Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 344 of the invasion - The Guardian

A Russian rocket destroyed an flat gathering successful the eastbound Ukrainian metropolis of Kramatorsk precocious connected Wednesday and astatine slightest 2 radical were killed and 7 injured, determination politician Pavlo Kyrylenko said. “Rescuers, instrumentality enforcement and nationalist utilities are moving astatine the country to spell done the rubble of the destroyed building. It is apt that radical are inactive underneath,” helium wrote connected the Telegram messaging app. At slightest 44 radical were killed past period erstwhile a Russian rocket deed an flat gathering successful the eastbound metropolis of Dnipro.

Fierce warring continued successful eastbound Ukraine, wherever Russian troops are trying to summation crushed adjacent the strategical logistics hub of Lyman, lawman defence curate Hanna Malyar said connected Wednesday evening. Russian forces are trying to marque gains that they tin amusement connected the day of their 24 February 2022 invasion, said Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s president. “A definite summation has been noted successful the violative operations of the occupiers connected the beforehand successful the eastbound of our country. The concern has go tougher.”

A erstwhile commandant of Russia’s Wagner mercenary radical who fled to Norway told Reuters helium wanted to apologise for warring successful Ukraine and was speaking retired to bring the perpetrators of atrocities successful the struggle to justice. Andrei Medvedev, who fled by crossing the Russian-Norwegian borderline connected 13 January, says helium witnessed the sidesplitting and mistreatment of Russian prisoners taken to Ukraine to combat for Wagner.

Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said helium does not deliberation it is the close attack “for now” to nonstop UK combatant jets to Ukraine. He said it was “not a coagulated decision”, adding: “I’ve learned 2 things: ne'er regularisation thing successful and ne'er regularisation thing out.” Meanwhile, Downing Street has continued to regularisation out providing Kyiv with British jets, saying it was not applicable fixed the complexity of the jets.

The UK’s statements came arsenic its erstwhile premier curate Boris Johnson called connected occidental leaders to “give the Ukrainians the tools to decorativeness the job”, including dense tanks and planes. Addressing the Atlantic Council successful Washington, Johnson urged the west to “stop focusing connected Putin and absorption wholly connected Ukraine”.

Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said helium had a “frank and productive” speech with France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, regarding his country’s “urgent operational needs for self-defence”.

Spain volition initially nonstop betwixt 4 and six Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, El País is reporting. Italy is to articulation forces with France successful supplying aerial defences to Ukraine, the FT reported. In an interview, Italy’s defence minister, Guido Crosetto, said a bundle of subject assistance present being prepared by Giorgia Meloni’s authorities would astir apt see “weapons of defence against Russian rocket attack”. “Italy is expected to supply the rocket launchers, portion France would proviso the rockets,” the insubstantial reported.

Germany’s vice-chancellor, Robert Habeck, has spoken retired against his state delivering combatant jets to Ukraine. Habeck, an aboriginal protagonist of his authorities supporting Ukraine with German-made Leopard 2 tanks, said specified a determination would probably beryllium a measurement excessively far for occidental allies weighing up enactment for Kyiv’s origin against fears of being drawn into an outright war.

The US is readying much than $2bn worthy of subject assistance for Ukraine that is expected to see longer-range rockets for the archetypal clip arsenic good arsenic different munitions and weapons, 2 US officials briefed connected the substance told Reuters. The Kremlin said longer-range rockets reportedly included successful the upcoming bundle of subject assistance would escalate the conflict but not alteration its course.

Norwegian academics, rights campaigners, bestselling authors and a erstwhile curate person urged Oslo to summation its enactment for Ukraine, saying the authorities indispensable bash much to assistance aft earning billions successful other lipid and state revenue from Russia’s war. Norway’s lipid and state revenues person soared to grounds levels implicit the past 12 months arsenic vigor prices person tripled aft Russia’s penetration of Ukraine and Norway has replaced Russia arsenic Europe’s largest supplier of earthy gas.

Nato’s caput general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said Russia and China’s increasing narration poses a menace not lone to Asia but besides to Europe. In a code to Keio University successful Tokyo, the Nato main underlined the value of stronger practice and much “friends” for Nato successful the Indo-Pacific region, adding that the warfare successful Ukraine had demonstrated “how information is interconnected”.

Pro-Russia forces person claimed successful Russian media that the fiercely contested metropolis of Bakhmut is astir encircled. Tass quoted Col Vitaly Kiselev, connected behalf of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, saying: “Bakhmut has practically been ‘embraced’ from 3 sides, an intensive knocking retired of the force is nether way. They are trying, and I americium definite that they volition win … to spell to the Chasiv Yar area, from wherever intensive shelling is going connected backmost to Soledar, Bakhmut.”

The Kinburn peninsula, a portion of onshore that protrudes from the confederate broadside of Kherson oblast connected the near slope of the Dnieper River, is successful the “grey zone”, with neither Ukrainian oregon Russian subject afloat successful power of the territory, according to Ukraine’s authorities broadcaster Suspilne.

A UK Ministry of Defence quality update said caller days person seen “some of the astir aggravated shelling of the conflict” on the Dnieper River. “This has included continued shelling of Kherson city,” the ministry notes, adding that extracurricular the Donbas, Kherson is the metropolis astir consistently shelled successful the conflict.

The pistillate starring the Kyiv taxation authorization has been accused of a multimillion-dollar fraud after a raid connected 1 of her 4 homes. Ukraine’s authorities bureau of probe (SBI) said successful a connection that the acting caput of the inspectorate, who has not been named, had abused her “power and authoritative position” on with different members of the authority.