Ukraine live updates: Russia recruiting US-trained commandos - USA TODAY

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Afghan peculiar forces soldiers trained by American troops are present being recruited by the Russian subject to combat successful Ukraine, 3 erstwhile Afghan generals told The Associated Press.

They said the Russians privation to pull thousands of the erstwhile commandos with offers of steady, $1,500-a-month payments and promises of harmless havens to debar deportation location to what could beryllium decease astatine the hands of the Taliban. Many of the commandoes fled to Iran aft the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan past year.

Gen. Abdul Raof Arghandiwal said helium has communicated with a dozen oregon truthful commandos successful Iran who don't privation to combat against Ukraine but fearfulness deportation for themselves and their families.

“They inquire me, ‘Give maine a solution? What should we do?" Arghandiwal said. "If we spell backmost to Afghanistan, the Taliban volition termination us.’”

'BLACKMAILING THE WORLD WITH HUNGER': Zelenskyy rips Russia for suspending atom woody with Ukraine: Live updates

Other developments:

►The Ukrainian shot federation urged FIFA to region Iran from the World Cup adjacent period for reasons that include supplying the Russian subject with weapons. Iran is owed to look England successful 3 weeks successful its archetypal crippled successful Qatar.

►Norway says it’s stepping up its subject preparedness, but the NATO member’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre says determination is nary crushed to judge "Russia volition privation to invade Norway oregon immoderate different state directly.”

►Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and galore apical members of his government arrived successful Kyiv connected Monday in the latest amusement of enactment from European leaders for Ukraine.

40% of Kyiv without h2o amid rolling blackouts after missile strikes

Russia launched a monolithic onslaught connected Ukraine's infrastructure during Monday greeting unreserved hr for the 3rd clip this month, sending commuters scrambling for screen and crippling basal services for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said connected societal media that 80% of the battered superior was without h2o and that a swath of the metropolis was without power. By nightfall, moving h2o was returned to astir fractional of those that had mislaid it, and citywide rolling blackouts meant powerfulness was retired for 4 hours, past connected for 5 hours.

Supplying aerial defence systems to forestall those attacks has go a apical Pentagon priority, 2 Senior Pentagon officials who briefed reporters connected information of anonymity said Monday. The Pentagon has provided anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine, from pickup-mounted guided missiles to much blase medium-range systems. The Russians are relying progressively connected Iranian-supplied kamikaze drones to equine attacks connected powerfulness plants.

Ukraine's Air Force said it changeable down 44 Russian missiles Monday morning, but rocket and drone infrastructure strikes were besides reported successful Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhia and respective different regions. The authorities volition present exigency energy cutoffs crossed Ukraine, according to Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

The strikes came aft Moscow claimed its Black Sea Fleet successful Crimea was attacked implicit the weekend. Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia would alternatively "fight civilians" than combat connected the battlefield.

"Don’t warrant these attacks by calling them a ‘response," helium said. "Russia does this due to the fact that it inactive has the missiles and the volition to termination Ukrainians."

Russia's caller recruits reaching beforehand with outdated weapons, study says

Thousands of Russian recruits are reporting to beforehand with weapons that "are apt successful hardly useable condition" and require a antithetic ammunition from what Russian regular service troops are using, the British Defense Ministry said successful its latest warfare assessment. Photos bespeak the rifles are AKMs, which day backmost to 1959. 

The integration of reservists with declaration soldiers and combat veterans successful Ukraine volition mean Russia will person to propulsion 2 types of tiny arms ammunition to beforehand enactment positions, the ministry noted.

"This volition apt further complicate Russia’s already strained logistics systems," the appraisal said.

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Russia to commencement seizing Ukrainian-owned spot successful Crimea

The spot of respective ample Ukrainian companies volition beryllium seized by the Moscow-installed authorities successful Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-installed person said. The shipyard of  Ukraine's Zaliv and a cement works successful Bakhchysarai are among sites to be taken over, The Kyiv Independent reports. Other commercial and tourer facilities arsenic good arsenic apartments and houses could beryllium targeted – including spot owned by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Aksyonov said. 

"Enemies of Russia volition not marque wealth successful Crimea, this is simply a principled position," Aksyonov said connected Telegram.

Ships sail from Ukraine ports contempt Russian blockade threat

A twelve grain-laden ships sailed from Ukrainian ports connected Monday contempt a Russian menace to reimpose a blockade that threatened hunger crossed the world, Ukraine's Ministry of Infrastructure said. One vas carried Ukrainian wheat to Ethiopia wherever a terrible drought is affecting millions of people. Ukraine and Russia are cardinal planetary suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower lipid and different nutrient to countries successful Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia wherever galore are already struggling with terrible shortages.

It's not instantly wide who would instrumentality the hazard of sailing from Ukraine without Russia's extortion aft Moscow alleged a Ukrainian drone onslaught against its Black Sea fleet. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said implementing the atom woody is “hardly feasible” successful a concern erstwhile it is intolerable for Russia to warrant information of navigation.

Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

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