Tag: Ukraine war

Ukraine war: Zelenskyy admits it’s ‘impossible’ to completely force Russia out of country – amid fears of Korea-style split

In its latest intelligence update, the MoD said local counterattacks have hampered Russian attempts to reorganise its forces, amid fears Chernihiv could become the next Mariupol.

Zelenskyy admits it's 'impossible' to completely force Russia out of country
An armoured vehicle painted with the Z of pro-Russian troops near Mariupol in southern Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has admitted it would be “impossible” to completely force Russian forces out of Ukraine, amid fears Vladimir Putin is seeking a Korea-style split.

The head of military intelligence in Kyiv said the Kremlin wanted to split the country like “North and South Korea”, securing itself a region controlled from Moscow after failing in its bid for a complete takeover.

Speaking hours later, Mr Zelenskyy appeared to acknowledge his government would have to concede territory.

He said attempting to completely force Russia out “would lead to a Third World War”.

Mr Zelenskyy said he was seeking a “compromise” with Moscow over Donbas, the region which has been partly controlled by Russian-backed separatist groups since 2014.

It’s been suggested that the Kremlin wants to hold “referendums” in such areas to determine whether the people living there want to be part of Russia.

But Mr Zelenskyy wants Russian troops out of parts of the country they’ve occupied since last month’s full invasion, saying a deal is “only possible” if they are withdrawn.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-battlefield-in-north-largely-static-says-ministry-of-defence-as-local-counterattacks-hamper-russian-forces-12576069

Ukraine war: This woman’s waging her own battle against Putin – and all she needs is her mobile phone

Maria Avdeeva has won herself a large following on Twitter with this reporting project, providing facts and commentary in a city where half-a-million or more people have fled.

Maria Avdeeva has amassed a large following on Twitter since the war began

Is there another way to fight the Russian army, if you don’t dress in military fatigues or own a weapon?

The research director of a think tank called UA Experts thinks she has found a way, armed with a smartphone, a social media account and years of legal training.

Her name is Maria Avdeeva, and we began to listen to her reports in Kharkiv, the embattled Ukrainian city just 20 miles from the Russian border.

She posts daily updates from bombed-out buildings in and around the city centre, often as incoming shells and rockets echo around her.

“Hello, Maria Avdeeva from Kharkiv, Ukraine, 18th of March,” says one.

“I went out today to get some food and then the shelling started again, it started this morning and (it) went on and on, and I hid in this building which actually has been a business centre.”

In the video, Maria walks up the stairs in a 19th century building before revealing a devastated office with desks, chairs, and computers covered in dust and glass.

“I am just (struck) by what I see,” she says. “People were running out of here, leaving everything (behind). They didn’t anything with them, they left everything here.”

Her voice trails off with an anguished tone.

Source:  https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-this-womans-waging-her-own-battle-against-putin-and-all-she-needs-is-her-mobile-phone-12574891

Ukraine war: Russian billionaire’s yacht detained by authorities in Gibraltar

The West has imposed sanctions on hundreds of Russian individuals and entities after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, prompting an exodus of luxury yachts from Europe.

Authorities in Gibraltar have seized a superyacht linked to the owner of Russia’s biggest steel pipe manufacturer.

Footage showed the Axioma, believed to belong to Dmitrievich Pumpyansky, owner of steel group TMK, moored at Gibraltar and flying a Maltese flag.

The West has imposed sanctions on hundreds of Russian individuals and entities after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, sparking an exodus of luxury yachts from Europe.

Steel group owner linked to superyacht

Refinitiv data shows the 72m vessel is owned by a British Virgin Islands holding company called Pyrene investments, with an article published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists as part of the Panama Papers naming Mr Pumpyansky as a beneficiary of the holding.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-russian-billionaires-yacht-detained-by-authorities-in-gibraltar-12572473

Ukraine war exposes cracks in US ties to Middle East allies

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are pursuing their own interests, analysts say, as the US urges a united front against Russia’s Putin.

A Ukrainian service member walks in a destroyed village on the front line in the east Kyiv region of Ukraine on March 21, 2022 [File: Gleb Garanich/Reuters]
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominating discussions around the world, the Biden administration has been promoting global unity against what it calls Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “war of choice”.

But despite those efforts, the conflict has highlighted cracks in some of the United States’ most prominent alliances in the Middle East, notably with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

The latest manifestation of this apparent rift came last week when the UAE hosted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad despite repeated warnings from Washington against normalising ties with the government in Damascus. It was Assad’s first visit to an Arab country since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, and it came weeks after the Syrian president expressed full support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Assad coming to the UAE, shortly after the Gulf Arab country voted to abstain from a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine last month, tells us that the Emiratis are very serious about asserting their autonomy from the United States,” said Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics, a Washington, DC-based geopolitical risk consultancy.

Abu Dhabi’s abstention last month from the US-backed United Nations Security Council proposal on Ukraine was followed by anonymously-sourced media reports alleging that Saudi and Emirati leaders rebuffed calls from US President Joe Biden. And last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia is in talks with China to ditch the US dollar in favour of the yuan to conduct oil transactions with Beijing.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia appear to be sending a message to the US, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Middle East fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, told Al Jazeera: “‘We’re going to act upon our interests and not what you think our interests are.’”

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/21/ukraine-war-exposes-cracks-us-ties-middle-east-allies

Ukraine war: Russia launches second ‘hypersonic missile’ attack – as thousands of Mariupol residents ‘forcibly deported’

It is the second day in a row that Russia says it has used the Kinzhal missile, which is capable of striking targets 1,250 miles away at a speed 10 times the speed of sound.

Damage caused to a building hit by a missile in Kyiv, as Russia says it launched a second hypersonic missile strike near Mykolaiv. Pic: Matthew Hatcher/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

Russia says it has launched a hypersonic missile attack on Ukraine for the second consecutive day, amid claims that thousands of people trapped in a besieged city have been “forcibly deported” to Russian territory.

The weapon – known as Kinzhal, meaning dagger – hit a Ukrainian fuel depot near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv, a Russian defence ministry official said.

It is the second day in a row that Russia says it has used the missile, which is capable of striking targets 1,250 miles away at a speed 10 times the speed of sound.

Service members of pro-Russian troops drive an armoured vehicle in Mariupol

In separate attacks, an art school where 400 people were taking refuge in Mariupol was destroyed and authorities in Kharkiv said at least five civilians – including a nine-year-old boy – had been killed by Russian shelling.

People are feared trapped under the rubble of the school building in Mariupol, the city’s council said, but there was no immediate information on the number of casualties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the siege of Mariupol – where hundreds of thousands of people are trapped and facing relentless bombardment – is “a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come”.

Source : https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-thousands-of-mariupol-residents-forcibly-taken-to-russia-mayor-claims-12570918

Ukraine war: Russia launches second ‘hypersonic missile’ attack – as thousands of Mariupol residents ‘forcibly deported’

It is the second day in a row that Russia says it has used the Kinzhal missile, which is capable of striking targets 1,250 miles away at a speed 10 times the speed of sound.

Damage caused to a building hit by a missile in Kyiv, as Russia says it launched a second hypersonic missile strike near Mykolaiv. Pic: Matthew Hatcher/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

Russia says it has launched a hypersonic missile attack on Ukraine for the second consecutive day, amid claims that thousands of people trapped in a besieged city have been “forcibly deported” to Russian territory.

The weapon – known as Kinzhal, meaning dagger – hit a Ukrainian fuel depot near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv, a Russian defence ministry official said.

It is the second day in a row that Russia says it has used the missile, which is capable of striking targets 1,250 miles away at a speed 10 times the speed of sound.

In separate attacks, an art school where 400 people were taking refuge in Mariupol was destroyed and authorities in Kharkiv said at least five civilians – including a nine-year-old boy – had been killed by Russian shelling.

People are feared trapped under the rubble of the school building in Mariupol, the city’s council said, but there was no immediate information on the number of casualties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the siege of Mariupol – where hundreds of thousands of people are trapped and facing relentless bombardment – is “a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come”.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-thousands-of-mariupol-residents-forcibly-taken-to-russia-mayor-claims-12570918

Ukraine war: Dozens of soldiers feared dead after attack on Mykolaiv barracks ‘while troops slept’

Up to 200 people are thought to have been inside the barracks in Mykolaiv when they were attacked.

Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers are feared to have been killed after a military base was attacked amid Russia’s full-scale invasion.

At least two missiles reportedly hit the military base. Pic: VTM

Up to 200 troops were thought to have been inside the barracks in Mykolaiv, in the south of the war-torn country, when they were targeted on Friday.

At least 50 bodies have been recovered, a Ukrainian serviceman told the AFP news agency.

“We do not know how many others are in the rubble,” he added.

Belgian media outlet VTM visited the scene of the missile attack and filmed the destruction caused, as dead bodies were pulled from the rubble.

A source at a morgue told the broadcaster that 80 people were believed to have been killed.

A soldier called Alexander who survived the attack said he was woken by the sound of explosions at about 6am.

He told VTM: “I heard the first explosion, I woke up and took my gun, and then came the most devastating explosion.

“I will never forget it, it shook everything up.

“There was no more air to breathe. I put on this mask and sat down closer to the floor, took my gun, and turned on the light on my phone.

“It wasn’t until I got outside that I realised what had happened.”

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-dozens-of-soldiers-feared-dead-after-attack-on-mykolaiv-barracks-while-troops-slept-12570330

Ukraine war: Xi Jinping calls for cooperation, Biden warns of consequences in two-hour call

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden spoke on Friday for about two hours in a virtual meeting called to address the conflict in Ukraine, with Xi appealing for negotiations to bring the crisis to a halt and Biden stressing that consequences await Beijing for any support it provides to Moscow.

“The Ukraine crisis is something we don’t want to see,” Xi said, according to a government readout. “Events once again show that state-to-state relations cannot go to the stage of confrontation, conflict and confrontation are not in the interests of anyone.”

“As permanent members of the UN Security Council and the world’s two largest economies, we must not only lead the development of China-US relations on the right track, but also shoulder our due international responsibilities and make efforts for world peace and tranquillity,” the readout said.

Calling the exchange “constructive”, Beijing said the two sides agreed “to follow up in a timely manner, take practical actions, strive for the return of China-US relations to the track of stable development, and make their own efforts to properly resolve the Ukraine crisis”.

The Chinese government account added that the US and Nato “should also conduct dialogue with Russia to solve the crux of the Ukraine crisis”.

Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3171058/china-us-relations-xi-calls-cooperation-washington-ending

Ukraine war: People buried under rubble after Mariupol theatre sheltering hundreds is hit by Russian bomb, officials say

The US embassy in Kyiv says it is “considering all available options to ensure accountability for any atrocity crimes in Ukraine”.

People are buried under rubble after a theatre in Mariupol – where hundreds of people are reported to have been sheltering – was bombed by Russian forces, local officials have said.

The city council said the number of casualties was not yet known, but Sky News has verified footage from the attack as showing the Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre.

A statement from Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said: “The bomb strike demolished the central part of the theatre building, causing large numbers of people to be buried under the debris.

“The assessment of the exact number of persons affected is currently impossible due to ongoing shelling.

“By delivering a purposeful bomb attack to the place of mass gathering of civilians Russia has committed another war crime.”

Ukraine war: Fox News cameraman and Ukrainian journalist killed in attack near Kyiv

Pierre Zakrzewski had been travelling in a vehicle near Kyiv with correspondent Benjamin Hall, who was injured, and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshinova, who was also killed.

A Fox News cameraman and a Ukrainian journalist have been killed by an “artillery shelling by Russian troops” while reporting on the war in Ukraine.

Pierre Zakrzewski was working with correspondent Benjamin Hall when their vehicle was hit in the north-eastern part of the village of Gorenka, near Kyiv.

Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshinova was also reported to be killed in the attack.

Fox News presenter Bill Hemmer said: “Pierre Zakrzewski was an absolute legend at this network and his loss is devastating.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-fox-news-cameraman-killed-by-incoming-fire-outside-of-kyiv-12566885

Ukraine war: Russia sanctions Joe Biden and several top US officials

Russia’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that US President Joe Biden and a dozen other top officials had been banned from entering the country in a reciprocal response to US sanctions.

US President Joe Biden speaks at an event in Washington on Monday. Photo: Reuters

The measure, which also applies to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, “is the consequence of the extremely Russophobic policy pursued by the current US administration”, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

In response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, the United States banned Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as well as adopting sanctions that have largely cut Russia off financially from the rest of the world.

Russia also put on its stop list Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Also on the list are Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh, US Agency for International Development chief Samantha Power, Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo, and US Export-Import Bank chief Reta Jo Lewis.

Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3170602/ukraine-war-russia-sanctions-joe-biden-and-several

Ukraine war: 20,000 flee Mariupol in biggest evacuation yet from besieged port city

Talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives have become “more constructive”, although Mr Zelenskyy’s senior adviser described the discussions as a “difficult and viscous process”.

Around 20,000 people have fled Mariupol in what is believed to be the biggest evacuation yet from the besieged port city.

Around 570 of some 4,000 vehicles that left the city have reached Zaporizhzhia which is 160 miles (260km) northwest while others will spend the night in various towns along the way.

And while talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives have become “more constructive”, the bombardment of Kyiv has been stepped up, with attacks on apartments and a subway station.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s senior adviser described the talks as a “very difficult and viscous negotiation process”.

“There are fundamental contradictions. But there is certainly room for compromise. During the break, work in subgroups will be continued,” he added.

With the number of people driven from the country by the war eclipsing three million, large explosions thundered across the capital before dawn from what Ukrainian authorities said were artillery strikes.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko has brought in a curfew until 7am on Thursday (5am GMT).

People will only be able to move around the city with “special permission” except to “go to bomb shelters”, the mayor said.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-20-000-evacuated-from-mariupol-in-biggest-evacuation-yet-from-besieged-port-city-12566507

Ukraine war: China willing to give military support to Russia, US tells EU

The United States told European Union officials that China had expressed willingness to provide Russia with the military support it requested for its attack on Ukraine, according to a source familiar with the exchange.

A residential building in Kyiv is seen on Monday after being charred and damaged by Russian shelling. Photo: EPA-EFE

The source confirmed that the EU had been tipped off to China’s position but said the US had yet to share the underlying intelligence, so Brussels “does not have proof” of the claims.

The Financial Times first reported on Sunday that Russia had asked China for military assistance. On Monday, the newspaper reported that Beijing had “signalled its willingness” to help, though it was not clear whether China had already started providing support or if it was willing to do so in the future.

The initial reports were denied by both the Chinese and Russian governments. The Chinese Mission to the EU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3170458/ukraine-war-china-willing-give-military-support-russia-us-tells-eu

Ukraine war: Boris Johnson calls on Western nations to ‘take back control’ of energy supplies to end ‘addiction’ to Russian oil and gas

Boris Johnson’s call comes ahead of his expected trip to Saudi Arabia, which the PM reportedly hopes will help persuade the kingdom to boost its own production of oil and gas.

The PM insisted the West ‘cannot go on like this’

Boris Johnson has called on Western nations to “take back control” of their energy supplies and end an “addiction” to Russian oil and gas that has left them subject to “blackmail” by Vladimir Putin.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph, the prime minister insisted the West “cannot go on like this” and remain “economically dependent” on Russian resources following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Johnson’s call comes ahead of his expected trip to Saudi Arabia, which the PM reportedly hopes will help persuade the kingdom to boost its own production of oil and gas.

This would allow the West to wean itself off Russian supplies.

In his newspaper article, Mr Johnson acknowledged “a terrible mistake” was made following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, when Western countries “decided we could somehow go back to normal”.

“Economic relations did not just resume – they intensified, with the West taking more Russian gas than ever before, becoming more dependent on the goodwill of Putin and more exposed to the vagaries of the global gas and oil price,” he wrote.

“And so when he finally came to launch his vicious war in Ukraine, he knew the world would find it very hard to punish him. He knew that he had created an addiction.”

The PM added that as the Russian assault on Ukraine continues, “the cost of oil and gas rises still further, meaning less money in your pocket and more in Putin’s.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-boris-johnson-calls-on-western-nations-to-take-back-control-of-energy-supplies-to-end-addiction-to-russian-oil-and-gas-12566471

Ukraine war: Protester interrupts Russian news programme with anti-war slogan

During the live broadcast, the woman walked behind the presenter with a placard denouncing the invasion of Ukraine. In English, it read: “No war. Russians against war.” And in Russian it said: “NO WAR. Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They are lying to you here.”

Marina Ovsyannikova said she had been working for the ‘Kremlin’s propaganda and I’m very ashamed of it’

An anti-war protester has interrupted the main news programme on Russia’s foremost state TV station, holding a sign which told viewers: “They are lying to you.”

During the live broadcast on Channel One, the woman, who is thought to have worked for the company for years, walked on to the set behind the presenter with a placard denouncing the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

In English, it read: “No war. Russians against war.”

And in Russian it said: “NO WAR. Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They are lying to you here.”

While she stood behind the host who continued to read from her autocue, the demonstrator – who has been named as Marina Ovsyannikova – could be heard saying: “Stop the war! No war! Stop the war! No war!”

She could still be heard after the broadcast was switched to alternative output.

Kira Yarmysh, a spokeswoman for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, posted footage of the incident on Twitter with the caption: “Wow, that girl is cool.”

The woman was named by OVD-Info, an independent protest-monitoring group, and by the head of the Agora human rights group, as Ms Ovsyannikova, an employee of the channel.

The protester, who says her father is Ukrainian and her mother Russian, also released a video of herself before her demonstration, in which she blamed President Vladimir Putin for the war.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-protester-interrupts-russian-news-programme-with-anti-war-slogan-12566367

Ukraine war: Mariupol reels as Russian forces close in on capital Kyiv, kill fleeing civilians

Ukraine-Russia war: Seven civilians, including a child, died when Russia shelled a convoy of refugees and forced them to return to the village of Peremoha, 20km (12 miles) northeast of Kyiv.

A fire burns at an apartment building after it was hit by the shelling of a residential district in Mariupol, Ukraine.(AP)

Mariupol, the Ukrainian port city, continued to endure one of the Russian war’s worst strikes with the latter’s forces shelling its downtown as residents hid in an iconic mosque and elsewhere to avoid the explosions.

More than 1,500 people have died in Mariupol during the siege, according to the mayor’s office, and the shelling has even interrupted efforts to bury the dead in mass graves.

Relentless barrages have thwarted repeated attempts to bring food, water and medicine into the city of 4,30,000 and to evacuate its stranded civilians.

Russian forces attacked a humanitarian convoy that was trying to reach Mariupol and blocked another, a Ukrainian official said. Ukraine’s military said Russian forces captured Mariupol’s eastern outskirts, tightening their siege of the strategic port.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/ukraine-war-mariupol-reels-as-russian-forces-close-in-on-capital-kyiv-101647138799803.html?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ht_site

Ukraine war: Russia targets Peppa Pig in retaliation for sanctions – amid battle over cartoon character’s trademark

A court has ruled that the cartoon character’s trademarks can be used by Russian businesses without punishment – and there are fears that brands belonging to other Western companies could be stolen, too.

A court has ruled that the cartoon character’s trademarks can be used by Russian businesses without punishment. Pic: Entertainment One

Russia has targeted Peppa Pig in retaliation for the economic sanctions that have been imposed following the invasion of Ukraine.

A court has ruled that the cartoon character’s trademarks can be used by Russian businesses without punishment.

Entertainment One – which owns the rights to the popular children’s series – had taken legal action against a Russian entrepreneur who had drawn his own versions of Peppa Pig.

The company had asked for 40,000 roubles (£400) in compensation last September, and the currency’s collapse means this would now be worth just £320.

But a judge dismissed the case, and mentioned “unfriendly actions of the United States of America and affiliated foreign countries” in their ruling.

The Russian government has also issued a decree that allows patented inventions and industrial designs from “unfriendly countries” to be used without permission or compensation.

This list of unfriendly countries includes the UK, the US, the EU, Australia, Ukraine, Japan and 16 other nations.

A number of major brands have severed business ties with Russia – with Apple halting product sales in the country, IKEA closing its stores, and Disney cancelling movie releases.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-russia-targets-peppa-pig-in-retaliation-for-sanctions-amid-battle-over-cartoon-characters-trademark-12564846

Ukraine war: Poet and Instagram star whose father was murdered in Russia calls for Putin to be tried for war crimes

Russian-born writer Arch Hades tells Sky News the bombardment of Ukraine is “abhorrent” and insists most Russians oppose “Putin’s war”.

A Russian-born poet and Instagram favourite who fled the country after her father was murdered has called for Vladimir Putin to be arrested and tried for war crimes.

Arch Hades, a pseudonym she uses for security reasons, told Sky News the bombardment of Ukraine was “abhorrent” and insisted most Russians oppose “Putin’s war”.

The 29-year-old, whose poetry has seen her amass more than one million Instagram followers, moved to London as a child after her father was “gunned down in an alley” in St Petersburg, she said.

Her father, who she asked not to be named to protect her surviving relatives, was a businessman who embraced “democracy and liberalism”, which the Putin regime “despised”, she added.

She has now voiced fears that Russians have been “sealed in a cage” with Mr Putin as the country becomes increasingly isolated, and he will “take out his wrath on them” if he loses the war in Ukraine.

Hades told Sky News: “I hope to see Putin in The Hague. I hope to see him tried for war crimes.

“I’m afraid that when Putin doesn’t get his way, he doubles down and he might escalate his aggression.

“I really fear for the Ukrainian people. This is survival for them.

“I’m a pacifist but I know if the Ukrainians put down their weapons, there will be no more Ukraine.

“If Putin does take over, I’m afraid he won’t stop there.”

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-poet-and-instagram-star-whose-father-was-murdered-in-russia-calls-for-putin-to-be-tried-for-war-crimes-12563410

Ukraine war: Russia forced to rely on ‘stand-off’ munitions, MoD says – as satellite images show craters and houses hit outside Kyiv

New satellite imagery has shown what appears to be Russian forces firing artillery from a village 17 miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, as well as damage to Hostomel Airport.

New satellite images show homes on fire as Russian troops advance closer to Kyiv, with long lines of cars trying to flee the Ukrainian capital.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence has also warned that “staunch resistance” from Ukraine means Russian tactical aircraft are relying on unguided “dumb” munitions.

“Such weapons are relatively inaccurate and indiscriminate and their use significantly increases the likelihood of civilian casualties,” a defence intelligence update released on Friday night said.

The satellite images from Maxar appear to suggest that Russian military units are “actively firing artillery towards residential areas” – and in one photograph, a bright muzzle flash can be seen from an artillery gun.

Widespread damage and impact craters have been seen in Moschun, a town northwest of Kyiv, and fires are continuing to burn at Hostamel Airport, which is also known as Antonov Airport.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-russia-forced-to-rely-on-stand-off-munitions-mod-says-as-satellite-images-show-craters-and-houses-hit-outside-kyiv-12563859

Ukraine war: Boris Johnson tells Sky News it is ‘deeply upsetting’ to refuse Volodymyr Zelenskyy a no-fly zone

The prime minister and the Ukrainian president have been having almost daily phone calls in which Boris Johnson has had to say he cannot support a NATO no-fly zone.

Boris Johnson says it has been “deeply upsetting” and “absolutely agonising” to refuse President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

The prime minister, speaking to Sky News’ Beth Rigby Interviews programme, said the pair have had some “very frank conversations” but the UK and NATO cannot cross that line.

On Wednesday, Mr Zelenskyy told Sky News’ special correspondent Alex Crawford, in Kyiv, that Western countries were being indecisive on the issue of “closing the skies” against what he called “the Nazis”.

The Ukrainian president had said: “If you are united against the Nazis and this terror, you have to close. Don’t wait for me ask you several times, a million times. Close the sky.

“Close the sky and stop the bombing.”

He also made the plea during a historic live video address to MPs in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

But the UK, the US and NATO have continually rejected Mr Zelenskyy’s calls for a no-fly zone over Ukraine as they say it would mean having to shoot down Russian planes, which would likely start another world war.

Mr Johnson and the Ukrainian leader have been having almost daily conversations in the 15 days since Russia invaded.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-boris-johnson-tells-sky-news-it-is-deeply-upsetting-to-refuse-volodymyr-zelenskyy-12562635
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