Ukraine news – live: Bakhmut fight rages ‘round the clock’ as Zelensky’s forces hold on

The fighting in Ukraine’s Bakhmut is raging “round the clock” and the situation is “critical”, according to the deputy commander of the Ukrainian national guard.

“They [Russian forces] take no account of their losses in trying to take the city by assault. 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,” the deputy commander said.

Bakhmut has been the primary target of a Russian offensive for months, with the city reduced to rubble by constant shelling and street-by-street fighting as Moscow attempts to seize the territory.

Ukraine has repelled more than 170 attacks in the five principal sectors on the frontline in the past 24 hours, the country’s military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said.

In New Delhi, US secretary of state Antony Blinken warned against Russia’s display of impunity in Ukraine.

Key Points

• Blinken meets Lavrov for first time since Russian invasion of Ukraine

• Kyiv rejects Vladimir Putin’s claim of ‘terrorist act’ in Bryansk

• Kherson torture chambers ‘planned and funded by Russia’, investigators say

• Russia says it repelled ‘massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea'

• Putin bans Russian officials from using foreign words: ‘Degenerate West’

• Bakhmut and other frontlines a ‘grinding slog’, says US

Ukraine successfully repelling attacks on Bakhmut, digging trenches

04:07 , Arpan Rai

The general staff of Ukrainian armed forces said that the country’s troops are successfully repelling attacks on Bakhmut and two settlements to the critical salt mining city – Khromove and Ivanivske.

Russia has relentlessly shelled Bakhmut and several nearby towns like Chasiv Yar and two towns south of Bakhmut.

New trenches have been dug on the roadside 20-40 metres (65-130 feet) apart in nearby towns and villages confirming that Ukrainian forces are strengthening their defensive positions.

Several areas in central Zaporizhzhia and Kherson region also came under shelling as more than 40 towns and villages were targeted, the Ukrainian military said in a statement.

Russia, which lost territory in the second half of 2022, says taking Bakhmut would be a step towards seizing the rest of the surrounding industrial region known as the Donbas. Ukraine says the city has limited strategic value but wants to exhaust Russian forces.

Blinken warns against Russia’s impunity

04:18 , Arpan Rai

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has warned against Russia’s display of impunity in Ukraine and said that nations beyond the European bloc are united to end it.

“If we allow Russia to do what it is doing with impunity in Ukraine, that’s a message to everyone that they will be able to get away too,” he said in New Delhi today.

He added that the countries way beyond Europe are also focussed on the Ukraine war as they know it could have effect here, without naming any nations on the Asian continent facing territorial threats from their former administrators.

Anna Netrebko concert canceled by Taiwan national orchestra

03:58 , Joe Middleton

Taiwan‘s National Symphony Orchestra canceled a March 5 concert scheduled to feature soprano Anna Netrebko in a decision the orchestra said it made “due to public concerns.”

Netrebko had been scheduled to perform with her husband, tenor Yusif Eyvazov, and mezzo-soprano I-Chiao Shih.

Netrebko, a 51-year-old who was born in Russia and lives in Vienna, was among classical music’s top draws until last year, when New York’s Metropolitan Opera dropped her after she refused to distance herself from Russian President Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Anna Netrebko concert canceled by Taiwan national orchestra

More than 170 attacks repelled on Ukraine’s front lines

03:34 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov has said that the war-hit country repelled more than 170 attacks on its front lines yesterday.

“In the past 24 hours, our forces have repelled more than 170 attacks, an unprecedented number over a 24-hour period for the five principal sectors of the front line,” he said last night.

The prominent military analyst described Russians trying to encircle Bakhmut from the north, east and south and he said that on western approaches to the city “this is probably the only part of the Bakhmut sector where our forces, rather than the Russian occupiers, have the initiative.”

War, anger cloud Ukrainian athletes' path to Paris Olympics

03:20 , Joe Middleton

Ukrainian diver Stanislav Oliferchyk proudly bears the name of his late grandfather, who died in brutalized Mariupol. Russia‘s troops turned the Ukrainian port city into a killing zone in the process of capturing it. The elder Stanislav could no longer get the cancer treatment he needed in the ruins, his grandson says. He was 74 when he died last October.

Another victim of the months-long Russian siege of Mariupol was its gleaming aquatic center. Oliferchyk had planned to use the refurbished sports complex as his training base for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But it was bombed the same day last March as the city’s drama theater. The theater airstrike was the single deadliest known attack against civilians to date in the year-old Russian invasion. An Associated Press investigation determined that close to 600 people died.

War, anger cloud Ukrainian athletes' path to Paris Olympics

ICYMI: Multiple armoured Russian vehicles destroyed in battle near Maryinka

02:20 , Joe Middleton

Hungary further delays vote on Sweden, Finland joining NATO

01:20 , Joe Middleton

Hungary has further delayed a vote on ratifying Sweden and Finland‘s NATO accession bids, according to an updated schedule published Thursday on the National Assembly’s website, the latest in a series of postponements that have frustrated Western allies.

The delay, which pushes the vote back by two weeks to the parliamentary session beginning March 20, comes as Hungary remains the only NATO member country besides Turkey that hasn’t yet approved the two Nordic countries’ bids to join the Western military alliance.

Hungary’s populist prime minister, Viktor Orban, has said that he is personally in favor of the two countries joining NATO, but alleged that the governments in Stockholm and Helsinki have “spread blatant lies” about Hungary which have raised questions among lawmakers in his party on whether to approve the bids.

Hungary further delays vote on Sweden, Finland joining NATO

EU to speed up deliveries of howitzer shells for Ukraine

00:20 , Joe Middleton

European Union officials and countries from the 27-nation bloc are discussing plans to dedicate an extra billion euros as well as setting up a joint procurement scheme to speed up the delivery of howitzer artillery rounds that Ukraine says are crucial to countering Russian forces.

With Ukraine facing shortages of ammunition to fight Russia, the idea of setting up a plan of action similar to the one devised during the coronavirus pandemic to buy vaccines was first brought to the table last month by Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

According to an EU official with direct knowledge of the project who briefed reporters Thursday, the priority now is to guarantee the swift delivery to Ukrainian armed forces of 155mm artillery rounds. The official was not authorized to speak publicly because the plan is still being finalized.

EU to speed up deliveries of howitzer shells for Ukraine

Putin accuses Ukrainians of attack inside Russia – but Kyiv calls it ‘provocation’

Thursday 2 March 2023 23:20 , Joe Middleton

Vladimir Putin claimed Russia had been hit by a “terrorist attack” on civilians inside its territory near Ukraine and vowed to crush what he said was a Ukrainian sabotage group.

In a televised address, Putin accused the group of opening fire on occupants of a car, including children. “They won’t achieve anything. We will crush them,” the Russian president said.

Ukraine accused Russia of staging a false “provocation” – but also appeared to acknowledge an operation had been carried out.

Putin accuses Ukraine of attack inside Russia but Kyiv calls it ‘provocation’

Indian prime minister urges G20 gathering to look beyond Ukraine war in talks

Thursday 2 March 2023 22:20 , Joe Middleton

We’ve passed the first anniversary of the Ukraine war – there won’t be a second

Thursday 2 March 2023 21:20 , Joe Middleton

As of now any end to the war is unlikely to be on better terms for Ukraine than were on offer before Russia invaded, writes Mary Dejevsky.

Will there be a second anniversary for the war in Ukraine? | Mary Dejevsky

Scholz asks China to refrain from sending weapons to Russia

Thursday 2 March 2023 20:20 , Joe Middleton

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday called on China to refrain from sending weapons to Russia and instead use its influence to press Moscow for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

“My message to Beijing is clear: use your influence in Moscow to press for the withdrawal of Russian troops, and do not supply weapons to the aggressor Russia,” Scholz said in a speech to German parliament.

The chancellor also vowed that Germany would continue to support Ukraine with humanitarian and military aid to help the country defend itself against Russia’s invasion.

Scholz asks China to refrain from sending weapons to Russia

Italy PM urges India to play key role in ending Ukraine war

Thursday 2 March 2023 19:59 , Joe Middleton

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday urged India to play a central role in facilitating a negotiating process to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

India, with the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries, could represent the vulnerabilities and needs of less-developed nations in such a process, Meloni said in a statement following talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

She condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and underscored its adverse impact on developing countries in terms of food and energy security.

Italy PM urges India to play key role in ending Ukraine war

Russian strike on Ukraine apartment block kills 3, injures 6

Thursday 2 March 2023 19:20 , Joe Middleton

Three people were killed and six others were injured when a Russian missile hit a five-story apartment building in a city in southeastern Ukraine on Thursday, police said, as the war extended into its second year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said several floors of the building were destroyed in the strike, which occurred while it was still dark.

The State Emergency Service said in an online statement that it had rescued 11 people so far.

Russian strike on Ukraine apartment block kills 3, injures 6

New IAEA monitors reach Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Thursday 2 March 2023 17:20 , Joe Middleton

A new team of monitors from the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has taken up its post at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station after a delay of almost a month, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi announced today.

Russia has accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of disrupting the latest monthly staff rotation, which had been put back three times.

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, with six reactors, was occupied by Russian troops early in their invasion of Ukraine and remains near the front line.

With each side accusing the other of shelling it and risking a nuclear accident, IAEA monitors have been posted at the station since September.

In a statement, Grossi said their presence was “indispensable to help reduce the risk of a nuclear accident”.

Renat Karchaa, adviser to the general director of the Russian nuclear agency Rosenergoatom, told the state-run TASS news agency that three IAEA monitors had arrived along with four UN security personnel.

Reuters

Blinken meets Lavrov but G20 ends without agreed joint statement

Thursday 2 March 2023 16:19 , Joe Middleton

A meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Delhi ended without agreement over the conflict in Ukraine on Thursday, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken briefly met Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in their first encounter since the war.

Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said there would be no communique agreed by all nations “because there were differences on the Ukraine issue which we could not reconcile”.

Blinken blamed Russia for derailing the meeting and urged the G20 to call on Moscow to withdraw its forces from Ukraine.

Shweta Sharma reports.

Blinken meets Lavrov but G20 nations fails to agree joint statement

EU to speed up deliveries of howitzer shells for Ukraine

Thursday 2 March 2023 15:25 , Joe Middleton

European Union officials and countries from the 27-nation bloc are discussing plans to dedicate an extra billion euros as well as setting up a joint procurement scheme to speed up the delivery of howitzer artillery rounds that Ukraine says are crucial to countering Russian forces.

With Ukraine facing shortages of ammunition to fight Russia, the idea of setting up a plan of action similar to the one devised during the coronavirus pandemic to buy vaccines was first brought to the table last month by Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

According to an EU official with direct knowledge of the project who briefed reporters Thursday, the priority now is to guarantee the swift delivery to Ukrainian armed forces of 155mm artillery rounds. The official was not authorized to speak publicly because the plan is still being finalized.

EU to speed up deliveries of howitzer shells for Ukraine

Indian prime minister urges G20 gathering to look beyond Ukraine war in talks

Thursday 2 March 2023 15:13 , Joe Middleton

Moldova parliament condemns Russian invasion of Ukraine

Thursday 2 March 2023 14:21 , Joe Middleton

Moldova’s parliament adopted a declaration today condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine which has contributed to a rise in tensions between Moscow and Chisinau.

A narrow majority of 55 lawmakers in the 101-seat assembly voted for the declaration, which stated that Moscow’s invasion began with the seizure of the Crimea peninsula in February 2014 and demanded the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine.

The declaration said Russia was waging an illegal, unprovoked and unfounded war of aggression in Ukraine that violated the principles of international law, and echoed calls by Kyiv for an international tribunal to prosecute war crimes.

Tensions between Russia and Moldova, which borders Ukraine and Moldova, have grown sharply since the war began.

The tiny former Soviet republic has protested to Moscow that Russian missiles aimed at Ukraine have entered Moldovan airspace, and that missile debris has landed inside Moldova, and has accused Moscow of plotting to topple the pro-European government in Chisinau.

Russia has denied the allegation and accused Ukraine and other countries of stoking instability in Moldova’s breakaway Transdniestria region, where around 1,500 Russian troops are based. Chisinau and Kyiv have dismissed the accusation.

Russia did not immediately comment on the Moldovan parliament’s declaration.

Reuters

Blinken meets Lavrov for first time since Russian invasion of Ukraine

Thursday 2 March 2023 13:24 , Joe Middleton

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talked briefly today at a meeting of top diplomats from the G20.

The last time Blinken and Lavrov met in person was in Geneva, Switzerland, in January 2022 on the eve of Russia’s invasion.

US officials said Blinken and Lavrov chatted for roughly 10 minutes on the sidelines of the G-20 conference in New Delhi.

A senior US official said Blinken used the discussion to make three points to Lavrov: that the US would support Ukraine in the conflict for as long as it takes to bring the war to an end, that Russia should reverse its decision to suspend participation in the New START nuclear treaty and that Moscow should release detained American Paul Whelan.

The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation, said Blinken had “disabused” Lavrov of any idea they might have that US support for Ukraine is wavering.

Russia had no immediate comment on the substance of the conversation, but Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Blinken had asked to speak to Lavrov.

Hungarian delegation to visit Sweden to discuss Nato bid

Thursday 2 March 2023 13:06 , Andy Gregory

A delegation of Hungarian politicians plans to visit Sweden next week to discuss the Nordic country's bid to join Nato.

The delegation, led by Deputy Speaker Csaba Hende, will meet with among others Swedish Speaker Andreas Norlen, the spokesperson said.

Finland said earlier this week that it also expects a Hungarian delegation to visit.

On Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party said it would back the ratification, as politicians in the Central European country began the process after a months-long delay.

Kyiv rejects Russia’s claims of ‘sabotage group’ in Bryansk

Thursday 2 March 2023 12:42 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine has rejected Moscow’s claims of “sabotage” in the Russian region of Bryansk.

Vladimir Putin claimed on Thursday that a Ukrainian sabotage group had knowingly fired at civilians on Thursday, in what he called a “terrorist act”, following claims by Kremlin officials that hostages had been taken in the region.

But Ukrainian officials denied any responsibility and rejected the validity of Russia’s claims, with presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak describing the allegations as a “classic deliberate provocation” by Moscow.

My colleague William Mata has more in this report:

Ukraine calls out ‘provocation’ as Moscow says forces are battling ‘saboteurs’

Russia will not be first to test nuclear device, says deputy foreign minister

Thursday 2 March 2023 12:24 , Andy Gregory

Russia will not move first to test a nuclear device, Moscow’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has said, following the Kremlin’s suspension of the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States.

Addressing reporters at the Russian mission in Geneva after a disarmament conference, Mr Ryabkov said Moscow would not carry out tests if Washington also refrained, but that Russia still had to prepare for the worst.

Mr Ryabkov also accused the United States of providing intelligence on the location of strategic sites inside Russia to Ukraine, for it to attack them with drones.

In December, Russia’s Engels air base near the city of Saratov, home to part of its nuclear-capable strategic bomber fleet and at least 600 km from Ukrainian territory, was hit by drone attacks. Ukraine did not claim responsibility for the attacks, but celebrated them.

G20 meeting fails to agree joint statement due to Ukraine differences

Thursday 2 March 2023 11:56 , Andy Gregory

A meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Delhi has ended without a joint statement because of “divergences” of opinion on the conflict in Ukraine, host nation India has said.

Addressing a media briefing at the end of the two-day gathering, Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said a “chair’s summary” would be issued rather than a communique agreed by all nations gathered “because there were differences on the Ukraine issue which we could not reconcile”.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken blamed Russia for derailing the meeting and urged the G20 to call on Moscow to withdraw its forces from Ukraine.

My colleague Shweta Sharma reports from New Delhi:

India says G20 meeting ends with no joint statement due Ukraine differences

Russian central bank to extend capital controls on foreign currency withdrawals

Thursday 2 March 2023 11:24 , Andy Gregory

Russia’s central bank will extend capital controls on cash withdrawals of foreign currency and transfers abroad, its governor Elvira Nabiullina has announced.

Ms Nabiullina told a press conference outside Moscow that the economy needs significant additional resources at the moment.

Kremlin claims Russian troops battling Ukrainian ‘sabotage group’ in Bryansk

Thursday 2 March 2023 10:58 , Andy Gregory

The Kremlin has claimed that measures are being taken to destroy “Ukrainian terrorists” who had mounted a cross-border attack and were reported by Russian officials to have taken hostages.

State news cited Russian officials as claiming that Russian forces were battling a Ukrainian sabotage group which had infiltrated the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said president Vladimir Putin was receiving regular updates from security agencies and defence minister Sergei Shoigu about the situation.

Mr Peskov denied reports that Mr Putin planned to hold an emergency Security Council meeting on Thursday, but said he would hold a meeting of the council on Friday when it convenes regularly.

Claims of Ukrainian sabotage attack in Russia are ‘deliberate provocation’, says Zelensky aide

Thursday 2 March 2023 10:56 , Andy Gregory

Reports of a sabotage attack by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Bryansk region are a “deliberate provocation”, a senior adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

“The story about [a] Ukrainian sabotage group in RF [Russian Federation] is a classic deliberate provocation,” Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

“RF wants to scare its people to justify the attack on another country & the growing poverty after the year of war.”

Germany’s Scholz urges China not to arm Russia

Thursday 2 March 2023 10:54 , Andy Gregory

Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged China not to send weapons to help Russia fight its war in Ukraine and has pleaded with Beijing to exert pressure on Moscow to pull back its troops.

In a speech to the German parliament, Mr Scholz said it was disappointing that Beijing had refrained from condemning the Russian invasion – though he welcomed its efforts towards nuclear de-escalation.

China has denied any intention to arm Russia and one of its senior diplomats told the United Nations on 23 February that “sending weapons will not bring peace” but add “fuel to the fire”.

Global divisions have reared their head at a series of G20 meetings in India which descended into wrangling over the war. Germany has said it planned to counter Russian “propaganda” at this week’s talks, while Russia has accused Western countries of turning the event into a “farce”.

“My message to Beijing is clear: use your influence in Moscow to urge the withdrawal of Russian troops,” Mr Scholz said, to resounding applause from fellow politicians. “And don’t deliver any weapons to the aggressor Russia.”

Kherson torture chambers were planned and financed by Russia, war crimes investigators allege

Thursday 2 March 2023 10:14 , Andy Gregory

A network of at least 20 torture chambers uncovered in recently liberated Kherson was “planned and directly financed by the Russian State,” war crimes investigators have alleged.

The Mobile Justice Team, funded by Britain, the EU and the US, has been working with Ukrainian war crimes prosecutors across Ukraine and in Kherson since the city was reclaimed from Russian forces in November after more than eight months of occupation.

“New evidence collected from recently liberated Kherson reveals torture chambers were planned and directly financed by the Russian State,” the team established by British lawyer Wayne Jordash said in a statement.

Witnesses described the use of electric shock torture and waterboarding by Russian forces. At least 1,000 torture chamber survivors have submitted evidence to investigators and more than 400 people had been reported as missing from Kherson, it said.

Funding a network of torture facilities was part of a Russian state plan to “subjugate, re-educate or kill Ukrainian civic leaders and ordinary dissenters,” the team said.

Torture centres were operated by different Russian security agencies, including the Russian Federal Security Services (FSB), local Kherson FSB and the Russian Prison Service, it said.

Moscow ‘not contemplating’ use of nuclear weapon, says top Russian diplomat

Thursday 2 March 2023 09:56 , Andy Gregory

Moscow is “not contemplating” using a nuclear weapon and doing so would make no sense militarily, a top Russian diplomat has said.

Russia does not intend to use nuclear weapons over the situation in Ukraine, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said in an interview with the Maverick News portal aired on Wednesday.

"First and foremost, we have a nuclear doctrine,” Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, told the Maverick News channel. “And it is said that we will not use this nuclear weapon first, it can be used only if there is an existential threat to Russia.”

He added: “This is something that we are not contemplating in terms of the situation in Ukraine.”

Three killed as Russian missile hits five-storey building in Zaporizhzhia, police say

Thursday 2 March 2023 09:28 , Andy Gregory

A Russian missile has hit a five-storey building in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing three people and wounding at least four, police have said.

Eleven people have been rescued from the part of the building that collapsed, the state emergencies service said in a statement.

Muddy conditions could hand Ukraine battlefield advantage, says UK

Thursday 2 March 2023 08:59 , Andy Gregory

Thawing temperatures on the ground could hand an advantage to Ukraine on the frontline as muddy conditions limit cross-country movement now and over the coming weeks, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has suggested.

“As Ukrainian forces continue their defence of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, rising temperatures are now creating the muddy conditions known in Ukrainian as ‘bezdorizhzhia’, limiting cross country movement,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.

“Poor CCM typically provides some military advantage to defending forces. Daytime soil temperatures have risen and are now largely above freezing. As experienced since mid-February 2023, overnight freeze and daytime thaw remains likely until next week.

“Forecast warmer than average conditions for the remainder of winter and spring will further reduce CCM.

“It is almost certain that by late-March, CCM will be at its worst following the final thaw. This will add further friction to ground operations and hamper the off-road movement of heavier armoured vehicles, especially over churned-up ground in the Bakhmut sector.”

ICYMI: How Ukraine is pioneering war-time science with mobile DNA laboratories

Thursday 2 March 2023 08:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Ukraine is pioneering war-time science by rolling out mobile laboratories with new technology capable of processing DNA samples in minutes to identify the dead.

Bel Trew reports from Zaporizhzhia:

How Ukraine is pioneering war-time science with mobile DNA laboratories

Russia attacks Zaporizhzhia overnight

Thursday 2 March 2023 08:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Two people have been killed in a Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia in the early hours of Thursday, reported the Kyiv Independent.

Acting mayor of Zaporizhzhia Anatoly Kurtev reported the attack on Telegram.

Earlier Mr Kurtev had said that an overnight Russian air strike on Zaporizhzhia destroyed three floors of an apartment building.

ICYMI: The harrowing discovery in Ukraine at the centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Thursday 2 March 2023 07:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta

In the chaos of conflict – amid a death toll of this size – with the sheer length of the frontline and the severity of the alleged war crimes being committed, the search to find and identify the dead, to document the war crimes likely committed against them, had become impossibly hard.

We met countless others with similar stories of loss.

They all had the same basic desire: to do the simplest act of all: find and bury their loved ones and secure some form of closure and healing in that.But nearly a year on they hadn’t been able to do even this.

International correspondent Bel Trew recalls the moment which led to the making of her new documentary, The Body in the Woods:

The harrowing discovery in Ukraine at the centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Military may pull back from Bakhmut, Ukrainian official says

Thursday 2 March 2023 07:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Ukraine’s military could pull back from the key eastern stronghold of Bakhmut, an adviser to the Ukrainian president said on Wednesday, amid a relentless Russian offensive that has sought for months to capture the city.

“Our military is obviously going to weigh all of the options. So far, they’ve held the city, but if need be, they will strategically pull back,” Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, told CNN.

“We’re not going to sacrifice all of our people just for nothing.”

Read more:

Military may pull back from Bakhmut, Ukrainian official says

Modi urges G20 ministers to look beyond Ukraine war in talks

Thursday 2 March 2023 06:48 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi urged global leaders on Thursday to “rise above differences” over the Russia-Ukraine war as the G20 summit tests the host nation’s diplomacy in successfully delivering a joint statement at the end of the historic event.

Shweta Sharma reports:

Modi urges G20 ministers to look beyond Ukraine war in talks

Forget Bond or Dahl, Putin’s ban on ‘foreign words’ shows us what an actual threat to free speech looks like

Thursday 2 March 2023 06:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta

There is a difference between people loudly disagreeing with speech they find offensive, and people who are actually in a position of power banning those things outright.

Ryan Coogan writes:

Opinion: Putin banning foreign words puts Bond and Dahl row into perspective

Threat to Ukraine's energy infrastructure remains, says Zelensky

Thursday 2 March 2023 06:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

In his nightly address, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said that while winter is over, the threat to the country’s energy infrastructure from Russian attacks continues.

Mr Zelensky said that the winter was very difficult, but Ukraine managed to provide its residents with energy.

He warned that the threat to the energy infrastructure remains.

Russia accuses IAEA of disrupting staff rotation at Zaporizhzhia plant

Thursday 2 March 2023 05:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Russia has accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of disrupting the latest rotation of staff at the Zaporizhzhia plant.

The nuclear plant which is Europe’s largest with six reactors was occupied by Russian troops in the early days of their invasion last February.

IAEA monitors have been posted at the station since last September. Other IAEA teams have since been put in place in Ukraine’s three other nuclear plants.“

It is true that the rotation of specialists which is planned for once a month, has been excessively delayed,” Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative to the IAEA in Vienna, told Russia’s TASS news agency.

“It was supposed to occur on 7 February, but hasn’t yet happened, through no fault of our own. We expect the changeover of experts to take place very soon, in the next few days,” he said.

In a statement IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on Monday he hoped the changeover would take place this week.

India calls for ‘common ground’ at G20 meeting

Thursday 2 March 2023 05:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

India has called for “common ground” on divisive issues on the sidelines of a G20 meeting of foreign ministers in New Delhi, where Russia’s war in Ukraine is expected to take centre stage.

“We should not allow issues that we cannot resolve together to come in the way of those we can,” prime minister Narendra Modi said in a video message.

“You are meeting at a time of big global divisions. Naturally, this Foreign Ministers’ Meeting will be affected by the geo-political tensions of the day. We all have our positions and perspectives as to how this tension should be resolved,” he added.

US reaching out to allies to impose new sanctions on China, report says

Thursday 2 March 2023 04:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta

The US is reaching out to its allies to explore the possibilities of imposing new sanctions on China for its support to Russia in its war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The report cites four US officials as sources and says that consultations, which are still at a preliminary stage, are intended to drum up support from a range of countries, especially those in the wealthy Group of 7 (G7), to coordinate support for any possible restrictions.

However, it has not been disclosed what specific sanctions are being explored.

One source said to Reuters that the Biden administration wanted to first raise the idea of coordinated sanctions and “take pulses” in the event that any shipments are detected to Russia from China, which declared a “no limits” partnership shortly before the invasion on 24 February last year.

A second source was quoted as saying that detailed measures on China are not in place yet.

Putin ‘funnels millions by buying largest apartment in Russia for gymnast lover’

Thursday 2 March 2023 04:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Vladimir Putin bought his gymnast lover the largest apartment in Russia and a wooden mansion deep in the countryside, according to an investigation.

A report by Project, a Russian opposition website banned by the Kremlin, alleged that Putin, 70, funnelled millions in illicit funds into properties for his 39-year-old girlfriend Alina Kabaeva.

Ms Kabaeva, who has been called “the uncrowned queen of Russia”, is believed to have been in a relationship with the Russian president since the early 2000s, including while he was still married.

Martha McHardy has the full story:

Putin ‘funnels millions by buying Russian apartment’ for girlfriend Alina Kabaeva

Russia mulls use of nuclear weapons to fend off US attack

Thursday 2 March 2023 03:48 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Russia is mulling the use of nuclear weapons to fend off a potential attack from the US, according to a report by the RIA news agency.

The report cites an article published in a Russian defence journal Voennaya Mysl (Military Thought), that concluded that the US was worried it might be losing dominance over the world and had therefore “apparently” prepared plans to strike Russia to neutralise it.

The article said that Russia is “actively developing a promising form of the strategic use of the Russian armed forces - an operation of strategic deterrence forces”, RIA said.

This “presupposes the use of modern strategic offensive and defensive, nuclear and non-nuclear weapons, taking into account the latest military technologies.”

The article added that Russia needed to be able to show the US that it could not cripple its nuclear missile system and would not be able to fend off a retaliatory strike.

Ukraine official says military may pull back from Bakhmut

Thursday 2 March 2023 03:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine’s military could pull back from the key eastern stronghold of Bakhmut, an adviser to the Ukrainian president said Wednesday, amid a relentless Russian offensive that has sought for months to capture the city.

“Our military is obviously going to weigh all of the options. So far, they’ve held the city, but if need be, they will strategically pull back,” Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told CNN. “We’re not going to sacrifice all of our people just for nothing.”

The battle for Bakhmut, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance as defenders hold out against relentless shelling and waves of Russian troops taking heavy casualties in a months-long campaign to capture it.

Rodnyansky noted that Russia was using the best troops of the Wagner Group, a private military company led by a rogue millionaire with longtime links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, to encircle Bakhmut. Recent drone footage shows the scale of devastation in the city, while Zelenskyy has described it as “destroyed.”

Read more:

Ukraine official says military may pull back from Bakhmut

Ukraine official says military may pull back from Bakhmut

Thursday 2 March 2023 02:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine’s military could pull back from the key eastern stronghold of Bakhmut, an adviser to the Ukrainian president said Wednesday, amid a relentless Russian offensive that has sought for months to capture the city.

“Our military is obviously going to weigh all of the options. So far, they’ve held the city, but if need be, they will strategically pull back,” Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told CNN. “We’re not going to sacrifice all of our people just for nothing.”

The battle for Bakhmut, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance as defenders hold out against relentless shelling and waves of Russian troops taking heavy casualties in a months-long campaign to capture it.

Rodnyansky noted that Russia was using the best troops of the Wagner Group, a private military company led by a rogue millionaire with longtime links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, to encircle Bakhmut. Recent drone footage shows the scale of devastation in the city, while Zelenskyy has described it as “destroyed.”

Meanwhile, one of Zelenskyy’s top advisers, Mykhailo Podolyak, denied on Wednesday that Ukraine had used drones to attack Russian territory following Russian official statements that Ukraine had targeted infrastructure deep inside Russia.

Susie Blann has the full story:

Ukraine official says military may pull back from Bakhmut

Putin orders tighter security at Russia-Ukraine border after spate of drone attacks

Thursday 2 March 2023 01:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Vladimir Putin has ordered that the Russian border with Ukraine be tightened after a spate of drone attacks while Moscow’s forces pushed to encircle the eastern city of Bakhmut.

Taking Bakhmut, the scene of some of the war’s fiercest fighting, would be Russia’s first major prize in more than six months and open the way to seizing bigger cities in the Donetsk region, one of four regions Moscow seeks to control. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said the situation in Bakhmut is becoming “more and more difficult”.

Mr Putin instructed the Federal Security Service (FSB) on Tuesday to bolster security in the four regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – currently only partially controlled by his forces, and also to counter what he described as growing espionage and sabotage operations against Russia by Ukraine and the West.

Mr Putin was speaking after a Russian regional governor said a drone had crashed near a natural gas distribution station in an apparent failed attack near the town of Kolomna, around 110km (70 miles) southeast of Moscow.

Ukraine does not publicly claim responsibility for attacks inside Russia, but the Kolomna incident would be its closest attempted drone strike to the Russian capital since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.

My colleague Chris Stevenson reports:

Putin orders tighter security at Russia-Ukraine border after spate of drone attacks

The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

Thursday 2 March 2023 00:01 , Eleanor Noyce

It was a month into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp.

His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager.

As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead.

Watch:

The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

Multiple armoured Russian vehicles destroyed in battle near Maryinka

Wednesday 1 March 2023 23:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Multiple armoured Russian vehicles have been destroyed in battle near Maryinka, Ukraine.

Footage posted on Facebook on 28 February by the 79th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade shows military vehicles being hit by missiles and bursting into flames.

“In total, 5 enemy tanks and 7 BMPs were destroyed in this heavy battle,” the unit said.

It comes as Russian forces press forward their drive to capture Bakhmut, also in the Donetsk region, in what would be Vladimir Putin’s troops’ first major victory in more than six months.

Watch:

Mulitple armoured Russian vehicles destroyed in battle near Maryinka

The harrowing discovery in Ukraine at the centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Wednesday 1 March 2023 22:00 , Eleanor Noyce

There were bodies scattered everywhere. I remember a charred human spine and skull lying on the ground of an upturned burned-out car. Another decapitated body splayed on the ground next to an eviscerated street.

The curve of an arm, and a foot, in a kind of yin and yang shape, appearing through the soil of a mass grave. And everywhere around this was a frozen tableau of horror.

It was the beginning of April, a month into Vladimir Putin‘s illegal invasion of the country. Russian forces had just withdrawn from towns they occupied in the region west of the capital Kyiv. Without electricity, internet and mobile phone reception, the outside world had had no contact with the residents of these areas. It was the first time we had access since the start of the war. And when Moscow’s men finally pulled back, it felt like stumbling through a lucid nightmare.

International correspondent Bel Trew recalls the moment which led to the making of her new documentary, The Body in the Woods, released on 1 March:

The harrowing discovery in Ukraine at the centre of The Independent’s new documentary

China, Belarus presidents call for Ukraine cease-fire, talks

Wednesday 1 March 2023 21:30 , Eleanor Noyce

The presidents of China and Belarus joined Wednesday in urging a cease-fire and negotiations to bring about a political settlement to the Ukraine conflict.

The joint call came in a meeting in Beijing between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

That amounted to an endorsement of a Chinese 12-point peace proposal issued Friday that calls for the territorial integrity of all countries to be respected. The proposal does not say what would happen to the regions Russia has occupied since the invasion or give details on how the peace process should proceed, and has failed to gain much support.

“The core of China’s stance is to call for peace and encourage talks ... and for the legitimate security concerns of all countries to be respected,” Xi was quoted as saying by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

In a clear reference to the U.S. and its allies, he added, “Relevant countries should stop politicizing and using the world economy as their tool, and take measures that truly advance a cease-fire and stop to war and resolve the crisis peacefully.”

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China, Belarus presidents call for Ukraine cease-fire, talks

Banksy artwork in Kyiv protected by new security measures after attempted theft

Wednesday 1 March 2023 21:00 , Eleanor Noyce

After the attempted theft of one of Banksy’s murals in Kyiv, the local government has implemented a new security system to keep the artwork safe and on display when damaged buildings are reconstructed.

Four sites in the capital of Ukraine have been put behind protective glass, while security guards also patrol areas to prevent future looting.

“Our position is that every single Banksy work should remain on the site as it is, in its original form,” Oleh Torkunov, deputy head of Kyiv regional military administration, said.

Watch:

Banksy artwork in Kyiv protected by new security measures after attempted theft

Argentina wants Ukraine war to end, says foreign minister

Wednesday 1 March 2023 20:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Argentina’s Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said Tuesday that Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine must stop and has not only destabilised peace but also impacted prices in his country.

“Latin America is a zone of peace, the most densely populated zone of peace,” Cafiero told The Associated Press in an interview. “And we have no military developments and no military infrastructure to participate in a war that we demand should be finished and should not continue.”

He said that Argentina had condemned Russia’s invasion from the onset “because Argentina believes that the principle of territorial integrity was violated by Russia. Argentina has always had the same message at international forums.”

“What we need is peace and escalation will only destroy … especially when it comes to creating lasting peace,” he said.

Cafiero said that the war, coming on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in the increase in food, fertilizer and energy prices that had also impacted Argentina. “Even though we are producers, the impact on prices, of course, generated high inflation,” he said.

Read more:

Argentina wants Ukraine war to end, says foreign minister

How Ukraine is pioneering war-time science with mobile DNA laboratories

Wednesday 1 March 2023 20:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine is pioneering war-time science by rolling out mobile laboratories with new technology capable of processing DNA samples in minutes to identify the dead.

It cuts down the time taken to identify those killed in Russia’s ruthless invasion from potentially years to just over an hour.

The new DNA machines, provided by Western donors including the French authorities and the Howard G Buffett Foundation in the United States, are being driven around the country in police vans allowing teams to process evidence in real time.

The authorities say it will substantially speed up the identification of thousands of its dead and the collection of war crime evidence for tens of thousands of cases they are building against Russia since it invaded in February 2022.

Bel Trew has the full story:

How Ukraine is pioneering war-time science with mobile DNA laboratories

Russia keeps door open on future talks about nuclear pact

Wednesday 1 March 2023 19:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia may continue to exchange information with the United States on issues related to their nuclear forces even after Moscow suspended its participation in the last remaining arms control pact between the two countries, a senior Russian diplomat said Wednesday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia has given the U.S. Embassy formal notice about the New START treaty’s suspension after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the decision into law on Tuesday.

Ryabkov noted that Russia and the U.S. had confidential discussions on matters related to the pact in recent days. He said Moscow could remain open to such exchanges in the future.

“We will communicate and exchange information when necessary,” Ryabkov said in comments carried by Russian news agencies.

The Russian diplomat emphasized that Russia will not end the suspension “at least until our American counterparts show readiness to abandon their hostile policy toward Russia, primarily concerning the developments in Ukraine.”

Read more:

Russia keeps door open on future talks about nuclear pact

Fashion designer uses Paris show to display life in Ukraine

Wednesday 1 March 2023 19:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Geo-political activism met tuxedo jackets at Paris Fashion Week as a vocal designer from Ukraine put on a show that paid homage to her country her team of over 20 people working in Kyiv.

Here are some highlights of Wednesday’s fall-winter 2023-2024 ready-to-wear collections:

Fashion designer uses Paris show to display life in Ukraine

Zelensky likens Russian attacks to Jewish massacre of WWII

Wednesday 1 March 2023 18:14 , Jane Dalton

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has likened Russia’s actions in the war to one of the deadliest single operations against Jews during the Holocaust in the second world war.

Over two days in 1941, more than 33,000 Jewish people were murdered at Babi Yar in Kyiv.

Posting a photo of Russian missiles in the capital a year ago, he recalled the wartime tragedy and wrote: “On March 1, 2022, this Russian crime was committed – against history, against humanity, against Kyiv and Ukraine.”

He added: “We will hold the terrorist state fully accountable for its genocidal war. Every murderer, terrorist and torturer will be brought to justice. Historical justice will be restored.”

Lavrov to tell G20 world is ‘on brink of disaster’ and rip into US at Delhi gathering

Wednesday 1 March 2023 17:53 , Eleanor Noyce

The Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will condemn the “destructive policy” of the United States and its allies at a meeting of G20 foreign ministers as the year-long Russian war in Ukraine casts a shadow over the summit in Delhi.

Mr Lavrov will focus on “attempts by the West to take revenge for the inevitable disappearance of the levers of dominance from its hands”, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Germany has pledged to counter Russian “propaganda” at the two-day foreign minister’s gathering which started on Wednesday. Foreign ministers and delegations from 40 countries have gathered in India’s capital for the summit.

While host countries can extend invitations to non-member countries such as Ukraine, India has not called on Kyiv to attend – but has invited nine guest nations: Bangladesh, Egypt, Netherlands, Mauritius, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the UAE.

Read more:

Lavrov to use G20 summit to rip into ‘destructive’ US over Ukraine

Lavrov holds talks with Indian and Chinese ministers

Wednesday 1 March 2023 17:15 , Jane Dalton

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has held talks with his Indian counterpart, a day before attending the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in India, which has kept a largely neutral stance on Russia’s war.

India has declined to blame Russia, seeking a diplomatic solution and sharply boosting its purchases of Russian oil.

Besides meeting Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Mr Lavrov also held talks with counterparts from Turkey, South Africa and Brazil, a senior Indian diplomat said.

He is due to meet Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang later.

Putin sends girl who drew anti-war picture to orphanage

Wednesday 1 March 2023 16:17 , Emily Atkinson

A 12-year-old Russian girl has been sent to an orphanage after she drew an anti-war picture at school, reports say.

Masha Moskaleva’s drawing featured both the Ukrainian and Russian flags, emblazoned with the words “No to war” and “Glory to Ukraine”, and a woman shielding her child from Moscow’s missiles.

Independent rights watchdog OVD-Info said that the teenager’s art teacher reported her work to the school’s headteacher, who then alerted Russian authorities.

Local law enforcement in the town of Yefremov in the Tula region, south of Moscow, took action in April 2022, charging her father Alexei Moskalev, 53, with “discrediting” the Russian army for an anti-war comment he wrote on social media platform Odnoklassniki, OVD-Info said.

His daughter, who was left home alone after her father’s eventual arrest on Wednesday, was taken to a foster care facility in Yefremov, according to the watchdog.

Images capture civilian volunteers taking position in a suburb of Kyiv

Wednesday 1 March 2023 16:10 , Emily Atkinson

Putin ally moves to up jail time for insulting the army

Wednesday 1 March 2023 15:40 , Emily Atkinson

Russia’s top lawmaker said on Wednesday he was introducing amendments to a wartime censorship law that would increase the maximum penalty for discrediting the army from five to 15 years in jail and extend the law to cover the Wagner mercenary force.

Moscow introduced sweeping censorship laws shortly after ordering tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine a year ago.

“Discrediting” the army can currently be punished by up to five years in prison, while spreading knowingly false information about it can attract a 15-year jail sentence.

Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, said on Wednesday his amendments would toughen the law and bring in a maximum punishment of 15 years in jail for both offences.

“This initiative will protect everyone who today is risking their lives to ensures the security of the country and our citizens”, Volodin, a close ally of President Putin, wrote on Telegram. “The punishment for violators will be severe.”

His proposals envisage fines of up to five million roubles, correctional or forced labour of up to five years, or imprisonment up to 15 years.

Russia 'will not rejoin nuclear treaty unless US changes Ukraine stance’

Wednesday 1 March 2023 15:10 , Emily Atkinson

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday that Moscow would not review its suspension of the New START nuclear arms treaty with the United States until it changed its policy on Ukraine, Interfax reported.

President Vladimir Putin last week announced that Moscow was suspending its participation in the deal, accusing the United States of trying to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia in Ukraine. He signed the suspension into law on Tuesday.

Interfax cited Ryabkov as saying: “Until the United States changes its behavior, until we see signs of common sense in what they are doing in relation to Ukraine ... we see no chance for the decision to suspend New START to be reviewed or re-examined”.

Germany's Scholz promises ramping up of ammunition production

Wednesday 1 March 2023 14:29 , Emily Atkinson

Germany will ramp up ammunition production while ensuring it has enough replacement parts and repairs capacity in its defence industry after one year of providing military support to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday.

“This will remain an ongoing task because we have said that we will support Ukraine for as long as necessary,” Scholz said in Berlin following a meeting with Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins.

China and Belarus leaders call for ceasefire

Wednesday 1 March 2023 13:40 , Jane Dalton

The presidents of China and Belarus have jointly urged a ceasefire and negotiations to bring about a political settlement to the war.

It amounted to an endorsement of a Chinese 12-point peace proposal issued on Friday that calls for the territorial integrity of all countries to be respected.

From AP:

China, Belarus presidents call for Ukraine cease-fire, talks

Uncrowned queen of Russia: Putin ‘funnels millions by buying largest apartment in Russia for gymnast lover’

Wednesday 1 March 2023 13:20 , Emily Atkinson

Vladimir Putin bought his gymnast lover the largest apartment in Russia and a wooden mansion deep in the countryside, according to an investigation.

A report by Project, a Russian opposition website banned by the Kremlin, alleged that Putin, 70, funnelled millions in illicit funds into properties for his 39-year-old girlfriend Alina Kabaeva.

Ms Kabaeva, who has been called “the uncrowned queen of Russia”, is believed to have been in a relationship with the Russian president since the early 2000s, including while he was still married.

Martha McHardy has the details:

Putin ‘funnels millions by buying largest apartment in Russia for gymnast lover’

Watch: Multiple armoured Russian vehicles destroyed in battle near Maryinka

Wednesday 1 March 2023 12:50 , Emily Atkinson

Argentina wants Ukraine war to end, says foreign minister

Wednesday 1 March 2023 12:20 , Emily Atkinson

Argentina’s foreign minister Santiago Cafiero said Tuesday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine must stop and has not only destabilized peace but also impacted prices in his country.

“Latin America is a zone of peace, the most densely populated zone of peace,” Cafiero told The Associated Press in an interview. “And we have no military developments and no military infrastructure to participate in a war that we demand should be finished and should not continue.”

He said that Argentina had condemned Russia’s invasion from the onset “because Argentina believes that the principle of territorial integrity was violated by Russia. Argentina has always had the same message at international forums.”

“What we need is peace and escalation will only destroy — especially when it comes to creating lasting peace,” he said.

Independent TV releases first feature-length documentary The Body in the Woods

Wednesday 1 March 2023 12:05 , Emily Atkinson

Independent TV has released The Body in the Woods, a new feature-length documentary from International Correspondent Bel Trew, which delves into Ukraine’s unprecedented search for its missing and dead in the middle of Europe’s bloodiest war in generations.

It comes as the world marks one year since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The 40-minute documentary, from the new TV and documentary team at The Independent, opens with the discovery of a body of a young man found bound, shot and burned beside an abandoned Russian camp in the woods outside Kyiv.

Following today’s release, viewers are now able to watch it online at the Independent TV hub (independent.tv), on The Independent’s new smart TV app, and on the Independent mobile app.

More information on how you can watch our new documentary can be found here:

Independent TV releases first feature-length documentary The Body in the Woods

Russia says it repelled ‘massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea'

Wednesday 1 March 2023 11:50 , Emily Atkinson

Russia’s defence ministry claims its forces have repelled what it described as a massive drone attack on Crimea by Ukrainian forces and that there were no casualties, Russian news agencies reported.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv demands that Moscow hand it back.