Ukraine-Russia war – live: Moscow may have used new guided bomb to attack Kharkiv injuring 19

LIVE – Updated at 10:43

A newborn is among several injured after Russia may have used a new type of guided bomb in airstrikes on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Local officials said four children including a three-month-old baby were among 19 people wounded in the attack on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned as “Russian terror”.

Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv regional police, said Moscow may have used a new type of guided bomb, which he described as the UMPB D-30. “This is something between a guided aerial bomb which they (the Russians) have used recently, and a missile. It’s a flying bomb so to say,” Tymoshko said at the site of the strike.

It comes as Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin told Interfax-Ukraine that more than 5,500 Ukrainians have reportedly been tortured by Vladimir Putin’s troops, while he claimed over 10,000 peaceful civilians are being held in occupied territories.

The Kremlin has strongly denied any allegations of torture or maltreatment.

Key Points

• Russia may have used new guided bomb to attack Ukraine’s Kharkiv, local officials say
• Ukraine destroys 26 Russian drones in latest overnight strike
• Kyiv prosecutor says 5,600 Ukrainians have been tortured by Russia
• Ukraine has sunk or immobilised ‘one third’ of Putin’s Black Sea Fleet
• Spy boss reveals secret Ukrainian assassination campaign

Pray this Easter for journalist Evan Gershkovich jailed in Russia, Archbishop of Canterbury says

10:43 , Tara Cobham

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on people to pray over Easter for Evan Gershkovich, the journalist from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) who has been held in a Russian jail for a year on false espionage charges.

Mr Gershkovich, 32, became the first US journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War when he was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on 29 March 2023 during a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg.

The reporter, the WSJ and the US government all deny Mr Gershkovich is a spy and he has been falsely imprisoned. He has had his pre-trial detention extended five times, the latest in a court hearing earlier this week that added three months until at least 30 June. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Justin Welby: Pray for jailed journalist Evan Gershkovich this Easter

Russian rights group warns jailed leader’s health is deteriorating

09:49 , Tara Cobham

Leading Russian human rights group Memorial has warned that the health of its jailed 70-year-old head, Oleg Orlov, is deteriorating, accusing prison authorities of subjecting him to inhumane treatment.

Orlov, a leader of Memorial which won a share of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, was sentenced last month to 2-1/2 years in prison for “discrediting the armed forces” after he took part in anti-war demonstrations and published an article in which he said Russia had descended into fascism.

He has since filed an appeal.

Memorial said on Wednesday that Orlov’s health was suffering due to a strict diet of “dry rations” added to boiling water. He is also forced at the request of the judge to make daily trips between the detention centre and the court to review the case materials for his appeal, travelling in an unheated and smoke-filled police van, the group said.

It also said he is not being granted regular and confidential access to his lawyers.

“Orlov’s constant trips to court, as well as the conditions of transportation and detention during trips, together constitute cruel and degrading treatment and violate Orlov’s rights,” his defence team wrote in official complaints it filed to the court and posted on Memorial’s website.

“The current situation gives me serious fears for the life and health of my client,” the complaint says.

Oleg Orlov, the co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organisation Memorial, gestures while standing in a glass cage after he was taken into custody (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Russia may have used new guided bomb to attack Ukraine’s Kharkiv, local officials say

08:55 , Tara Cobham

Russia may have used a new type of guided bomb in airstrikes on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv that killed at least one person on Wednesday, local officials said.

The officials said four children including a three-month-old baby were among 19 people wounded in Kharkiv in the latest strikes since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, some of which have caused blackouts, including in Kharkiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attack as “Russian terror” and Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv regional police, said Moscow may have used a new type of guided bomb which he described as the UMPB D-30.

“This is something between a guided aerial bomb which they (the Russians) have used recently, and a missile. It’s a flying bomb so to say,” Tymoshko said at the site of the strike.

Regional governor Oleh Synehubov also suggested Moscow may have used a new type of bomb, saying: “It seems that the Russians decided to test their modified bombs on the residents of the houses.”

Russia did not immediately comment on their remarks. It denies targeting civilians although the war has killed thousands of people, uprooted millions and destroyed towns and cities.

Two residential buildings and a medical institution were partially destroyed, and a total of 14 buildings, including an educational facility, were damaged, Synehubov said on the Telegram messenger.

A rescuer works outside a residential building damaged as a result of Russian strikes in Kharkiv on Wednesday (AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine destroys 26 Russian drones in latest overnight strike

08:32 , Tara Cobham

Ukrainian forces shot down 26 out of 28 attack drones launched overnight by Russia, Kyiv’s military said on Thursday.

The Iranian-made drones were destroyed over parts of eastern, southern and southeastern Ukraine, the air force added.

The Zaporizhzhia region’s governor said on Telegram that two women had been wounded when debris struck a residential neighbourhood in the regional capital.

Prosecutors in the eastern Kharkiv region said a restaurant, a store and offices were damaged by debris from three drones.

The air force added that Russia’s overnight attack included several types of missiles. The military’s southern command reported on Telegram that those launched from planes over the Black Sea had “lost their combat capability”.

Odesa region governor Oleh Kiper said Russia carried out a separate missile strike later in the morning but that no injuries had been reported. He did not specify the target.

Russia has launched regular air strikes on population centres far behind the lines of its two-year-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

What is ISIS-K and why has it attacked Russia?

07:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In the weeks leading up to the tragedy at a Moscow music venue on Friday night, warnings had been relayed to Russia that a terror attack perpetrated by extremists was imminent.

Despite this, it appears their intelligence services were caught unaware when a group of four gunmen opened fire at Crocus City Hall, where 7,000 concertgoers had gathered to watch the progressive rock band Picnic.

At least 137 people have been killed, while over a hundred more have been wounded with the jihadist group ISIS-K claiming responsibility in a series of videos and messages.

What is ISIS-K and why has it attacked Russia?

George Galloway accuses UK of being involved in Moscow terror attack

06:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Newly elected MP George Galloway has accused the UK of being involved in last week’s Moscow terror attack in comments seized upon by a Kremlin-linked newspaper.

The Rochdale MP accused the US and the UK of lying about the involvement of Isis in the attack, which killed at least 139 people and injured around 360, on his talk show on YouTube.

In the month after his return to parliament, described as a “dark day” for Britain’s Jewish community, Mr Galloway espoused conspiracy theories about the Princess of Wales being dead and likened Israel to Nazi Germany.

George Galloway MP accuses UK of involvement in Moscow terror attack

Ukraine spy chief details assassination campaign against Ukrainians collaborating with Russia

05:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The head of Ukraine’s national spy agency has revealed details of a secretive assassination campaign apparently targeting Ukrainians collaborating with Russia.

In an hour-long televised interview, SBU’s senior officer Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk spoke about a number of high-profile killings in Russian-occupied territory and Russia itself, including that of a pro-Kremlin military blogger in Vladimir Putin’s hometown of St Petersburg.

Lt Gen Malyuk claimed “very many” people responsible for war crimes and attacks against Ukrainian citizens had been targeted. But he said: “Officially, we will not admit to this… But at the same time, I can offer some details.”

Ukraine spy chief details assassination campaign against Russia collaborators

Ukraine ramps up spending on homemade weapons to help repel Russia

04:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine needs any edge it can get to repel Russia from its territory. One emerging bright spot is its small but fast-growing defense industry, which the government is flooding with money in hopes that a surge of homemade weapons and ammunition can help turn the tide.

The effort ramped up sharply over the past year as the U.S. and Europe strained to deliver weapons and other aid to Ukraine, which is up against a much bigger Russian military backed by a thriving domestic defense industry.

The Ukrainian government budgeted nearly $1.4 billion in 2024 to buy and develop weapons at home — 20 times more than before Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Ukraine ramps up spending on homemade weapons to help repel Russia

Moscow attack: Everything we know so far about concert hall terror suspects

03:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The four men suspected of carrying out the deadly terrorist attack in Moscow have appeared in court bearing the marks of torture.

The suspects, identified by Russian authorities as being from Tajikistan, a Central Asian nation bordering Afghanistan, were allegedly picked up in the Bryansk region about 210 miles southwest of Moscow hours after the attack. Without providing any evidence, Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed they were heading for Ukraine.

Both Ukraine and its western allies, including the US, have denied any involvement in the attack.

Moscow attack: Everything we know so far about concert hall terror suspects

Russia may have used new guided bomb to attack Ukraine’s Kharkiv, local officials say

02:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia may have used a new type of guided bomb in airstrikes on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv that killed at least one person on Wednesday, local officials said.

The officials said four children including a three-month-old baby were among 19 people wounded in Kharkiv in the latest strikes since Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, some of which have caused blackouts, including in Kharkiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attack as “Russian terror” and Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv regional police, said Moscow may have used a new type of guided bomb which he described as the UMPB D-30.

“This is something between a guided aerial bomb which they (the Russians) have used recently, and a missile. It’s a flying bomb so to say,” Tymoshko said at the site of the strike.

Regional governor Oleh Synehubov also suggested Moscow may have used a new type of bomb, saying: “It seems that the Russians decided to test their modified bombs on the residents of the houses.”

Death toll in Moscow hall attack rises to 143

01:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The death toll from the Moscow concert hall attack has increased to 143, Russian officials said.

Around 80 other people wounded in the siege by gunmen remain in hospital.

The Friday night massacre in Crocus City Hall, a sprawling shopping and entertainment venue on the north-western outskirts of Moscow, was the deadliest terror attack on the Russian soil in nearly 20 years. At least four men armed with automatic rifles shot at thousands of concertgoers and set the venue on fire.

An affiliate of the so-called Islamic State group (IS) claimed responsibility for the violence, while US intelligence said it had information confirming the group was responsible. French President Emmanuel Macron said France also has intelligence pointing to “an IS entity” as responsible for the attack.

The updated fatalities from Russia‘s Emergencies Ministry did not state the number of wounded, but health minister Mikhail Murashko said earlier on Wednesday that 80 people were in hospitals and another 205 had sought medical treatment from the attack.

Russia‘s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had arrested 11 people the day after the attack, including four suspected gunmen.

Russia extends arrest of US reporter Evan Gershkovich after almost a year in jail

00:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A Moscow court on Tuesday ordered Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to remain in jail on espionage charges until at least late June, court officials said.

The 32-year-old US citizen was arrested in late March 2023 while on a reporting trip and has spent nearly a year behind bars. His arrest was extended until June 30.

Gershkovich and his employer have denied the allegations, and the US government has declared him to be wrongfully detained.

Russia extends arrest of US reporter Evan Gershkovich after almost a year in jail

Russian spy chief makes bizarre claim that the US, UK and Ukraine were involved in Moscow attack

Wednesday 27 March 2024 23:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In a sign of the Kremlin’s increasing desperation to drag its invasion of Ukraine into the Moscow concert hall attack, the director of Russia’s powerful Federal Security Service (the FSB) has claimed that Kyiv, the US and the UK were behind the incident.

The bizarre claim comes despite a branch of the Isis terror group having claimed responsibility for the attack and published graphic video footage of the shooting, and the US, France and a number of other nations saying they believed the jihadists were behind it.

Russia says 139 people were killed when four armed men burst into the Crocus City Hall concert complex on Friday evening. Another 22 remain in a serious condition, including two children, officials say.

Russian spy chief in bizarre claim that US, UK and Ukraine were behind Moscow attack

Wednesday 27 March 2024 22:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian MP on how Britain can help country win Russia war: ‘Let’s make Putin pay’

How events in Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region raised fears of Russian interference

Wednesday 27 March 2024 21:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, fears have risen in neighboring Moldova that it could also be in Moscow’s crosshairs.

Like Ukraine, Moldova is a former Soviet republic that has aligned itself with the West and aspires to join the European Union. And both countries hope to eventually reintegrate Russian-speaking breakaway territories that view Moscow as their protector.

After a short war in the early 1990s, Transnistria declared independence from Moldova, where today’s pro-Western government has firmly opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine.

How events in Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region raised fears of Russian interference

Ukraine spy chief details assassination campaign against Ukrainians collaborating with Russia

Wednesday 27 March 2024 20:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The head of Ukraine’s national spy agency has revealed details of a secretive assassination campaign apparently targeting Ukrainians collaborating with Russia.

In an hour-long televised interview, SBU’s senior officer Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk spoke about a number of high-profile killings in Russian-occupied territory and Russia itself, including that of a pro-Kremlin military blogger in Vladimir Putin’s hometown of St Petersburg.

Lt Gen Malyuk claimed “very many” people responsible for war crimes and attacks against Ukrainian citizens had been targeted. But he said: “Officially, we will not admit to this… But at the same time, I can offer some details.”

Ukraine spy chief details assassination campaign against Russia collaborators

Nearly 100 people still missing after Moscow attack, Russian news site says

Wednesday 27 March 2024 19:00 , Holly Evans

As many as 95 people are still missing after last week’s attack near Moscow when gunmen sprayed concertgoers with automatic weapons and set the venue on fire, a Russian news outlet reported on Wednesday.

The official toll from the attack on Crocus City Hall now stands at 140 dead and 182 wounded. But the Baza news service, which has good contacts in Russian security and law enforcement, said 95 more people appeared in lists compiled by the emergency services based on appeals from people about missing relatives.

“These lists include people with whom relatives have not been able to get in touch since the terrorist attack, but who are not on the lists of wounded and dead,” Baza said. “Some of these people died, but have not yet been identified.”

Nearly 100 people are still missing after the terror attack on a concert hall (AP)

Russian investigators said the attack was carried out by four shooters using Kalashnikov automatic weapons. More than 500 rounds were found at the scene.

The shooting began shortly before the Soviet-era rock group “Picnic” was set to play to a full house of 6,200 people. More than 200 people could have been in the blazing building moments before the roof collapsed, Baza reported on Saturday, citing emergency service sources who reviewed surveillance footage.

Russia uses bombs in airstrike on Ukrainian city of Kharkiv

Wednesday 27 March 2024 18:00 , Holly Evans

Russia attacked the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with guided bombs on Wednesday for the first time since 2022, damaging a school and a residential area, regional police said.

“Kharkiv was hit by aerial bombs – for the first time since 2022,” Serhiy Bolvinov, the head of the investigative department of the regional police, said on Facebook.

Ukraine spy chief details assassination campaign against Ukrainians collaborating with Russia

Wednesday 27 March 2024 17:08 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The head of Ukraine’s national spy agency has revealed details of a secretive assassination campaign apparently targeting Ukrainians collaborating with Russia.

In an hour-long televised interview, SBU’s senior officer Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk spoke about a number of high-profile killings in Russian-occupied territory and Russia itself, including that of a pro-Kremlin military blogger in Vladimir Putin’s hometown of St Petersburg.

Lt Gen Malyuk claimed “very many” people responsible for war crimes and attacks against Ukrainian citizens had been targeted. But he said: “Officially, we will not admit to this… But at the same time, I can offer some details.”

Ukraine spy chief details assassination campaign against Russia collaborators

How events in Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region raised fears of Russian interference

Wednesday 27 March 2024 17:00 , Holly Evans

Since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, fears have risen in neighboring Moldova that it could also be in Moscow’s crosshairs.

Like Ukraine, Moldova is a former Soviet republic that has aligned itself with the West and aspires to join the European Union. And both countries hope to eventually reintegrate Russian-speaking breakaway territories that view Moscow as their protector.

After a short war in the early 1990s, Transnistria declared independence from Moldova, where today’s pro-Western government has firmly opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine.

Read the full article here:

How events in Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region raised fears of Russian interference

Russia sentences Pussy Riot activist to six years in absentia for Ukraine “war fakes”

Wednesday 27 March 2024 16:04 , Holly Evans

A Russian court sentenced Lyusya Shtein, a member of Pussy Riot and a former municipal deputy in Moscow, to six years in prison in absentia for anti-war social media posts, the court’s press service said on Wednesday.

Shtein, 27, was found guilty of spreading “war fakes” in connection with a March 2022 post on X, in which she accused Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine of “bombing foreign cities and killing people”, Russian independent news outlet Mediazona reported.

At least 19,855 people have been detained in Russia for expressing anti-war views since President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors crackdowns on dissent.

Those found guilty of spreading “false information” about Russia’s army risk 10 years in prison.

The Moscow court said Shtein, who served as a Moscow municipal deputy until 2022, would begin her sentence once she could be extradited to Russia.

5,600 Ukrainians have been tortured by Russia, Kyiv prosecutor says

Wednesday 27 March 2024 15:19 , Holly Evans

Ukraine’s prosecutor general Andriy Kostin claimed that 5,600 Ukrainians have been tortured by Russia, while more than 10,000 civilians are being held in occupied territories.

“There are different numbers. We estimate tens of thousands, more than 10,000 for sure. We are talking only about those who were forcibly resettled, and not about those who made such a decision at their own discretion,” Kostin told Interfax-Ukraine, answering a question about the number of civilian hostages held by the enemy.

He added that the number of victims suffering from torture of mistreatment may be “much higher” but there was a lack of information available in occupied territories.

One killed in Russian attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv

Wednesday 27 March 2024 14:47 , Holly Evans

Russian air strikes on Ukraine’s Kharkiv on Wednesday killed one person and injured another six, the city’s mayor said.

“Five-story houses were severely damaged. The institute of emergency surgery was also damaged,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on the Telegram messenger app.

Death toll of Moscow terror attack rises to 140 people

Wednesday 27 March 2024 13:45 , Holly Evans

The death toll from the Moscow concert hall attack has increased to 140 after another victim died in hospital, Russian officials said.

That person was one of five who were taken to hospital in an “extremely grave condition”, and the doctors “did everything they could” to save them, Russia’s health minister Mikhail Murashko said.

A total of 80 people injured in the attack remain in hospital, the official added, and 205 others have sought outpatient medical assistance.

The death toll for the Moscow attack has risen to 140 people (AP)

The Friday night massacre in Crocus City Hall, a sprawling shopping and entertainment venue on the north-western outskirts of Moscow, was the deadliest terror attack on the Russian soil in nearly 20 years. At least four men armed with automatic rifles shot at thousands of concertgoers and set the venue on fire.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had arrested 11 people the day after the attack, including four suspected gunmen, with the extremist group ISIS claiming responsibility.

Russia detains members of ‘extremist’ religious group

Wednesday 27 March 2024 13:15 , Holly Evans

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained members Allya Ayat, a new age religious group orginiated in Kazakhstan, in the city of Rostov-on-Don, according to state news agency TASS.

The group has been banned as “extremist” under Russian law, with authorities on high alert following the deadly terror attack on a concert hall that killed at least 140 people.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Latest pictures from the frontline

Wednesday 27 March 2024 12:48 , Holly Evans

Students in Kharkiv using classrooms built in the metro due to constant air-raid alarms (Anadolu via Getty Images)

Two soldiers carrying the Poseidon H10 Middle-range UAV near Bakhmut (AP)

A Ukrainian soldier of 22nd Mechanised brigade prepares to start the Poseidon H10 Middle-range UAV at the front-line (AP)

Ukraine ramps up spending on homemade weapons to help repel Russia

Wednesday 27 March 2024 12:29 , Holly Evans

The Ukrainian government budgeted nearly $1.4 billion in 2024 to buy and develop weapons at home — 20 times more than before Russia’s full-scale invasion.

And in another major shift, a huge portion of weapons are now being bought from privately owned factories. They are sprouting up across the country and rapidly taking over an industry that had been dominated by state-owned companies.

A privately owned mortar factory that launched in western Ukraine last year is making roughly 20,000 shells a month. “I feel that we are bringing our country closer to victory,” said Anatolli Kuzmin, the factory’s 64-year-old owner, who used to make farm equipment and fled his home in southern Ukraine after Russia invaded in 2022.

Yet like many aspects of Ukraine’s war apparatus, its defense sector has been constrained by a lack of money and manpower – and, according to executives and generals, too much government red tape. A more robust private sector could help root out inefficiencies and enable factories to churn out weapons and ammunition even faster.

Russian investigators to study request to probe Western involvement in ‘terrorism’

Wednesday 27 March 2024 11:53 , Holly Evans

Russian state investigators said on Wednesday they would study a request from parliamentarians to investigate what they called the “organisation, financing, and conduct of terrorist acts” against Russia by the United States and other Western countries.

The director of Russia’s FSB security agency said on Tuesday that he believed Ukraine, along with the United States and Britain, were involved in an attack on a concert hall just outside Moscow that killed at least 139 people.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron posted on X: “Russia’s claims about the West and Ukraine on the Crocus City Hall attack are utter nonsense.”

Islamic State took responsibility for the Moscow shooting. Washington and Paris have said they have intelligence confirming the Islamist militant group was behind the attack.

Ukraine has sunk or immobilised ‘one third’ of Putin’s Black Sea Fleet

Wednesday 27 March 2024 11:30 , Holly Evans

Ukraine has sunk or disabled a third of Russian warships in the Black Sea, a navy spokesman has said.

Dmytro Pletenchuk made the comments after Kyiv “destroyed” the Russian landing ship Kostiantyn Olshansky that was resting in port in Sevastopol. The ship had previously been part of the Ukrainian fleet until it was captured in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea.

Two other landing ships, the Yamal and the Azov, were also damaged in the attack, as well as the Ivan Khurs intelligence ship.

“Our ultimate goal is complete absence of military ships of the so-called Russian Federation in the Azov and Black Sea regions,” Mr Pletenchuk said.

Putin speaks with Republic of Congo president and Mali leader on deepening ties

Wednesday 27 March 2024 11:21 , Holly Evans

Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leader of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, agreed in a telephone call to further deepen political, economic and humanitarian ties, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

Russia is seeking to strengthen relations with African countries, pitching Moscow as a friendly country without a colonial background in Africa.

It follows his call with Mali’s military leader Assimi Goita, with the two men agreeing to forge closer ties when it came to counter-terrorism, agriculture, the energy sector and mining.

Mali has in recent years become one of Russia’s closest African allies, with the Wagner Group mercenary force deploying there to fight anti-government rebels in the Sahel country.

Putin has spoken with the leaders of Mali and the Republic of Congo (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Putin orders Russian government to look at production of home-grown gaming consoles

Wednesday 27 March 2024 10:38 , Holly Evans

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian government to look at how to organise the production of home-grown gaming consoles, state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday.

Putin is trying to make Russia less dependent on consumer goods and electronics produced by what Moscow regards as hostile states due to sweeping Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

Ukraine qualifies for the Euros

Wednesday 27 March 2024 09:59 , Holly Evans

Ukraine’s national football has provided a glimmer of hope after qualifying for the Euro 2024 tournament.

In a playoff final in Poland last night, the team defeated Iceland 2-1 and have now progressed to the group stages, with games set to take place in June and July.

Their opening game is set to be against Romania on 17 June and followed by matches against Belgium and Slovakia in Group E.

Posting on X, Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Thank you, team. For the important victory and making it to EURO.

“For proving once again, whenever Ukrainians face difficulties they do not give up and continue to fight, Ukrainians certainly win.”

Ukraine has qualified for the Euro 2024 tournament (Getty Images)

Kyrgyzstan urges citizens to limit travel to Russia

Wednesday 27 March 2024 09:35 , Holly Evans

Kyrgyzstan’s foreign ministry has urged citizens of the Central Asian nation to put off unnecessary travel to Russia after a deadly shooting that was blamed on migrants from the region.

The developments have increased existing anti-immigrant sentiment in Russia, especially towards migrant labourers from the predominantly Muslim countries of Central Asia.

A Kyrgyzstan-born man was remanded in pre-trial custody by a Russian court on Tuesday, accused of providing accommodation to the four suspected perpetrators, who are of Tajik origin. Those four and three others of Tajik origin suspected of complicity are also in pre-trial detention.

Islamic State has said it was responsible for the attack and has released video footage of the massacre, which killed 139 people and wounded 182. The group has not identified any of the attackers.

Hundreds of thousands of people from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan work in Russia, and some have already said it has become tougher for them to do so. Some passengers, for example, refuse to board taxis with Tajik drivers.

Spy boss reveals secret Ukrainian assassination campaign

Wednesday 27 March 2024 08:57 , Holly Evans

A Ukrainian spy boss has revealed a secretive assassination campaign which is possibly being carried out by Ukraine’s national spy service to target pro-Kremlin collaborators.

In an hour-long televised interview, Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, an SBU senior officer, said spiekd had targeted “very many” people responsible for Ukrainian war crimes.

This included clandestine operations to kill Ukrainian nationals collaborating with Moscow to arrest other Ukrainians, with the SBU sanctioned to carry out assassinations once their intelligence had been confirmed.

Notable deaths included Vladlen Tatarsky, a Kremlin propagandist and media personality, who was targeted for his calls for the elimination of Ukrainians.

He was handed an explosive-rigged statuette in a St Petersburg cafe in April last year, with Mr Malyuk saying he deserved it given his repeated abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Tributes left for Vladlen Tatarsky who was killed in a cafe in St Petersburg (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Former parliament member Ilya Kyva, who was a fugitive from Kyiv authorities after being convicted of treason, was another high-profile execution. He had been collaborating with Russia’s FSB when he was killed by an assassin who shot him at close range in a park in suburban Moscow.

In one assassination attempt that failed, close Vladimir Putin ally Aleksander Dugin had switched cars at the last minute with his daughter, who was killed when the vehicle, which had been rigged with a bomb, exploded in Moscow.

France will soon deliver 78 howitzers to Ukraine to meet Kyiv’s urgent needs

Wednesday 27 March 2024 08:24 , Holly Evans

France will soon be able to deliver 78 Caesar howitzers to Ukraine and will boost its supply of shells to meet Kyiv‘s urgent needs for ammunition to fight Russia‘s full-scale invasion, the defense minister said Tuesday.

Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said at a news conference that an agreement was reached among France, Ukraine and Denmark to finance the Caesar self-propelled 155 mm howitzers, which will enable France to “quickly deliver” them.

France has also set a goal to deliver 80,000 shells for 155 mm guns to Ukraine this year — up from 30,000 delivered since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24, 2022, he said.

Read the full article here:

France will soon deliver 78 howitzers to Ukraine to meet Kyiv’s urgent needs, defense minister says

Russia attacks Ukraine with 13 drones, Ukrainian air force chief says

Wednesday 27 March 2024 07:19 , Holly Evans

Ukraine’s air force chief said on Wednesday that Russia launched 13 Shahed drones at Ukraine overnight, 10 of which were downed in Kharkiv, Sumy and Kyiv regions.

“Anti-aircraft missile units, mobile fire groups, electronic warfare equipment … were involved in repelling the air attack,” Mykola Oleshchuk said.

Ukraine ramps up spending on homemade weapons to help repel Russia

Wednesday 27 March 2024 07:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine needs any edge it can get to repel Russia from its territory. One emerging bright spot is its small but fast-growing defense industry, which the government is flooding with money in hopes that a surge of homemade weapons and ammunition can help turn the tide.

The effort ramped up sharply over the past year as the U.S. and Europe strained to deliver weapons and other aid to Ukraine, which is up against a much bigger Russian military backed by a thriving domestic defense industry.

The Ukrainian government budgeted nearly $1.4 billion in 2024 to buy and develop weapons at home — 20 times more than before Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Ukraine ramps up spending on homemade weapons to help repel Russia

Moscow attack: Everything we know so far about concert hall terror suspects

Wednesday 27 March 2024 06:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The four men suspected of carrying out the deadly terrorist attack in Moscow have appeared in court bearing the marks of torture.

The suspects, identified by Russian authorities as being from Tajikistan, a Central Asian nation bordering Afghanistan, were allegedly picked up in the Bryansk region about 210 miles southwest of Moscow hours after the attack.

Without providing any evidence, Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed they were heading for Ukraine.

Both Ukraine and its western allies, including the US, have denied any involvement in the attack.

Moscow attack: Everything we know so far about concert hall terror suspects

Russia extends arrest of US reporter Evan Gershkovich after almost a year in jail

Wednesday 27 March 2024 05:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A Moscow court on Tuesday ordered Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to remain in jail on espionage charges until at least late June, court officials said.

The 32-year-old US citizen was arrested in late March 2023 while on a reporting trip and has spent nearly a year behind bars. His arrest was extended until June 30.

Gershkovich and his employer have denied the allegations, and the US government has declared him to be wrongfully detained.

Russia extends arrest of US reporter Evan Gershkovich after almost a year in jail

Production at weapons plant doubles amid war in Ukraine

Wednesday 27 March 2024 05:10 , Arpan Rai

Production at a weapons plant in Northern Ireland has doubled, and is set to double again following Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Thales UK operate two sites in the region – with high precision missiles designed and produced at a plant in east Belfast, and final missile assembly at another plant in Crossgar, Co Down.

It designs and produces missiles including Starstreak, Lightweight Multi-role Missile (LMM) systems as well as final assembly of the Saab designed NLAW.

They have also trained UK and Ukraine soldiers in the south of England.

Production at weapons plant doubles amid war in Ukraine

Russia extends arrest of US reporter Evan Gershkovich after almost a year in jail

Wednesday 27 March 2024 05:05 , Arpan Rai

A Moscow court has ordered Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to remain in jail on espionage charges until at least late June, court officials said.

The 32-year-old US citizen was arrested in late March 2023 while on a reporting trip and has spent nearly a year behind bars. His arrest was extended until 30 June.

Mr Gershkovich and The Journal have denied the allegations from Moscow, and the US government has declared him to be wrongfully detained.

His arrest in the city of Yekaterinburg rattled journalists in Russia, where authorities have not detailed what, if any, evidence they have to support the espionage charges.

Russia extends arrest of US reporter Evan Gershkovich after almost a year in jail

Russia killed 32 prisoners of war this winter, says UN

Wednesday 27 March 2024 04:31 , Arpan Rai

Russia has executed at least 32 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) it had recently captured, a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said yesterday.

The executions were carried out between 1 December 2023 and 29 February this year.

OHCHR said it recorded 12 cases of executions of at least 32 captured Ukrainian POWs during the winter, indicating that the Russian officials carried out these killings in groups.

“OHCHR has verified three of these incidents in which Russian servicemen executed seven Ukrainian servicemen hors de combat,” according to the report, which is based on interviews with 60 Ukrainian soldiers released from captivity.

Ukraine has flagged reports of torture or killings of Ukrainian POWs in Russian captivity since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2024.

Multiple victims of Moscow attack including children are in serious condition, Russian officials say

Wednesday 27 March 2024 04:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Twenty-two victims of the Russia concert hall attack that killed more than 130 people remain in serious condition in the hospital, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said Tuesday, according to state news agency Tass. Two of them are children, it said.

Russia is still reeling from the attack Friday in which gunmen killed 139 people in a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the gunmen are “radical Islamists,” but despite all evidence pointing to the involvement of Islamic State, Putin repeated his accusation that Ukraine could have played a role. Kyiv has strongly denied any link to the attack.

Four men accused of carrying out the attack appeared before a Moscow court on Sunday on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings. One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.

Multiple victims of Moscow attack including children are in serious condition, Russian officials say

Japan, UK back World Bank’s $1.5bn development loan for Ukraine

Wednesday 27 March 2024 03:59 , Arpan Rai

The World Bank will give $1.5bn in development loans to Ukraine under its Growth Foundations Development Policy Loan (DPL) program, officials in Kyiv said.

The loan will reach Ukraine by the end of March, a statement from the Ukraine’s finance ministry said.

It added that the funding will be backed by guarantees from Japan and the UK, and will be provided through the World Bank Trust Fund (ADVANCE Ukraine).

“The funds raised will be used to support the state budget of Ukraine and economic recovery, as well as to finance the priority social and humanitarian expenditures of the state budget,” Ukraine’s finance minister Serhii Marchenko said.

Zelensky replaces top security official in new reshuffle

Wednesday 27 March 2024 03:36 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the secretary of Ukraine’s national security council and replaced him with the head of his foreign spy agency yesterday in a new shake-up that follows the overhaul of the military high command last month.

Mr Zelensky, speaking later in his nightly video address, said Oleksiy Danilov was being transferred to new duties, with details to be made public later.

The Ukrainian president did not provide a reason for the reshuffle as his presidential website showed a series of plainly worded decrees.

Danilov, the outgoing secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, had held his position since October 2019, just months after Mr Zelensky took office.

Mr Zelensky said he expected “a strengthening of our state’s strategic capabilities to forecast and influence the processes upon which our national security depends.

“The strengthening of Ukraine and the renewal of our state system in all sectors will continue.”

Mr Zelensky appointed Oleksandr Lytvynenko, 51, head of the foreign intelligence service, who has no public profile whatsoever, to head the council.