities.
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4h ago
08:20
Germany aims to replace Leopards sent to Ukraine by buying back Swiss tanks
Berlin hopes to buy Leopard 2 tanks back from Switzerland to replace vehicles that Germany and its Western allies have sent to Ukraine, the Swiss government said today.
The defence ministry said German diplomats had written to their Swiss counterparts, setting out interest in buying Leopard 2 tanks that the Swiss army does not plan to put back into service.
They said that, if bought, the tanks would not be sent to Ukraine and would be used by Germany or its NATO and European partners to fill gaps in their stocks created by donations of tanks to Kyiv.
But the request could be an issue because Switzerland has a long tradition of neutrality.
Germany so far has been unable to persuade the Swiss to provide supplies from their stockpile of ammunition for Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns that Berlin provided to Ukraine.
The ministry, in an emailed response to a query after Swiss daily Blick reported on the request, did not specify how many tanks Germany would like to buy.
Switzerland has 230 of the German-made Leopard 2 tanks, 96 of which are not in operation, according to German news agency dpa.
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4h ago
08:10
Biden and Scholz meeting today – with the US expected to push for a stronger stance on China
The German chancellor is making his first trip to the US since the invasion began today, where he is set to meet Joe Biden for confidential talks.
Unusually, the trip will not include a press delegation – and a senior US official said there would be a significant “one-on-one component” to the talks.
They added that Olaf Scholz and Mr Biden will “exchange notes” on their respective recent meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Mr Biden and Mr Scholz at the G7 leaders’ summit in Germany last June
Mr Biden and Mr Scholz at the G7 leaders’ summit in Germany last June
The US is expected to push Germany on a tougher stance towards China, which it believes could be planning to provide arms to Russia.
China has denied this, and no evidence has been provided to suggest Beijing is currently providing weapons to Moscow.
Germany has typically taken a much less hawkish approach to China, its top trading partner, than the US.
A senior US official downplayed any suggestions of tensions between Washington and Berlin, saying the relationship is “in a rock-solid place”.
Still, a former top US diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Russel, said US politicians “have a chronic concern that industrial European powerhouses like Germany will allow their commercial interests in China to temper their willingness to take tough positions on security and geopolitical issues”.
“The Biden administration will use the Scholz visit to try to shift Germany’s balance in the direction of stronger pushback,” he said.
Another major topic for the two presidents will be a push to deliver fresh support to Ukrainian forces.
“Both of the leaders wanted this to be a working-level meeting, wanted it to be very much a get down into the weeds, focused on the issues of Ukraine,” a senior US official said.
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4h ago
07:50
Zelenskyy and Latvian president lay wreaths to fallen soldiers
The presidents of Ukraine and Latvia have visited a cemetery in Lviv, where they laid wreaths in tribute to Ukrainian soldiers who died in the war.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Egils Levits were joined by their wives, Olena Zelenska and Andra Levite.
Sharing a video of the ceremony afterwards, Mr Zelenskyy said: “We will never forget the defenders who gave lives for our freedom and independence. We remember the horrific price our people pay for a free and peaceful future. Eternal memory and glory to our warriors!”
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4h ago
07:29
Russia seeking official explanation from ally Serbia
Moscow has told of its “deepest concern” following reports its ally Serbia has delivered thousands of rockets to Ukraine.
According to reports, a Serbian state arms factory recently delivered 3,500 missiles to Ukraine via Turkey and Slovakia.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow is “following this story” and that the possibility of Serbia arming Ukraine presented a “serious question” for Serbian-Russian relations.
Serbian defence minister Milos Vucevic denied his country exported the missiles to Ukraine, although he suggested they could have got there via a third party.
“If private companies buy weapons in third states’ markets and then sell them to other companies in other countries, that is not a question for Serbia, that is international trade,” he said.
Serbia has been one of Moscow’s closest allies in Europe.
Russia has backed Serbia’s claim over its former province of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 with Western support.
Serbia has in turn refused to impose sanctions on Moscow over the invasion.
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5h ago
06:52
Mystery surrounds reported Ukrainian-backed raid over Russian border
As covered here earlier (see 10.25 post), there remains little clarity over reports of an attack on villages in the southern Russian region of Bryansk.
Experts – along with Ukrainian and Russian officials – have been at odds as to whether Kyiv was party to the reported operation.
And the Institute for the Study of War – a highly respected think tank that is frequently capable of offering an authoritative view where such confusion exists – indicated that even its analysts had so far been unable to establish with any certainty what had actually happened.
“Social media users geolocated one of the two videos showing two servicemen with the Russian Volunteer Corps flag to Sushany [a village in Bryansk],” it said.
“ISW cannot independently verify Russian, Ukrainian, or Russian Volunteer Corps’ claims at this time, and the two videos each showing two men in uniform holding a flag remains the only concrete evidence available that anything happened.”
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5h ago
06:37
Ukraine is now defending the seemingly impossible in Bakhmut
By Alex Rossi, international correspondent
With the situation worsening day by day in the destroyed city of Bakhmut, there’s a seeming inevitability that it will soon fall.
That hasn’t happened yet, but it appears now that it could be just a matter of time.
Bakhmut has become, in recent months, a symbol of the horror of this war.
It’s also a place that soldiers go to die, with both sides taking significant losses. I was in the city at the end of January and then the position of the defenders appeared dire, with Russian mercenaries on the outskirts.
The founder of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is now calling on Volodymyr Zelenskyy to withdraw his forces.
“The pincers are tightening,” he said.
For Ukraine, it is Hobson’s choice – withdraw from the city and give Russia a significant victory, or defend the seemingly impossible and lose more men and materiel.
Certainly Bakhmut is now surrounded on three sides with the main supply route for Ukraine heavily restricted, as it appears a vital bridge has just been destroyed by Moscow’s forces.
Most analysts suggest that the fall of Bakhmut will not decide the course of the war. It’s not that strategically significant. It will though be a major symbolic triumph for the Kremlin in a war in which it has faced multiple setbacks.
It also means that it can now turn its guns toward the last remaining cities in the Donbas.
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6h ago
06:12
Watch: Russian foreign minister berates other diplomats at G20
Sergei Lavrov has been in characteristically belligerent form at a meeting with fellow G20 foreign ministers.
Naming US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the Russian said they “travel all over the globe and tell other countries to behave”.
“They should respect the right of other countries to take their own positions,” he said.
Watch the video of his comments below.
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6h ago
05:51
Moscow vows ‘measures’ in response to claimed cross-border attack
We return again to the story of the reported cross-border raid in southern Russia by Ukraine-backed nationalists (see previous post).
In fresh comments this morning, Russia has promised action to prevent further incursions into its territory – without specifying what those actions might involve.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “Of course, yesterday’s terrorist attack will be investigated and measures will be taken to prevent similar events in the future.”
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6h ago
05:25
Intrigue around reported Ukrainian attacks in Russian territory as Kyiv issues new statement
There was some degree of uncertainty yesterday following Russian claims that Ukrainian saboteurs had crossed into western parts of the country and attacked villages.
The reports from Russian media outlets were initially the subject of significant scepticism from a number of commentators, who suggested the incident was likely a false-flag operation being staged by Moscow.
However, the apparent involvement of Denis ‘Nikitin’ Kapustin – the infamous neo-Nazi leader of a group of Russian soldiers fighting for Ukraine – was seen as an indication that Kyiv may actually at least have had some advance knowledge of the reported attacks.
Indeed, while Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak called the incident “a classic deliberate provocation”, he did not deny an attack was under way, adding in the same tweet, “the partisan movement in RF (Russian Federation) is getting stronger and more aggressive. Fear your partisans”.
This all prompted Michael Colborne, from investigative group Bellingcat, to say the operation was “something Ukraine’s military intelligence very likely signed off on”.
However, Mr Podolyak has seemingly sought to distance Kyiv from the attacks, writing: “Ukraine is not involved in internal conflicts in Russia.”
He suggested the attacks inside Russia may have been “clashes of gangs”.
The exact circumstances of the incident in the Bryansk region are unclear, including what the strategic purpose of such an attack would be.
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday blamed Ukrainian “terrorists” for an incursion, claiming that they deliberately targeted civilians.
“It was yet another terror attack, another crime,” Mr Putin said during a video call. “They infiltrated the area near the border and opened fire on civilians.”
Russia’s Federal Security Service had said fighting with the Ukrainian sabotage unit was taking place in the Bryansk region.
The FSB was quoted by the Russian state Tass news agency as saying “activities to eliminate armed Ukrainian nationalists who violated the state border” were under way.
Tass, citing Russian police, reported that the saboteurs were holding up to six people hostage. Two villages in the Bryansk region – Sushany and Lyubechane – were under attack by “several dozen armed fighters”, it claimed.
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7h ago
04:46
Bakhmut ‘practically surrounded’ by Russian mercenaries, says Wagner Group chief
Yevgeny Prigozhin has this morning claimed “the pincers are closing” around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after months of fierce fighting.
The head of Russia’s Wagner Group said, in a video filmed in an undisclosed location, that his fighters “practically” have the city surrounded.
Mr Prigozhin added there is only “one route” left out of Bakhmut.
He then called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to order the evacuation of the city to save the lives of remaining Ukrainian defenders.
The video then panned to show three captured Ukrainians – a man and two young boys. They asked to be allowed to go home in the clip.
It comes as a deputy commander for Ukraine said the situation was “critical” with fighting going on “around the clock”.
“They take no account of their losses in trying to take the city by assault,” Volodymyr Nazarenko said. “The task of our forces in Bakhmut is to inflict as many losses on the enemy as possible. Every metre of Ukrainian land costs hundreds of lives to the enemy.
“We need as much ammunition as possible. There are many more Russians here than we have ammunition to destroy them.”
Fighting has been ongoing in and around Bakhmut for months, despite the city having very little strategic relevance to either side.
