Ukraine war – latest: Talk of removing Putin ‘should stop or conflict could spread’; Russia will likely escalate false flag attacks
Russia appears to be escalating their false flag operations as the opportunities for Ukrainian counteroffensives grow, the Institute for the Study of War reports; Talk of regime change in Russia should stop, an ex-diplomat has warned. Listen to Ukraine War Diaries while you scroll.
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Key points
Ukrainian troops repel 85 Russian attacks in 24 hours View post
Relentless attacks on Bakhmut grind on View post
Military trainer revealed as Russian spy, Ukraine says View post
Russia escalating false flag information to distract from battlefield disappointment, says think-tank View post
Talk of regime change in Moscow should stop to avoid risk of conflict spreading beyond Ukraine, former UK diplomat says View post
Chinese satellites ‘sending images to Wagner Group’ View post
Alex Rossi: Inside the battered town of Vuhledar on the frontline View post
Live reporting by Bhvishya Patel and Brad Young, with Deborah Haynes in Ukraine and Diana Magnay in Moscow
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4h ago
17:45
US eyes sanctions against China in event of weapons shipments
The US is eyeing sanctions against China if Beijing provides military support to Russia, according to four US officials and other sources.
Preliminary consultations have begun with close allies in order to drum up support from a range of countries – particularly those in the G7, they said.
The nature of the sanctions was not specified and the US treasury declined to comment.
Fears China could ship weapons to Moscow, denied by Beijing, have been raised by allies of Ukraine in recent weeks, with Washington warning President Xi Jinping against that course of action.
One official from a country consulted by Washington said they saw only scant intelligence backing up the claims, but a US official said they were providing detailed evidence.
One source said the US sought to raise the idea of sanctions and “take pulses” in the event that any shipments are detected to Russia from China.
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4h ago
17:30
Moscow lacks troops to open new front in Moldova
Moscow cannot station enough troops in Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova, to open a new front in the war against Ukraine, according to a senior Ukrainian official.
Russia’s defence ministry recently claimed Ukraine was planning to attack Transnistria dressed like Russian soldiers – comments that the Institute for the Study of War said may be setting the stage for a Russian false flag operation.
But Moscow cannot transport the number of troops to the area needed to create problems for Ukraine because they would have to cross NATO or Ukrainian airspace to do so, according to Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command.
As reported by Ukrinform, Ms Humeniuk said Ukrainian border control forces are adequately strong in the region if such a “desperate move” was made.
“Those [Russian] forces that are now concentrated there on the territory of Transnistria, most likely, are watching with deep surprise those reports about their power that are spread by Russian propaganda,” Ms Humeniuk said, according to a translation.
“Our forces are concentrated along the border and are adequate to the threat that is hypothetically possible if they make a desperate move.”
Moldova said there was no truth to Moscow’s allegations.
Its president, Maia Sandu, previously accused Moscow of planning a coup to topple the country’s leadership – which the Kremlin denied.
For context: Transnistria is a Russian-backed breakaway territory in Moldova, which is not recognised by the government of Moldova or the international community.
After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, pro-Russian separatists fought a war with Moldovan government forces which ended in deadlock and the stationing of 1,500 Russian “peacekeeping troops”.
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4h ago
17:15
Vladimir Putin’s ‘absurd’ train line PR stunt
While the war rages on, Vladimir Putin “opened” a metro line in Moscow – via a TV on the floor.
The strange press event saw crowds of onlookers wearing hard hats watching a live stream of the president that had been wheeled into a train station.
BBC journalist Francis Scarr posted an “absurd” video of the event to Twitter.
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4h ago
17:02
In pictures: Ukrainian troops near frontline in Donetsk region
Ukrainian troops have been holding their positions near the frontline in the town of Horlivka, in the eastern Donetsk region.
This week, Ukraine’s presidential office said intense fighting was ongoing around Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Vuhledar in the Donetsk region.
Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russia was using aircraft and heavy artillery there.
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5h ago
16:34
Belarus denies Russia spy plane damage
State television in Belarus has denied a claim by activists of having blown up a Russian military surveillance aircraft.
On Saturday, a Belarusian anti-government group said it had attacked the Beriev A-50 aircraft with drones at an airfield near Minsk.
But in a report entitled “Stop fake!” today, Belarus state TV showed brief footage of what it said was the same plane the activists claimed to have damaged.
“As you see can the plane is carrying out its work within the framework of the allied grouping of Belarus and Russia, alive and in one piece,” said a commentator.
The comments were the first from an official source in either Moscow or Minsk about the supposed attack.
There have been several acts of sabotage in Belarus and in Russian regions bordering Ukraine, especially on the railway system, since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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5h ago
16:14
Finland starts construction of Russia border fence as lawmakers give final approval for NATO bid
Finland has started building a fence along parts of its 1,340km (832-mile) border with Russia amid security tensions with its neighbour over the Ukraine war.
The Finnish Border Guard says the 200km of barrier fence will improve security and help stop disruption if Moscow decides to weaponise mass migration against Helsinki.
Work began on the project on Tuesday and comes as Finland’s lawmakers passed legislation on Wednesday giving approval for the country to join NATO.
The war in Ukraine prompted Finland and Sweden to abandon decades of neutrality and decide to join the military alliance.
“The changed security environment has made it necessary to construct a barrier fence along part of the eastern border,” the border guard previously said.
Finland starts construction of Russia border fence as lawmakers give final approval for NATO bid
Sky News
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5h ago
15:51
Zelenskyy: Winter was ‘very difficult’ but Ukrainian authorities managed to provide the country with energy and heat
The winter was “very difficult” but the Ukrainian authorities still managed to provide the country with energy and heat, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in his nightly address.
The Ukrainian leader said that while the threat to the energy system remained work by the authorities was continuing.
He also said he held an energy meeting today and set “tasks to ensure that this heating season is completed properly”.
“We have already started preparing for the next season – each of the meeting participants has received their part of the work in this regard. We see risks, we will find a response,” he added.
The Ukrainian leader also said the country’s military were “paying attention” to the cities and districts that were being subjected to Russian shelling every day and night.
He said: “When we are preparing the actions of our military, all our defence and security forces, we also mean that such actions will gradually return security to those who are now in the frontline zone.
“Every movement of our flag forward will mean the safety of our people.
“In the territories that will be liberated from the occupier. In those territories that will become a deeper rear. And in those border areas where the defeat of the invader will finally bring peace.”
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6h ago
15:18
Russia appear to be escalating false flag operations amid lack of Russian battlefield successes – ISW
Russia appears to be escalating their promotion of false flag information operations to distract from their “lack of tangible battlefield gains”, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports.
In its latest update, the ISW said Russia’s defence ministry had accused the US and its allies today of planning to carry out a provocation in Ukraine using toxic chemicals.
Prior to that, the Kremlin also claimed Ukrainian officials were planning false-flag attacks at hazardous radiation facilities in Ukraine.
The ISW states the latest resurgence of several standard Russian information operations in the form of false flag warnings are “increasingly trying to mitigate the informational impacts of a continued lack of Russian battlefield successes”.
The false flag announcements also aim to “slow down the provision of Western tanks and other equipment in advance of expected Ukrainian counteroffensives”.
The update adds: “The Russian MoD and top Russian officials will likely escalate their engagement with such information operations as the ongoing Russian offensive in Luhansk nears culmination and the opportunities for Ukrainian counteroffensives grow.”
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7h ago
14:28
Six Russian tanks ‘destroyed in one night’ by Ukraine’s secret service
Footage has emerged of Ukraine’s secret service (or SBU) purportedly destroying six Russian tanks in one night in the eastern Luhansk region.
In a statement the SBU said two groups organised a “night hunt” in the region and managed to disable the enemy’s equipment completely.
The eastern Luhansk and Donetsk region (collectively known as the Donbas) is where fighting is now focused.
However, in recent months, fighting has slowed down as an unforgiving winter sets in and the landscape of the battlefield changes.
Yesterday, Colin Kahl, the US under secretary of defence for policy, said the frontline appeared to have become a “grinding slog” and it was not expected that Russia would be able to make significant territorial gains.
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7h ago
13:59
Explosions heard in Crimea – reports
Explosions have been heard in the Crimean town of Bakhchysarai and cities of Sevastopol and Yalta, the geopolitical and military news outlet GeoInsider reports.
Crimea, which juts out into the Black Sea, was absorbed into the Russian empire after Catherine the Great annexed it in the 18th century.
In 1921, the peninsula became part of the Soviet Union and of Russia within it until 1954, when it was handed to Ukraine by Josef Stalin’s successor Nikita Khrushchev.
In the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, Russia recognised Ukrainian sovereignty in its existing borders – which included Crimea – and agreed to refrain from using force against Kyiv.
But in 2014, Kremlin-backed forces captured Crimea and illegally annexed it from Ukraine.
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8h ago
13:35
Russia ‘continues to advance’ near Bakhmut
Russian troops are continuing to advance near the besieged city of Bakhmut, Ukraine’s armed forces said today.
In a statement on Facebook, the general staff of the armed forces said: “The enemy continues to advance. The assault on the city of Bakhmut continues.”
For context: In recent months, the battle for Bakhmut has become one of the fiercest in the war so far, with residents forced to shelter underground and in freezing conditions.
Some military experts say Bakhmut is not of strategic value but others state its capture can help Russia seize Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
It has become a symbol of the ongoing battle taking place on the eastern flank.
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8h ago
13:09
At least 130 Russian tanks destroyed near Vuhledar – reports
Ukrainian forces have destroyed at least 130 tanks and armoured personnel carriers during the three-week fight near Vuhledar, in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine’s military has told the New York Times.
In its report, the American outlet said the battle near the coal-mining town of Vuhledar had produced what Ukrainian officials had described as the “biggest tank battle of the war so far” and a “stinging setback for the Russians”.
And Ukraine’s military has claimed Russia has lost at least 130 tanks in the process.
Sky News has not been able to independently verify the figure.
The fiercest fighting continues to be in eastern areas of Ukraine, where Russia wants control over all four of the provinces it illegally annexed.
Ukrainian officials have also said Russian forces have deployed additional troops and equipment, including modern T-90 tanks, in those areas.
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9h ago
12:45
Russian pundit criticises drone strikes in country
Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov has criticised Kremlin officials after drone strikes hit Russia.
Yesterday, Moscow officials claimed Ukraine had launched a series of unsuccessful drone strikes on Russian territory.
The defence ministry alleged Kyiv had staged attempted attacks on “civil infrastructure” in the southern regions of Krasnodar and Adygea in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Moscow governor Andrey Vorobyov later reported that a drone was downed near a gas distribution station close to Kolomna, southeast of the Russian capital.
Now, footage shared by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s ministry of internal affairs, shows Mr Solovyov criticising Russian officials for the strikes.
“There is some kind of regime in St Petersburg: it was a military exercise,” he says.
“Yeah, maybe you were conducting the exercises, but why all of a sudden? What’s going on, hello? Who should we talk to?
“Are we trying to tie the game?”
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9h ago
12:23
Russia blocks Shutterstock for ‘destructive materials’
Access to the American photobank Shutterstock has been restricted in Russia “due to the placement of destructive materials”, Russia’s TASS news agency reports, citing the Kremlin’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor.
The regulator said it was limiting access to the stock image company today as it had “repeatedly published suicidal and pro-drug content”.
“Roskomnadzor restricted access to the website of the Shutterstock photo bank based on the decision of Rospotrebnadzor (Russia’s federal service for surveillance on consumer rights protection and human wellbeing),” a statement read.
“Previously, the site repeatedly posted destructive materials, including suicidal and pro-drug content.”
In 2019, Roskomnadzor blocked some Shutterstock pages due to materials that offended Russian state symbols.
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9h ago
12:00
Frustrated Russian soldiers offer to join Wagner – reports
Several soldiers in the Russian military have offered to join the Wagner private mercenary group as they claim “commanders do not care about our lives”.
In video footage obtained by CNN, 10 Russian soldiers said that the situation on the ground has led to a “disbanding” of their regiment, so they wished to fight for Wagner.
“Due to the current state of affairs, we find ourselves in a desperate position as the commanders do not care about our lives,” a soldier said in the video.
He added: “We ask for help; we have nowhere else to turn.”
On 22 February, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin repeatedly and publicly criticised the Russian Ministry of Defence, blaming them for deliberately depriving them of ammunition.
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10h ago
11:40
China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine
Beijing and Minsk have called for peace in Ukraine in a joint statement, Belarusian news agency Belta reports.
Earlier today, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko sealed a series of agreements to build up an “all weather” partnership between their countries, against the background of the war in Ukraine.
Their meeting in Beijing brought together two of the foreign leaders on whom President Vladimir Putin is most reliant for support as his army struggles to achieve the goals of its invasion.
A joint statement following the meeting read : “[They] expressed deep concern about the development of the armed conflict in the European region and extreme interest in the soonest possible establishment of peace in Ukraine.”
In televised comments, President Xi also said China was keen to strengthen trust and cooperation with Belarus “given the instability and turbulence of the international situation”.
Meanwhile, Mr Lukashenko said the meeting was taking place “in a very complicated time which demands new unorthodox approaches and responsible political decisions”.
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10h ago
11:20
Russia’s answer to the McDonald’s Big Mac receives mixed reviews
McDonald’s closed all its restaurants in Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, becoming one of many Western companies to pull out of the country.
It eventually sold to a local licensee, Alexander Govor, who unveiled the new brand: Vkusno & tochka.
The fast food chain’s menu largely consists of rebranded McDonald’s items – and this week it unveiled its replacement Big Mac.
Dubbed the “Big Hit”, the burger has gained mixed reviews from customers due to the change in ingredients.
“They’ve completely revamped it,” student Mikhail Proskunenkov told Reuters after trying the new fast food.
“They’ve added more greens, changed the sauce. In principle, it’s cool and different, but I still miss the old Big Mac.”
Vladimir, another student, said: “The sauce, which was the Big Mac’s main quality, has become a little more sweet and sour.
“And the bun has basically got worse. It has become softer somehow, not so flavourful, and so the Big Hit falls apart more as you eat it.”
When announcing the new burger, customers were warned that the sauce and layout of the ingredients would change.
But not everyone has been so critical.
Edgar Vardanyan, said: “I can 100% say that it has got better. I think the ingredients have changed a little, the sauce has become tastier.”
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10h ago
10:58
In pictures: Destroyed Russian tanks in Lithuania
Destroyed Russian tanks have been put on display at Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania, to mark a year since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
The war in Ukraine is now focused in the country’s eastern Donbas region where Russia wants control over all four of the provinces it illegally annexed in September.
Ukrainian officials have also said Russian forces have deployed additional troops and equipment, including modern T-90 tanks, in those areas.
Pics: AP
Pics: AP
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11h ago
10:41
What does Blinken’s trip to central Asia mean?
Antony Blinken is the first cabinet official of the Biden administration to visit central Asia, a region of former Soviet republics that Moscow considers under its influence.
His trip to both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan has been a direct diplomatic strike at Moscow, reports the New York Times.
The countries, among others in the region, have sought to maintain a neutral stance on Russia’s war due to close economic, security and diplomatic ties with Moscow.
Antony Blinken in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Antony Blinken in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
AP
Both China and Russia are major trade partners for Kazakhstan.
Mr Blinken acknowledged that there were difficult consequences of the war that were being felt by many nations.
“Few regions have been more acutely affected than Central Asia, including Uzbekistan,” he said, pointing to surging prices for food and energy.
But as the Times suggests, the overall purpose of the trips was to emphasise American support for Ukraine, now over a year into the war.
Mr Blinken also reiterated the US support for Uzbekistan’s “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity” when he met with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, of Uzbekistan, at the presidential palace.
AP
AP
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11h ago
10:21
Regions of Ukraine under Russian control
The following are maps that show the regions of Ukraine that remain under Russian control.
The first is a full map of Ukraine.
The second shows that Russian troops are advancing especially on the eastern side of the country, but Ukraine have reclaimed territory in the south, such as Kherson.
The third is a closer shot of eastern Ukraine. It shows that the Ukrainian military reclaimed the cities of Izyum and Lyman, but Russian offensives from the Luhansk region are advancing.
