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Ukraine ‘inflicting very serious losses’ on Russian troops in the east, says Ukrainian official – as it happened


Ukraine ‘inflicting very serious losses’ as Russia mounts constant attacks in east, says Ukrainiain official

Russian forces are mounting “round-the-clock” attacks on Ukrainian positions in the east of the country, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said.

The Russian defence ministry claimed earlier its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front of Luhansk. It said Ukrainian troops had retreated in the face of Russian attacks, but did not say in which part of the region.

In a post to Telegram, Maliar said:

The enemy’s offensive continues in the east, (with) round-the-clock attacks. The situation is tense. Yes, it is difficult for us.

But our fighters are not allowing the enemy to achieve their goals and are inflicting very serious losses.

Ukrainian and western intelligence officials have said the Russians are suffering very heavy casualties. Maliar said some assault units of Russia’s mercenary group Wagner had lost 80% of their strength.

Key events

Closing summary

It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

  • Russian forces are mounting “round-the-clock” attacks on Ukrainian positions in the east of the country, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said. “The enemy’s offensive continues in the east, (with) round-the-clock attacks. The situation is tense. Yes, it is difficult for us,” Maliar posted to Telegram. The situation in Luhansk remains difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said earlier on Wednesday, without mentioning any retreats in eastern Ukraine.

  • Russia is sending heavy equipment and mobilised troops into the Luhansk region but Ukrainian forces continue to defend the eastern Ukrainian region, its governor, Serhiy Haidai, has said. The Russian defence ministry claimed earlier its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front of Luhansk. It said Ukrainian troops had retreated in the face of Russian attacks, but did not say in which part of the region. Haidai said Russia’s claims that Ukrainian troops had pulled back “does not correspond to reality”.

  • Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted that his mercenary group is facing difficulties in Ukraine and will soon “decrease” in size. “The number of Wagner units will decrease, and we will also not be able to carry out the scope of tasks that we would like to,” Prigozhin said, amid growing evidence that his political influence in the Kremlin is waning.

  • Six aerial targets were spotted over Kyiv during an air alert in the Ukrainian capital, and most were shot down after being engaged with air defences, according to the Kyiv military administration. In a Telegram post, it said the six Russian balloons may have been carrying corner reflectors and reconnaissance equipment. It did not specify when they flew over the capital.

  • Ukraine’s allies have said it is unlikely they will be able to supply the number of tanks they previously promised. After a meeting in Brussels of western defence ministers, the German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said they would not be able reach the size of a battalion. The bad news comes just after the Nato chief, Jens Stoltenberg, announced that Russia had begun a renewed offensive in the east in an attempt to take more territory before new western equipment arrives in the spring.

  • Nato countries are increasing the production of 155mm artillery rounds and need to ramp up that production even further to help Ukraine, Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has said. Speaking at a news conference after a meeting of defence ministers at the military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Stoltenberg said allies have not reached conclusions on a new pledge for defence spending, but it was “obvious that we need to spend more”.

  • The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said Ukraine has a “real good chance” of taking the initiative on the battlefield. Speaking after a meeting with Nato defence ministers in Brussels, Austin said that for every system that Nato will provide, it will train troops on that system. “We’re laser-focused on making sure that we provide a capability and not just the platform,” he said.

  • Russia’s army is estimated to have lost nearly 40% of its prewar fleet of tanks after nine months of fighting in Ukraine, according to a count by the specialist thinktank the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). That rises to as much as 50% for some of the key tanks used in combat, forcing Russia to reach into its still sizeable cold war-era stocks. Ukraine’s tank numbers are estimated to have increased because of the number it has captured and supplies of Soviet-era tanks from its western allies.

  • Ukraine will receive a package of support worth £200m from the UK and other European nations for military equipment, including spare parts for tanks and artillery ammunition, the British government has announced. Britain has agreed with the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Lithuania to send an initial package of support to Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

  • The European Commission has called for a ban on the export of vital technology to Russia worth €11bn to further weaken the Kremlin’s war effort, cementing what EU officials have called the bloc’s toughest-ever sanctions. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was targeting industrial goods that Russia needs, such as electronic components for drones and helicopters; spare parts for trucks and jet engines; and construction equipment such as antennas or cranes that could be turned to military uses.

  • Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has welcomed Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson in Kyiv. Zelenskiy praised Sweden’s assistance, saying: “Archer is one of the best artillery pieces in the world. Sweden is a top five supplier of support to Ukraine and I thank Sweden for that support.” Kristersson did not rule out sending Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets, but cautioned that the west’s response had to be coordinated.

  • The Netherlands has said it has not changed its stance on the possible delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, following a report that it had rolled back on its support. The Dutch do not own any of the tanks, but lease 18 from Germany. Prime minister Mark Rutte last month said his country was willing to deliver those to Ukraine.

  • Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has said that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked him to remain in his current post, after a corruption scandal beset his ministry and put his role in doubt. Asked whether he expected to continue as defence minister in the months to come, Reznikov replied: “Yes, it was the decision of my president.”

  • A British national who was killed in Ukraine has been named by family and friends as Jonathan Shenkin. Shenkin, 45, from Glasgow, “died as a hero in an act of bravery as a paramedic”, his family wrote in a tribute on social media. He is the eighth Briton to be killed in Ukraine since the conflict began nearly a year ago.

  • At least 6,000 children from Ukraine have attended Russian “re-education” camps in the past year, according to a new report published in the US. Since the start of the war nearly a year ago, children as young as four months living in the occupied areas have been taken to 43 camps across Russia, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab report found. Russia has also unnecessarily expedited the adoption and fostering of children from Ukraine in what could constitute a war crime, it said.

  • Switzerland has said the seizing of private Russian assets would undermine the country’s constitution. In a statement, the Swiss government said “the expropriation of private assets of lawful origin without compensation is not permissible under Swiss law”.

  • Journalist Maria Ponomarenko has been sentenced to six years in prison in Russia for “distributing false information about the Russian army” after she posted on social media about the attack on the drama theatre in Mariupol. She has also been banned from journalism for five years.

  • The UN’s humanitarian aid and refugee agencies said Wednesday they are seeking $5.6bn (£4.6bn) to help millions of people in Ukraine and countries that have taken in fleeing Ukrainians since Russia’s invasion of their country nearly a year ago. The bulk of the joint appeal is for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which aims to help more than 11 million people by funnelling funds through more than 650 partner organisations.

That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war live blog today. I’ll be back tomorrow. Thank you.

Wagner mercenary group will ‘decrease’ as prisoner recruitment ends, says boss

Pjotr Sauer

Pjotr Sauer

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted that his mercenary group is facing difficulties in Ukraine and will soon “decrease” in size, amid growing evidence that his political influence in the Kremlin is waning.

“The number of Wagner units will decrease, and we will also not be able to carry out the scope of tasks that we would like to,” Prigozhin told a group of pro-war bloggers and state journalists gathered at an army barracks in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday.

You have all heard that the recruitment of prisoners to our ranks has stopped.

An image released by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s press service is said to show Wagner fighters at the entrance to the village of Krasna Hora, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on 12 February 2023.
An image released by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s press service is said to show Wagner fighters at the entrance to the village of Krasna Hora, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on 12 February 2023. Photograph: Concord Press Service/Reuters

Prigozhin’s comments followed a recent announcement that the mercenary group will no longer recruit prisoners to fight in the war, ending a months-long campaign in which Wagner signed up about 40,000 convicts from Russian prisons. The businessman has offered no explanation for declaring an end to the recruitment drive, but observers say the move is part of a growing backlash against him from the Russian security services.

Prigozhin, a catering magnate who last year admitted to founding the Wagner group after years of obfuscation, has assumed an increasingly prominent role in the war, while his troops are engaged in some of Russia’s most gruelling battles in eastern Ukraine.

Read the full report here:

Earlier we reported that six aerial targets were spotted over Kyiv during the latest air alert, and that most were shot down after being engaged with air defences, according to the Kyiv military administration.

In a Telegram post, it said the six Russian balloons may have been carrying corner reflectors and reconnaissance equipment. It did not specify when they flew over the capital.

It said:

According to information that is now being clarified, these were balloons that move in the air under the propulsion of wind. The purpose of launching the balloons was possibly to detect and exhaust our air defences.

Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat confirmed that air raid sirens had blared in Kyiv because of balloons flying overhead.

In a televised interview, Ihnat said:

They use them [balloons] as false targets, they want air defence to work against them. They need to deplete our air defence both in ammunition and to distract our attention.

It has not been possible to independently verify these claims.

Ukraine ‘inflicting very serious losses’ as Russia mounts constant attacks in east, says Ukrainiain official

Russian forces are mounting “round-the-clock” attacks on Ukrainian positions in the east of the country, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said.

The Russian defence ministry claimed earlier its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front of Luhansk. It said Ukrainian troops had retreated in the face of Russian attacks, but did not say in which part of the region.

In a post to Telegram, Maliar said:

The enemy’s offensive continues in the east, (with) round-the-clock attacks. The situation is tense. Yes, it is difficult for us.

But our fighters are not allowing the enemy to achieve their goals and are inflicting very serious losses.

Ukrainian and western intelligence officials have said the Russians are suffering very heavy casualties. Maliar said some assault units of Russia’s mercenary group Wagner had lost 80% of their strength.

Isobel Koshiw

Isobel Koshiw

Ukraine’s allies have said it is unlikely they will be able to supply the number of tanks they previously promised. After a meeting in Brussels of western defence ministers, the German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said they would not be able reach the size of a battalion.

A standard Ukrainian tank battalion comprises 31 tanks. Poland had offered to give 30 German-made tanks but many of them are in poor condition and need repairs before they can be deployed, said Pistorius, whose government had pledged 14. Portugal has promised an additional three tanks.

Ukraine’s allies agreed to supply tanks after much debate. Ukraine has argued that it cannot win without them.

The bad news comes just after the Nato chief, Jens Stoltenberg, announced that Russia had begun a renewed offensive in the east in an attempt to take more territory before new western equipment arrives in the spring. Stoltenberg described the situation as a “race against logistics”.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine has increased in its intensity over the last week or so, particularly in the Ukrainian-controlled town of Bakhmut. Russian forces now almost surround the town.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, described the defence of Bakhmut as “a wall of living people” on Wednesday. He insisted there was no plan to retreat as the soldiers’ efforts were helping Ukraine prepare for its counter-offensive by “destroying the enemy to the maximum”.

Amnesty International has condemned today’s sentencing of the Russian journalist Maria Ponomarenko to six years in a penal colony for posting on social media about a deadly attack by Russian forces on a drama theatre in Ukraine.

A court in Barnaul in Siberia found Ponomarenko guilty of spreading “fake news”, under laws introduced aimed at stifling dissent about the invasion of Ukraine. She has also been banned from journalism for five years.

Ponomarenko was arrested in April for posting about the Russian bombing of a theatre in southern Ukraine’s Mariupol last year. The Kremlin has denied responsibility for the airstrike, which killed hundreds of civilians.

Her sentence “shows that in Russia telling the truth, denouncing a war crime and demanding justice for the killing of civilians has itself become a grave offence punishable by many years in prison”, the rights group Amnesty said.

Her sentence is yet another example of injustice and the cynicism of the authorities in Russia, which are disturbingly routine. The authorities are trying to lock up all those who disagree with them and intimidate others to stay silent and look the other way rather than risk years behind bars.

British national killed in Ukraine named by family as Jonathan Shenkin

A British national who was killed in Ukraine has been named by family and friends as Jonathan Shenkin.

Shenkin, 45, from Glasgow, “died as a hero in an act of bravery as a paramedic”, his family wrote in a tribute on social media. He is the eighth Briton to be killed in Ukraine since the conflict began nearly a year ago.

In a post on Facebook, Shenkin’s family said he died in Ukraine in December. They said:

On enlisting in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he made the ultimate sacrifice to defend values we all believe in. He is survived by his son and daughter, to whom he was devoted.

Born and raised in Glasgow, Shenkin lived in London and Malta before joining the Israeli army. His family say he ran his own security business and worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, Oman, Somalia, Angola, the Philippines and South Korea.

A spokesperson from the UK’s foreign office said:

We are supporting the family of a British national who died in Ukraine, and are in contact with the local authorities.

Germany’s ammunition stocks for Gepard battle systems, which are being used in Ukraine, are “highly sufficient”, defence minister Boris Pistorius has said.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Pistorius said ammunition stocks for German-made Gepard systems “should suffice until the summer”.

The minister’s remarks came a day after he said Germany had signed contracts with Rheinmetall to restart the production of ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft guns it has delivered to Kyiv.

Germany has been trying for months to find new munitions for the Gepard anti-aircraft guns, which its own military had decommissioned in 2010.

A woman reacts as her brother is rescued after an apartment block was heavily damaged by a missile strike in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine.
A woman reacts as her brother is rescued after an apartment block was heavily damaged by a missile strike in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine. Photograph: Marko Đurica/Reuters
Women walk on a playground after an apartment block was heavily damaged by a missile strike in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region.
Women walk on a playground after an apartment block was heavily damaged by a missile strike in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region. Photograph: Marko Đurica/Reuters

The Netherlands has said it has not changed its stance on the possible delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, following a report that it had rolled back on its support.

The Dutch do not own any of the tanks, but lease 18 from Germany. Prime minister Mark Rutte last month said his country was willing to deliver those to Ukraine.

But a report in the German newspaper Die Welt earlier today, citing sources, said the governments of the Netherlands and Denmark had decided not to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

“The Netherlands doesn’t own tanks,” spokesperson Sascha Louwhoff told Reuters. She added:

With Germany, it was decided that tanks from another battalion would be better suited to deliver to Ukraine. If Germany would have decided to send tanks from our bi-national battalion we would not have opposed this. Nor will we oppose if they decide to send them at a later moment.

Summary of the day so far

It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

  • Russia is sending heavy equipment and mobilised troops into the Luhansk region but Ukrainian forces continue to defend the eastern Ukrainian region, its governor, Serhiy Haidai, has said. The Russian defence ministry claimed earlier its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front of Luhansk. It said Ukrainian troops had retreated in the face of Russian attacks, but did not say in which part of the region. Haidai said Russia’s claims that Ukrainian troops had pulled back “does not correspond to reality”.

  • The situation in Luhansk remains difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said on Wednesday, without mentioning any retreats in eastern Ukraine.

  • Nato countries are increasing the production of 155mm artillery rounds and need to ramp up that production even further to help Ukraine, Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has said. Speaking at a news conference after a meeting of defence ministers at the military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Stoltenberg said allies have not reached conclusions on a new pledge for defence spending, but it was “obvious that we need to spend more”.

  • The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said Ukraine has a “real good chance” of taking the initiative on the battlefield. Speaking after a meeting with Nato defence ministers in Brussels, Austin said that for every system that Nato will provide, it will train troops on that system. “We’re laser-focused on making sure that we provide a capability and not just the platform,” he said.

  • Russia’s army is estimated to have lost nearly 40% of its prewar fleet of tanks after nine months of fighting in Ukraine, according to a count by the specialist thinktank the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). That rises to as much as 50% for some of the key tanks used in combat, forcing Russia to reach into its still sizeable cold war-era stocks. Ukraine’s tank numbers are estimated to have increased because of the number it has captured and supplies of Soviet-era tanks from its western allies.

  • Ukraine will receive a package of support worth £200m from the UK and other European nations for military equipment, including spare parts for tanks and artillery ammunition, the British government has announced. Britain has agreed with the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Lithuania to send an initial package of support to Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

  • The European Commission has called for a ban on the export of vital technology to Russia worth €11bn to further weaken the Kremlin’s war effort, cementing what EU officials have called the bloc’s toughest-ever sanctions. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was targeting industrial goods that Russia needs, such as electronic components for drones and helicopters; spare parts for trucks and jet engines; and construction equipment such as antennas or cranes that could be turned to military uses.

  • Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has welcomed Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson in Kyiv. Zelenskiy praised Sweden’s assistance, saying: “Archer is one of the best artillery pieces in the world. Sweden is a top five supplier of support to Ukraine and I thank Sweden for that support.” Kristersson did not rule out sending Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets, but cautioned that the west’s response had to be coordinated.

  • Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has said that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked him to remain in his current post, after a corruption scandal beset his ministry and put his role in doubt. Asked whether he expected to continue as defence minister in the months to come, Reznikov replied: “Yes, it was the decision of my president.”

  • A British national has died in Ukraine, the government has announced, becoming the eighth Briton to be killed there since the conflict began nearly a year ago. The identity of the individual has not yet been made public, but their family has been informed. The deceased person is a man, according to the BBC.

  • At least 6,000 children from Ukraine have attended Russian “re-education” camps in the past year, according to a new report published in the US. Since the start of the war nearly a year ago, children as young as four months living in the occupied areas have been taken to 43 camps across Russia, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab report found. Russia has also unnecessarily expedited the adoption and fostering of children from Ukraine in what could constitute a war crime, it said.

  • Switzerland has said the seizing of private Russian assets would undermine the country’s constitution. In a statement, the Swiss government said “the expropriation of private assets of lawful origin without compensation is not permissible under Swiss law”.

  • Journalist Maria Ponomarenko has been sentenced to six years in prison in Russia for “distributing false information about the Russian army” after she posted on social media about the attack on the drama theatre in Mariupol. She has also been banned from journalism for five years.

  • The UN’s humanitarian aid and refugee agencies said Wednesday they are seeking $5.6bn (£4.6bn) to help millions of people in Ukraine and countries that have taken in fleeing Ukrainians since Russia’s invasion of their country nearly a year ago. The bulk of the joint appeal is for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which aims to help more than 11 million people by funnelling funds through more than 650 partner organisations.

Good afternoon from London, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong here with all the latest developments from the Russia-Ukraine war. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.

The US is looking at imposing sanctions on more banks with links to Russia, according to a senior US official.

James O’Brien, head of the US state department’s office of sanctions coordination, told Reuters:

We have immobilised about 80% of the assets in the Russian banking sector. We are looking at additional banks and financial institutions to see how Russia deals with the outside world. It is very possible that there will be more action.

His comments came as western allies seek to agree on a new raft of sanctions for the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Soon after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, the west blocked several Russian banks’ access to the international SWIFT payments system, with Sberbank and VTB forced to shutter operations across much of Europe.

But some European banks, including UniCredit and Raiffeisen Bank International, have large businesses in Russia. Gazprombank, the financial arm of Russian gas exporter Gazprom, has escaped harsh sanctions partly because it handles payments for energy.

The European Commission has proposed EU countries should cut four more Russian banks from the SWIFT system, two EU diplomatic sources said. According to two sources, additional financial sanctions were possible but efforts to target Russia’s nuclear sector were unlikely to succeed.

The US will also step up enforcement against any banks dodging existing rules, O’Brien added, saying:

We are always looking to see which companies and parties could benefit from financial transactions linked to Russia.

Swedish PM in Kyiv to meet Zelenskiy

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has welcomed Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson in Kyiv, and the two have given a joint press conference.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomes Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson in Kyiv.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomes Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson in Kyiv. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters

Zelenskiy praised Sweden’s assistance, saying “I thank Sweden for the defence package. Archer is one of the best artillery pieces in the world. Sweden is a top five supplier of support to Ukraine and I thank Sweden for that support. It is a clear message about how Sweden views human rights.”

At a press conference in Ukraine’s capital, Aftonbladet reports that Kristersson did not rule out sending Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets to aid in the war effort, but cautioned that the west’s response had to be coordinated. It quotes him saying:

We are not ruling anything out, but this is not the time for it. We need an international coalition to take more steps. I fully understand Ukraine’s point of view that we should not take too long. It is an ongoing process.

Sweden has applied to join Nato together with Finland and that puts us in a difficult situation. We are careful with our own defence. We must help Ukraine in a way that does not make it difficult for us to defend ourselves.

The Swedish PM also stressed it had been important to visit, saying “I am here to demonstrate Sweden’s steadfast support for Ukraine. It was important to come here and see the terrible Russian destruction with my own eyes. I have done that today.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) and prime minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson give their joint press conference in Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) and prime minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson give their joint press conference in Kyiv. Photograph: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

Ukraine’s state broadcaster reports that six aerial targets were recorded over Kyiv during the latest air alert, and that most were shot down. Citing the city’s administration it reported:

In the airspace of Kyiv during the alert, about six aerial targets were recorded, most of them were shot down by air defense systems.

According to unconfirmed information, these were balloons that could carry corner reflectors and reconnaissance equipment. Perhaps they were launched to detect and wear out anti-aircraft defences, the Kyiv city military administration said.





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