Summary
The UN gave an urgent warning regarding Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant being disconnected. Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, told his board of governors that urgent action was needed to protect the site’s safety and security.
Russian missile strikes across Ukraine while people slept on Thursday killed at least six civilians, knocking out electricity and forcing a nuclear power plant off the grid.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 81 missiles in total, alongside eight Shahed drones. It claimed to have shot down 34 cruise missiles and four of the drones.
Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass is reporting that security services in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria claim to have foiled an assassination attempt on the internationally unrecognised leader, Vadim Krasnoselsky. Transnistria’s security forces claim Ukrainian security services were the source of the plans.
AFP reports Lithuania’s military intelligence service on Thursday said it
estimated that Russia had enough resources to wage two more years of
war in Ukraine.The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has reportedly been snubbed by the Oscars for the second year in a row.
Reuters reports that Ukraine will take part in the European Union scheme to jointly buy gas in global markets, to procure 2 billion cubic metres of the fuel ahead of next winter, the EU energy policy chief said on Thursday.
A close ally of Alexei Navalny has resigned his post at the opposition leader’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) after it was revealed that he had signed letters calling for the EU to drop sanctions against several UK-based Russian billionaire oligarchs.
Leonid Volkov confirmed he had signed and sent a 2022 letter to Josep Borrell, the EU foreign affairs chief, in which he called for Brussels to relax sanctions on Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, and business partners German Khan and Alexei Kuzmichev, in a scandal marked by infighting among Russia’s contentious liberal and opposition circles.
“This letter was a big political mistake,” wrote Volkov in a post on Thursday where he uploaded the October 2022 letter to Borrell. “Worse, by doing this, I exceeded my authority – I signed it not in my personal capacity, but on behalf of the organisation. I did not inform my colleagues, and, therefore, I also put them [on the letter].”
Volkov said he would resign from ACF International’s board and “take a break from my public socio-political activity”. The organisation had earlier published a list of 6,000 “bribetakers and warmongers” it said should be issued with sanctions by western countries.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog has expressed concern over the recent power outage at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. On Thursday, power to the Russian-occupied plant was lost during Russian air strikes.
During a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of directors held in Vienna, Rafael Grossi criticised the organisation’s complacency in preventing such incidents from happening, noting that its primary role was to ensure nuclear safety. ‘What are we doing to prevent this happening? We are the IAEA, we are meant to care about nuclear safety,’ Grossi told its board of directors in a meeting on Thursday in Vienna. ‘Each time we are rolling a dice,’ he said.
You can watch the video here:
The German chancellor has said that Putin has shown no willingness to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to a group of German reporters, Scholz said: “Unfortunately, I see no willingness at the moment,” Scholz was quoted by NBR as saying, adding Ukraine must decide what conditions it is ready to accept for peace.
Scholz said that energy supply in Europe’s biggest economy would be sufficient next winter and that the German economy was heading for growth rates last seen in the 1950s and 1960s due to heavy investment in climate protection.
Reuters has reported that Russia has introduced personal sanctions against 144 government officials, journalists, lawmakers and other public figures from the three Baltic states who are deemed “most hostile” to Moscow.
Reuters reports:
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - ruled from Moscow during the Cold War but now members of the European Union and NATO - have been among the strongest critics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The ministry said the move was a response to what it called active lobbying by the three Baltic republics for more sanctions against Russia and to their “interference in our internal affairs, inciting Russophobic sentiments”.
Last year, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania began restricting the entry of Russian citizens travelling from Russia and Belarus in response to what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
AFP reports Lithuania’s military intelligence service on Thursday said it
estimated that Russia had enough resources to wage two more years of
war in Ukraine.
You can read the full report below:
“Russia had been accumulating weapons and equipment over the long
years of the Cold War,” military intelligence chief Elegijus
Paulavicius told reporters.
“We estimate that (its) resources would last for another two years of
a war of the same intensity as today,” he added.
He noted that the assessment depended on the perspective that no
foreign country would provide military aid to Moscow.
Russia has a large amount of weaponry stored in its reserves, which
would allow them to “cause enormous damage and increase the costs of
restoration,” he said.
He spoke alongside his counterpart from civilian intelligence at a
presentation of their annual report.
Beyond estimates of Russian resources, the report also suggested that
Russia’s mobilisation last year showed that support for the war in
Ukraine “is not as big as the regime’s propaganda tried to make it
seem”.
“Dissatisfaction with the regime’s policies is currently taking a
passive form: mostly avoiding mobilisation, complaining about poor
provision and disarray in the army,” the document said.
It also raised the possibility that Russia’s failures on the
battlefield, further mobilisation and a sudden deterioration of the
economic situation “would have negative consequences for the stability
of the regime”.
Lithuania, a member of both the European Union and NATO, has been a
major backer of Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February
last year.
Serhii Andrushko, a Ukrainian reporter, has said that his country’s struggle for freedom also includes another kind of war - against high-level corruption - which experts think could have more success now as Kyiv strives for European Union membership.
Reuters reports:
Last month, the Radio Liberty correspondent confronted candidates on camera vying to become Kyiv’s next top anti-corruption official about their personal finances and political ties.
That might seem less urgent when soldiers are dying every day, but part of Ukraine’s battle includes shedding any perceived similarities to Russia. “Particularly its attitude to corruption,” Andrushko said.
According to Transparency International’s 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine ranked slightly better than Russia but still well below the global average.
So reporters like Andrushko say they are working to keep their rulers honest, a job some experts and media insiders said could have more impact now that Kyiv is under pressure to prove it can clean up its act as it seeks membership in the European Union.
They said a major political shake-up seen earlier this year, when more than a dozen officials were dismissed amid a flurry of critical domestic press coverage, could be a taste of things to come if Ukraine’s investigative journalists continue.
Their focus also shows civil society is embracing its role as a government watchdog even as the war grinds on.
“Media are becoming more influential because they’re appealing to the more acute sense of justice among citizens,” said researcher Petro Burkovskyy, of the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation think-tank.
They will need to choose stories wisely and back up their reporting, he added, since being sloppy or overly critical can invite public scepticism or even accusations of being unpatriotic.
Many journalists are also turning their attention to uncovering Russian war crimes and assets in Ukraine.
On 7 March, it became known about the death of Dmytro Kotsiubailo, 27, the commander of the “Da Vinci Wolves” battalion as part of the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade. He was mortally wounded in the battles near Bakhmut. The defender’s body was brought to his native village. Hundreds of people - fellow villagers, brothers in arms and relatives - came to pay their last respects. Da Vinci’s funeral will take place on March 10 in Kyiv. Photograph: Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images
Here is some more detailed reporting on Ukraine’s national grid being reconnected to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station today.
Reuters reports:
Back-up diesel generators - a last line of defence to prevent meltdown from overheating reactor fuel - kicked in after external power was lost to the plant early on Thursday, but they have only enough fuel to power it for 10 days.
Ukraine blamed Russia for the loss of power to the plant in southeastern Ukraine. Officials in the part of the Zaporizhzhia region which is occupied by Russia called it a “provocation” by Kyiv.
The incident renewed fears of an accident at Europe’s largest atomic power station, nearly four decades after the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, but national grid operator Ukrenergo signalled that repairs had been carried out quickly.
“Specialists of ‘Ukrenergo’ have restored the power supply of the Zaporizhzhia NPP (nuclear power plant), which was interrupted by today’s missile strikes,” it said in a statement.
“The ZNPP is switching from diesel generators to receiving electricity for its own needs from the unified energy system of Ukraine.”
Ukrainian officials have accused Russian forces of compromising safety by shelling the site of the plant, forcing power cuts during air strikes and flouting safety measures.
Russia has denied shelling the site, and has accused Ukraine of being behind the shelling.
“The risks of disaster at the Zaporizhzhia NPP are significantly increasing, and our ability to react to them, to avoid them are significantly decreasing,” Oleh Korikov, acting chairman of the Ukrainian state nuclear safety watchdog, told a news briefing on Thursday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, also expressed alarm after confirming the back-up generators had kicked in.
Calling for a protection zone around the plant, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told the watchdog’s Board of Governors: “Each time we are rolling a dice. And if we allow this to continue time after time then one day our luck will run out.”
IAEA monitors are currently on site and Grossi has been pressing both sides to establish a demilitarised “safe zone” around the station.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has reportedly been snubbed by the Oscars for the second year in a row.
According to Variety, Zelenskiy had been hoping to appear on this Sunday’s telecast following on from previous cultural appearances but the request has been denied. In the past year, the comedian turned politician has appeared via satellite during the Grammy awards and Golden Globes and within film festivals such as Cannes and most recently Berlin. Last month marked the one year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine.
Zelenskiy had secured Mike Simpson, a top power agent at major agency WME, after his client Aaron Kaufman co-directed Ukraine documentary Superpower made with Sean Penn, who loaned one of his two Oscars to Zelenskiy last year.
The actor called it “a symbolic silly thing” but after Ukraine wins the war against Russia, he could bring it back to him. He had previously promised to smelt an Oscar if the Academy didn’t let him speak. “There is nothing greater that the Academy Awards could do than to give [Zelensky] an opportunity to talk to all of us,” he said.
Reuters reports that Ukraine will take part in the European Union scheme to jointly buy gas in global markets, to procure 2 billion cubic metres of the fuel ahead of next winter, the EU energy policy chief said on Thursday.
EU countries plan to pool demand and sign their first joint gas contracts in the coming months, to help fill storage caverns ahead of peak winter demand as Europe replaces Russian gas.
“Ukraine has indicated that on top of their own domestic production, they might need, for a secure winter, another 2 billion cubic metres,” EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson told a news conference on Thursday.
European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, who leads the EU’s joint gas-buying, held a video call with international gas suppliers on Wednesday.
Sefcovic said Europe was on track to expand its capacity to regasify liquefied natural gas to 227 billion cubic metres by 2024, up from 178 bcm now, as countries swap Russian gas for other supplies.
Participating in the EU scheme could help Ukraine to stave off gas shortages. Of the 27.3 bcm of gas Ukraine used in 2021, domestic production accounted for about 19.8 bcm, imports were 2.6 bcm and 4.9 bcm of gas was taken from underground storage.
Initial estimates from state-owned energy firm Naftogaz suggest Ukrainian gas production was around 18 bcm in 2022.
Ukraine uses little gas to produce electricity, but relies on the fuel for heating and industry - sectors vulnerable should Russian strikes damage infrastructure.
Ukraine does not import gas directly from Russia, but Ukrainian pipelines still carry some Russian gas to Europe.
Russia has bombarded Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent months, and on Thursday launched missile strikes across Ukraine, killing at least six civilians and forcing a nuclear power plant off the grid.
Kadri Simson said she would convene an emergency video call with Ukraine and EU energy ministers on Thursday to discuss the situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, after Kyiv said Russian attacks had severed the plant from the power grid and forced it onto emergency diesel power.
Russian strikes hit targets across a sleeping Ukraine early on Thursday.
The capital, Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa and the second-largest city, Kharkiv, were some of the places struck by a barrage of missiles, knocking out power to several areas.
Four people have died in Russian missile strikes on the western region of Lviv and the strikes cut off Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from the power grid.
The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said on Thursday that the European Union is completely ignoring any talks on the need to carry out an investigation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline blasts, Reuters reports.
Russia has repeatedly asked to be allowed to join the investigations into the blasts, which ruptured three of the four pipelines of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas links that connect Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
Earlier today the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, described it as “incomprehensible” that Russia would blow up its own infrastructure.
Updated
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that the south command of the Ukrainian armed forces has claimed to have destroyed a Russian self-propelled artillery installation on the Kinburn spit.
The claim has not been independently verified.
The Kinburn spit is a stretch of land that stretches out from Kherson oblast to the west, and is opposite the southern coast of Ukraine that runs from Odesa to Mykolaiv. It is currently occupied by Russian forces. Kherson is one of the regions of Ukraine that Russia partially occupies and claims to have annexed.
Updated
Petr Pavel, a former Czech army chief and high-level Nato official, took the oath of office to start his five-year term as Czech president on Thursday.
Pavel beat populist former prime minister Andrej Babiš in a January election on pledges to firmly anchor the central European country in the European Union and Nato, a turn away from the policy of predecessor Miloš Zeman, who had tried to boost relations with Russia and China.
Pavel, a social liberal who campaigned as an independent and gained the backing of the centre-right government, has tried to convey a message of unity after the divisive Zeman, who retired after 10 years in office on Wednesday.
Reuters reports Czech presidents do not have many day-to-day duties, but they pick prime ministers and central bank heads, have a say in foreign policy, are powerful opinion makers, and can push the government on policies.
Pavel has fully supported continued aid for Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s invasion.
Updated
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant reconnected to energy grid after power lost during missile strikes
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine was reconnected to Ukraine’s energy grid on Thursday, Ukrainian grid operator Ukrenergo said.
Reuters reports that the Ukrainian state nuclear energy company Energoatom had said earlier on Thursday that power to the Russian-occupied plant was lost during Russian air strikes.
Updated
Speaking to the BBC, the Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun said she believed that Russia’s latest assault on the country was an attempt to make citizens feel as though the country was “not safe” to continue living in.
Sovsun added that she thought the primary purpose of the attacks was to “make sure everybody feels scared” after a period of relative safety in the country’s capital, Kyiv.
Updated
Reuters reports that local security services in the Moscow-backed breakaway Transnistria region of Moldova said on they had thwarted a Ukrainian assassination attempt against the region’s leader, according to Russian state news agencies reported.
Reuters reports:
Kyiv rejected the claims as a Kremlin “provocation”, the latest in a series of allegations, claims and counterclaims over escalating tensions in the territory, wedged along Ukraine’s south-western border with Moldova.
It was not immediately clear whether the Transnistrian officials had provided evidence to support their claim.
“The ministry of state security informs about the prevention of a terrorist attack. On the instructions of the Security Service of Ukraine, a crime was being prepared against a number of officials. The suspects have been detained,” the Russian state-run Tass news agency quoted the ministry as saying.
In response, the Security Service of Ukraine said in a statement that the accusation “should be considered exclusively as a provocation orchestrated by the Kremlin”.
It added: “Lies and provocations are the weapons (Russia) actively uses. But today the entire world sees the true face of the aggressor country and does not believe the statements of Russia or its satellites.”
Transnistria, a mainly Russian-speaking territory which borders Ukraine, broke from Moldova’s control in 1990, a year before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and is dependent on Russian support. Its allegiance to Moscow and location on Ukraine’s western border have been a constant cause of concern since Russia invaded that the war could spread to the region.
Last month, Russia accused Ukraine of planning to invade Transnistria after staging a ‘false flag’ operation there, a claim Kyiv denied. Moldova also rejected Russia’s claim.
Moscow also said it would view as an attack on itself any actions that threatened Russian peacekeepers stationed in Transnistria.
Updated
The UN gives urgent warning as Ukrainian power plant loses power
In a statement this morning about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, told his board of governors that urgent action was needed to protect the site’s safety and security.
He said: “This is the sixth time – let me say it again sixth time, that ZNPP has lost all off-site power and has had to operate in this emergency mode. Let me remind you - this is the largest nuclear power station in Europe.”
He added: “What are we doing? How can we sit here in this room this morning and allow this to happen? This cannot go on. I am astonished by the complacency. What are we doing to prevent this from happening? Each time we are rolling a dice, and if we allow this to continue then one day our luck will run out”.
You can read an explainer regarding the significance of the power plant here:
Updated
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The South Korean company Hyundai Motor Co is in talks with a Kazakhstan company over the sale of its manufacturing plant in Russia, it has been reported.
Reuters reports:
Many factories in Russia have suspended production and furloughed workers due to shortages of hi-tech equipment because of sanctions and an exodus of western manufacturers since Moscow invaded Ukraine last year.
The local government in St Petersburg has been negotiating with Kazakhstan to sell Hyundai’s Russia plant, Yonhap news agency reported, citing a Tass report.
Yonhap reported that negotiations to sell Hyundai’s plant in St Petersburg to an auto-related company in Astana, Kazakhstan, are in the final stage, citing an unnamed source. The deal could be signed as early as June, it said.
Hyundai suspended operations at its Russian factory last March.
Hyundai was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.
Updated
Intense fighting has continued in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
The below graphic shows the Russian military advances within the region.
A residential building in Lviv oblast has been targeted by Russian missiles. Maksym Kozytskyy, the head of the Lviv oblast administration, released drone footage showing the aftermath of the attack on Thursday. A fifth person had died in overnight strikes, the governor said.
Reuters has reported more details on the Russian missile strikes across Ukraine while people slept on Thursday, killing at least six civilians, knocking out electricity and forcing a nuclear power plant off the grid.
Reuters reports:
The first big volley of missile strikes since mid-February shattered the longest period of comparative calm since Moscow began a campaign to attack Ukraine’s civil infrastructure five months ago. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said infrastructure and residential buildings in 10 regions had been hit.
“The occupiers can only terrorise civilians. That’s all they can do. But it won’t help them. They won’t avoid responsibility for everything they have done,” Zelenskiy said in a statement.
At least five people were killed in a missile that destroyed a village house in the western Lviv region, according to emergency services. Drone footage from the area, some 700 km (440 miles) from any military battlefield, showed a flattened home surrounded by badly damaged buildings.
Another civilian was reported killed by the missiles in the central Dnipro region. Three civilians were separately reported killed by artillery in Kherson.
In the capital Kyiv, residents were awakened by explosions. A seven-hour air strike alert through the night was the longest of the Russian air campaign that began in October.
“I heard a very loud explosion, very loud. We quickly jumped out of bed and saw one car on fire. Then the other cars caught on fire as well. The glass shattered on the balconies and windows,” said Liudmyla, 58, holding a toddler in her arms.
“It’s very frightening. Very frightening. The child got scared and jumped out of bed,” she said. “How can they do this? How is this possible? They are not humans, I don’t know what to call them. They are frightening the children, their mental state will be disrupted.”
Moscow says its campaign of targeting Ukraine’s infrastructure far from the front is intended to reduce its ability to fight. Kyiv says the air strikes have no military purpose and aim to harm and intimidate civilians, a war crime.
Ukrainian officials said Moscow had fired six of its kinzhal hypersonic missiles, an unprecedented number, which Ukraine has no way of shooting down. Russia is believed to have only a few dozen of the missiles, which President Vladimir Putin regularly touts in speeches as a weapon for which NATO has no answer.
Ukraine said the missiles had knocked out the power supply to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, severing it from the Ukrainian grid.
The plant, which Russia has held since capturing it early in the war, is near the front line and both sides have warned in the past of a potential for disaster there caused by fighting. Moscow said the was being kept safe on diesel backup power.
“Everything is absolutely normal: the specialists at the plant are working quite professionally, the automation has started up,” Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the CEO of Russian state energy firm Rosenergoatom, said on state TV channel Rossiya 24.
“There is no threat or danger of a nuclear incident. There is more than enough fuel and, if necessary, it will be supplied to the plant.”
Alessio Mamo has been at the scene of today’s strike on Kyiv for the Guardian.
Summary of the day so far …
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it had been “a difficult night” as Russian strikes hit targets across Ukraine early on Thursday, including Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa and the second-largest city, Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas. The attacks struck a wide arc of targets including cities stretching from Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia and Rivne in the west to Dnipro and Poltava in central Ukraine.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 81 missiles in total, alongside eight Shahed drones. It claimed to have shot down 34 cruise missiles and four of the drones.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said explosions were reported in the south-western part of the city and rescue services were on their way. Two people were injured. “After the missile attack, due to emergency power outages, 40% of the capital’s consumers are currently without heating. Water supply works normally,” he said on Telegram.
Maksym Kozytskyi, the governor of Lviv, reported five people had been killed in a strike on the Zolochiv district. Oleh Synyehubov, governor of Kharkiv, said two women in their 70s had been injured by a strike on Pisochyn. Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, reported that three people were killed in the southern city of Kherson.
Strikes cut off Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from the power grid, the company Energoatom said. “Today, the last line of communication between the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Ukrainian power system has been cut off. Fuel for operation remains for ten days,” the company said in a statement. In August last year fires caused by shelling cut the last remaining power line to the plant, temporarily disconnecting it from the grid for the first time in nearly 40 years of operation. It took two weeks for power to be restored.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has described the overnight strikes as without military purpose and “just Russian barbarism”.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, during a press conference with his Saudi counterpart, that Saudi Arabia was among the countries that had facilitated prisoner of war swaps with Ukraine.
Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass is reporting that security services in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria claim to have foiled an assassination attempt on the internationally unrecognised leader, Vadim Krasnoselsky. Transnistria’s security forces claim Ukrainian security services were the source of the plans.
The Kremlin said on Thursday it doubted the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines could have been carried out without state support, after the New York Times reported that a pro-Ukrainian non-government group might have been responsible for the blasts. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was vital to identify who was behind the attacks which ruptured the multi-billion dollar pipelines last September. He added that it was incomprehensible that Russia would blow up its own infrastructure.
Ukraine will take part in European Union countries’ scheme to jointly buy gas, the bloc’s energy policy chief said on Thursday.
Slovakia needs to make a decision on sending MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, the country’s defence minister, Jaroslav Nad, said on Thursday, adding Poland has expressed willingness to act jointly in this matter.
In a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, UN secretary general António Guterres told journalists it was “critical” that a deal that allows safe passage for ships carrying grain out of Ukraine across the Black Sea be renewed. A senior UN trade official will meet Russian representatives to discuss the extension of the deal. The Kremlin, however, said on Thursday there were still “a lot of questions” remaining over the deal, and that there were currently no plans for a direct meeting with Guterres.
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for now. I will be back later. Tobi Thomas will be here shortly to take you through the next few hours of our live coverage.
Another series of air raid sirens have just sounded across Ukraine, including in Odesa and Kherson in the south, Lviv in the west and Sumy in the north. The air raid alert in Kyiv overnight lasted for seven hours, as a total of 81 missiles were fired at targets across the country by Russia.
Reuters reports that the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said on Thursday, during a press conference with his Saudi counterpart, that Saudi Arabia and other countries had facilitated prisoner of war swaps with Ukraine.
Updated
The Kremlin said on Thursday it doubted the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines could have been carried out without state support, after the New York Times reported that a pro-Ukrainian non-government group might have been responsible for the blasts.
Reuters reports Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was vital to identify who was behind the attacks which ruptured the multibillion-dollar pipelines last September. He added it was incomprehensible that Russia would blow up its own infrastructure.
German prosecutors confirmed yesterday that investigators had searched a boat that may have been used in the bombings.
Earlier today our First Edition newsletter carried some analysis of the situation, with Archie Bland speaking to our defence editor, Dan Sabbagh. Here is what they had to say about the range of people who might be considered responsible for the attack:
While the consequences for European energy supplies have not ultimately proven severe, there are wider implications, Sabbagh said. “Technically this is an attack in international waters, but it’s within the Nato sphere. It’s infrastructure well beyond Russia and Ukraine, so it triggered a lot of anxiety about the security of other assets. It makes the war uncomfortably close.”
If any country with a stake in the region were proven responsible, that would have significant consequences of its own. If the US or a Nato or EU country was behind the attack, that would cause a serious rift in the western alliance in support of Ukraine.
If Ukraine did it, fears that Kyiv was acting recklessly would probably diminish their support in Europe and the US – particularly, for obvious reasons, in Germany.
And evidence of Moscow’s culpability “would be a new frontier in Russian aggression,” Sabbagh said. While a Russian act of sabotage on a Russian-owned piece of infrastructure would not clearly amount to an act of war, the material damage to future gas supplies “would further unite the west against Putin”.
You can read more of that analysis here: The mystery of the Nord Stream sabotage – and who may be responsible
Updated
Ukraine will take part in European Union countries’ scheme to jointly buy gas, the bloc’s energy policy chief said on Thursday.
“We have integrated Ukraine in the gas joint purchasing platform with a view to help secure 2bn cubic metres of additional gas,” Reuters reports the EU energy commissioner, Kadri Simson, told a meeting of EU lawmakers.
EU countries plan to sign their first contracts to jointly buy gas by this summer.
Updated
The Kremlin said on Thursday that there were still “a lot of questions” remaining over the Black Sea grain deal, and that there were currently no plans for a meeting with the UN secretary general, António Guterres.
The deal, which allows grain to be safely exported from Ukrainian ports despite a Russian naval blockade, expires on 18 March, but cannot be extended if Russia objects. Moscow has already signalled it is unhappy with aspects of the deal, as it seeks to expand the markets for its own agricultural products.
Ukraine has said it will seek to extend the deal for at least a year, and wishes the port of Mykolaiv to be included.
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Three killed by Russian strike on Kherson – Ukrainian official
Kyiv said Russian shelling killed three people on Thursday in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, as Moscow unleashed a wave of missile strikes overnight.
“Russian terrorists shelled Kherson in the morning. They hit … a public transport stop. Three people died as a result of the shelling,” AFP reports Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on social media.
Updated
Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass is reporting that security services in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria claim to have foiled an assassination attempt on the internationally unrecognised leader, Vadim Krasnoselsky.
In its report Tass writes:
Assassination attempts on a number of officials of Transnistria were prepared on the instructions of the Ukrainian security service (SBU), the ministry of state security of the republic reported. Suspects of preparing an assassination attempt on the leader of Transnistria were detained and are giving confessions.
The impending assassination attempt on the leader of Transnistria is qualified as a preparation for a terrorist attack.
The prosecutor of Transnistria said that the SBU was preparing a terrorist attack using a car bomb in the center of Tiraspol.
The claims have not been independently verified. Transnistria, which attempted to break away from Moldova in the early 1990s, borders Ukraine’s west and has Russian troops stationed there.
Updated
Slovakia needs to make a decision on sending MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, the country’s defence minister, Jaroslav Nad, said on Thursday, adding Poland has expressed willingness to act jointly in this matter.
“I think it is time to make a decision,” Reuters reports Nad said on Facebook. “People are dying in Ukraine, we can really help them, there is no room for Slovak politicking.”
Updated
The governor of Lviv region, Maksym Kozytskyi, has given further details of the strike that has killed five people. In a message on Telegram he posted to say:
Today, around 4 o’clock in the morning, an enemy missile fell in the Zolochiv district during an air raid. Three men and two women who were at home at that moment died. The fire destroyed three residential buildings, three cars, a garage and several outbuildings. The fire was extinguished. The demolition of the destroyed buildings has already been completed. 28 rescuers, five units of special equipment and a canine team were involved in the work.
Drone footage shows the aftermath of the strike.
The regional governor said air defences shot down missiles over Lviv, but “I cannot say exactly how many missiles were destroyed over our region, the relevant services have asked not to make this information public” and he urged the public not to release details.
Kozytskyi went on to say:
As usual, during the day, internally displaced people arrived in our region by evacuation trains, and people also left by train to Przemyśl [in Poland]. In the districts of Lviv oblast, humanitarian aid was collected and handed over to soldiers on the frontlines and to residents of frontline settlements, cars were sent to the defenders. Our foreign partners transferred aid to the communities of the region. Everyone lived yesterday, doing good deeds and getting closer to victory in their place. But we woke up to sirens, and news about the dead. We will never forget this day. We will never forgive. And we will direct all our efforts to revenge and the return of justice.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has described the overnight strikes on Ukraine as without military purpose and “just Russian barbarism”. In a tweet he said:
Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight, leading to loss of lives and damaging civilian infrastructure. No military objective, just Russian barbarism. The day will come when Putin and his associates are held accountable by a special tribunal.
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Reuters reports that Nato member Denmark has confirmed that Troels Lund Poulsen will continue to act as acting defence minister in the absence of Jakob Ellemann-Jensen.
Ellemann-Jensen, 49, was briefly admitted to hospital in February after making a trip to Ukraine and has been on an indefinite period of sick leave. At the time he said in a Facebook message: “I have been unusually busy for a long time. Now my body is sending me a signal that it’s time to take a break, if not it’s going to end badly.”
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Here are some more of the images to come out of Kyiv today.
Zelenskiy says 'it’s been a difficult night' after Russia fires 81 missiles at targets in Ukraine
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has posted to his official Telegram about the night’s events, writing:
It’s been a difficult night. A massive rocket attack across the country. Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia regions. Attacks on critical infrastructure and residential buildings. Unfortunately, there are injured and dead. My condolences to the families.
All services are working. The energy system is being restored. Restrictions were imposed in all regions.
The enemy fired 81 missiles in an attempt to intimidate Ukrainians again, returning to their miserable tactics. The occupiers can only terrorise civilians. That’s all they can do. But it won’t help them. They won’t avoid responsibility for everything they have done.
We thank the guardians of our skies and everyone who helps to overcome the consequences of the occupiers’ sneaking attacks.
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Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, has posted this summary to Telegram of the latest news to emerge from the overnight strikes. It reports:
In Kyiv, the alarm lasted for about seven hours. Two people were hospitalised due to falling rocket fragments.
Five people were killed in the Zolochiv district of the Lviv region due to a rocket hitting a residential area, one person was killed and two were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Energy infrastructure and industrial enterprises were also damaged in the region.
About 15 strikes were made in Kharkiv and the region, two people were injured. Critical infrastructure was targeted. Metro and electric transport are not working.
In Kirovohrad oblast, Odesa oblast and Zhytomyr oblast, energy infrastructure facilities were hit. Also, according to preliminary information, there are hits in Vinnytsia.
At night, electricity restrictions were applied preventively in all regions to reduce risks to the system. Emergency power outages were used in regions where infrastructure was damaged. Kharkiv region and Zhytomyr region are partially de-energized. Kharkiv is completely without electricity.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Here are some more images from the scene of the strike in Kyiv.
Death toll in Lviv strike rises to five – regional governor
Maksym Kozytskyi, governor of Lviv, has announced that a fifth person has been killed in overnight strikes. He posted to Telegram to say:
The number of people killed as a result of the fall of the rocket in the Zolochiv district has increased to five. The body of another man, born in 1963, was discovered under the rubble. Sincere condolences to the relatives.
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Ukraine's air force claims to have shot down 34 cruise missiles overnight
Ukraine’s air force has issued a statement via Telegram on the wave of attacks from Russia overnight. In it, it claims that “the defence forces of Ukraine destroyed 34 cruise missiles … as well as 4 ‘Shahed-136/131’ unmanned aerial vehicles”. It claims that a total of 48 Kalibr-type cruise missiles had been fired by Russia.
It described the attack as featuring “81 missiles of various types” in total, and that “the launches were carried out from 10 Tu-95 strategic aircraft, seven Tu-22M3 long-range aircraft, eight Su-35 fighters, six MiG-31K aircraft and three Kalibr KR carriers in the Black Sea”.
It adds: “As a result of organised countermeasures, 8 Kh-31P and Kh-59 guided air missiles did not reach their targets. It is worth noting that the armed forces of Ukraine do not have means capable of destroying Kh-22 and Kh-47 ‘Kinzhal’ and S-300.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
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Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that energy company DTEK has reinstated power in Dnipropetrovsk.
Oleh Synyehubov, governor of Kharkiv, has provided this update via Telegram on the situation overnight in his region. He wrote:
The enemy launched a massive rocket attack on Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region. At least 15 arrivals of S-300 missiles were recorded. Critical infrastructure objects are hit. In addition, a civil infrastructure object was damaged in the city of Kharkiv.
Synyehubov said two women in their 70s were injured in Pisochyn, with one of them hospitalised, and that an agricultural facility was damaged in Slobozhanske.
He added that during the previous day, multiple settlements had been shelled with the result that “houses and commercial buildings were damaged, fires broke out”.
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Here are some of the latest images we have received over the news wires of the aftermath of strikes on Kyiv overnight.
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That’s goodbye from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. I’ll be handing over to my colleague Martin Belam shortly.
Here is what happened overnight, as Russia launched mass strikes across a sleeping Ukraine:
Russian strikes hit targets across Ukraine early on Thursday, including the capital Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa and the second-largest city Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas, regional officials said. The attacks struck a wide arc of targets, including cities stretching from Zhytomyr, Vynnytsia and Rivne in the west to Dnipro and Poltava in central Ukraine.
Four people have died in Russian missile strikes on the western region of Lviv, the head of the regional military administration said on Telegram. “At this moment, it is known about four dead. These are four adults. Two men and two women. They were at home when the rocket fell. The debris is still being sorted out. There may be other people under them,” said Maksym Kozytskyi.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said explosions were reported in the south-western part of the city and rescue services were on their way. Two people were injured. “After the missile attack, due to emergency power outages, 40% of the capital’s consumers are currently without heating. Water supply works normally,” he said on Telegram.
Strikes cut off Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from the power grid, the company Energoatom said. “Today, the last line of communication between the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Ukrainian power system has been cut off. Fuel for operation remains for 10 days,” the company said in a statement. In August last year fires caused by shelling cut the last remaining power line to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, temporarily disconnecting it from the grid for the first time in nearly 40 years of operation. Then, it took two weeks for power to be restored to the plant.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he won’t meet with Vladimir Putin until Russia leaves Ukraine. Ukraine’s president appeared on CNN on Wednesday night in a pre-recorded interview. When asked by Wolf Blitzer what it would take to get him to meet Putin, Zelenskiy said: “We don’t have any circumstances to talk to the Russian Federation president because he doesn’t hold his word” and “Russia should leave our territory. And after that, we’re happy to join the diplomatic tools. In order to do that, we can find any format with our partners just after that.”
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Four dead in shelling on Lviv
Four people have died in Russian missile strikes on the western region of Lviv, the head of the regional military administration said on Telegram.
“Residents of Lviv oblast, an air alert lasted for four hours this night … In Zolochiv district, an enemy rocket fell in a residential area. A fire started. It has already been extinguished,” said Maksym Kozytskyi.
“At this moment, it is known about four dead. These are four adults. Two men and two women. They were at home when the rocket fell. The debris is still being sorted out. There may be other people under them.”
Three residential buildings were destroyed. Kozytskyi posted a video of the damage:
⚡️ The head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration posted the video of the consequences of the [russian] missile crash in the Zolochiv district.
— FLASH (@Flash_news_ua) March 9, 2023
👉 Follow @Flash_news_ua pic.twitter.com/0UBG7u9rwC
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More now on Zaporizhzhia. The statement from state energy company Energoatom says:
On the night of 9 March, the enemy delivered another barbaric massive attack on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine.
“As a result of shelling, the last line that fed the ZNPP was damaged. Now the station works on diesel generators. The Russians are putting the world on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. And this is the day after the negotiations with the UN on the demilitarization of the ZNPP,” said Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Galushchenko.
Also, as of 6,30am on 9 March, shelling of energy facilities was recorded in the Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zhytomyr regions.
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Here is our wrap of the attacks overnight:
Volleys of Russian missiles struck targets across Ukraine early on Thursday, including Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa and the second city of Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas, regional officials said.
The governor of Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, said on Telegram that a mass missile attack had hit an energy facility in the port city, cutting power. Residential areas were also hit, but no casualties were immediately reported.
Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Synehubov said the city and region had been hit by 15 strikes, with targets including infrastructure. Other strikes were reported in the central city of Dnipro and regions throughout the country.
40% of Kyiv without heating after strike on energy facility
Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klitschko has just confirmed that one of the explosions was an attack on a power facility, and that 40% of Kyiv’s residents are now without heating. It is currently 4C.
“After the missile attack, due to emergency power outages, 40% of the capital’s consumers are currently without heating. Water supply works normally,” he said on Telegram.
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Summary
It is currently 8am in Kyiv. Here is a summary of what has happened overnight:
Russian strikes hit a series of Ukrainian regions early on Thursday, including the capital Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa and the second-largest city Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas, regional officials said. The attacks struck a wide arc of targets, including cities stretching from Zhytomyr, Vynnytsia and Rivne in the west to Dnipro and Poltava in central Ukraine.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said explosions were registered in the south-western part of the city and rescue services were on their way. Two people were injured. Power supply has been cut pre-emptively to about 15% of Kyiv residents, he said.
The strikes cut Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant off from the power grid, the company Energoatom announced on Thursday morning. “Today, the last line of communication between the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Ukrainian power system has been cut off. Fuel for operation remains for 10 days,” the company said in a statement. In August last year fires caused by shelling cut the last remaining power line to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, temporarily disconnecting it from Ukraine’s National Grid for the first time in nearly 40 years of operation. Then, it took two weeks for power to be restored to the plant.
Zelenskiy said he won’t meet with Putin until Russia leaves Ukraine. Ukraine’s president appeared on CNN on Wednesday night in a pre-recorded interview. When asked by Wolf Blitzer what it would take to get him to meet with Putin, Zelenskiy said, “We don’t have any circumstances to talk to the Russian Federation president because he doesn’t hold his word” and “Russia should leave our territory. And after that, we’re happy to join the diplomatic tools. In order to do that, we can find any format with our partners just after that”.
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Here is a photo from Svyatoshyn in Kyiv, where missile strikes set cars alight:
Power to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant cut by shelling
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been off from the Ukrainian power grid, the power company Energoatom announced this morning.
“Today, the last line of communication between the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Ukrainian power system has been cut off. Fuel for operation remains for 10 days,” the company said in a statement.
In August last year fires caused by shelling cut the last remaining power line to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, temporarily disconnecting it from the grid for the first time in nearly 40 years of operation. Then, it took two weeks for power to be restored to the plant.
⚡️ The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is completely disconnected due to the russian shelling, — Enerhoatom.
— FLASH (@Flash_news_ua) March 9, 2023
Today, the last line of communication between the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Ukrainian power system has been cut off. Fuel for operation remains for 10 days. pic.twitter.com/bOcMGJ0rzg
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Missile strikes in Zhytomyr have left people in the city without water, according to the mayor.
⚡️ Zhytomyr Mayor Serhii Sukhomlyn about the situation in the city after the explosion:
— FLASH (@Flash_news_ua) March 9, 2023
“There is no water supply in the morning, and there is no electricity in some houses — it is after the attack on Zhytomyr. The situation is difficult. There are no casualties.”
Air sirens are sounding in Mykolaiv, the governor, Vitalii Kim, has just said on Telegram.
Electricity supply has been cut for 15% of people in Kyiv, the mayor, Vitalii Klychko, said.
Kyiv mayor confirms another explosion, with 'two injured'
Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klychko has confirmed that there has been another explosion in the city, this time in Svyatoshyn district. He said that there were two people injured.
“Another explosion in the capital. Svyatoshyn district. All services go to the place. Cars are burning in the yard of one of the residential buildings. The air alert continues. Stay in shelters! Two injured in Sviatoshyn district. Medics provide assistance on the spot.”
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The CEO of Ukrainian power company Yasno, Serhii Kovalenko, has said that emergency power cuts have been put in place due to the mass strikes.
“Morning. Emergency blackouts are used due to the enemy attack. This is a preventive step, as you all remember,” he said.
It is currently 7.20 am in Kyiv.
'Another explosion in Kyiv'
The Kyiv Independent reports that, according to one of its journalists, another loud explosion was heard in Kyiv a few minutes ago.
⚡️Another explosion heard in Kyiv.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 9, 2023
A loud explosion was heard in Kyiv, as reported by a Kyiv Independent journalist.
Earlier, explosions occurred in Kyiv's central Holosiivskyi District early in the morning of March 9, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
“This is nowhere near over,” The British Ambassador to Ukraine has just said on Twitter.
Friends and colleagues in #Kyiv woke up this morning to explosions and shaking windows. This is nowhere near over, and 🇺🇦 continues to have no choice but to push 🇷🇺back to its borders.
— Dame Melinda Simmons (@MelSimmonsFCDO) March 9, 2023
Maxim Tucker of the Times has posted a video of what he says is smoke rising from Kyiv thermo-electric power station this morning:
Smoke rising from Kyiv thermo-electric power station this morning after Russian missiles struck at cities across Ukraine, from Dnipro to Lviv. pic.twitter.com/zAjNDVqOme
— Maxim Tucker (@MaxRTucker) March 9, 2023
New Voice of Ukraine journalist Euan MacDonald said that the Kyiv explosion was “near Troyeshyna on left bank of Dnipro (there’s a heat-power plant nearby). Must have been a big bang if I heard it 10km?”
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Kyiv mayor reports explosions
Kyiv’s mayor has reported that Russia has struck Kyiv during its latest mass strikes accoss Ukraine.
“Explosions in the Holosiiv district of the capital. All services follow in place. More details later,” Kyiv’s Mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said on Telegram a few minutes ago.
Reporters in Kyiv said they heard a loud explosion at around 6am. The explosions are part of a pre-dawn wave of mass strikes by Russia launched before dawn on Thursday.
Maxim Tucker of the Times posted a video of what he said was smoke rising from a thermo-electric power station in Kyiv:
Smoke rising from Kyiv thermo-electric power station this morning after Russian missiles struck at cities across Ukraine, from Dnipro to Lviv. pic.twitter.com/zAjNDVqOme
— Maxim Tucker (@MaxRTucker) March 9, 2023
Explosions were also reported in Odesa and Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas.
Air raid sirens sounded across the country.
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Ukrainian newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia is also reporting an explosion in Kyiv, as well as blasts heard in the city of Sumy, and a drone spotted above the western Lviv region.
Explosions heard in Kyiv - report
The Kyiv Post is reporting that one of its journalists has heard explosions in the city amid air raid warnings. The Guardian has not verified this independently.
⚡️Explosions heard in Kyiv.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 9, 2023
A loud explosion was heard in Kyiv, as reported by a Kyiv Independent journalist.
Earlier, the Kyiv Oblast military administration reported that the oblast's air defenses had been operating.
'We really need this' says Zelenskiy as he asks US for fighter jets
Asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer whether the US will send Ukraine F-16 fighter jets Zelensky said, “The fighter jets issue is difficult. We’re waiting for this decision to be taken.”
“We really need this and really appeal to the president that they could start training Ukrainian pilots, and President Biden told me that it will be worked upon … I believe that the United States will give us the opportunity to defend our skies,” Zelensky said.
McCarthy declines Zelenskiy's invitation to visit Kyiv
Zelenskiy invited top US house speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, to visit Ukraine as doubts over support for Kyiv’s war efforts simmer in Congress, particularly among conservatives.
Zelensky proposed the visit in the interview with CNN.
When told of the invitation McCarthy told CNN’s Manu Raju that he does not plan to visit Ukraine, and argued that President Joe Biden has not acted quickly enough to aid the country. McCarthy, a California Republican, has said he supports Ukraine but does not support “a blank check,” a position he repeated on Tuesday – even though there is federal oversight of all the dollars that are spent there.
Zelenskiy said that his children are still in Ukraine.
“My daughter joined the university and she studies there, and my son is attending school in Ukraine,” he said in his CNN interview.
“They’re both in Ukraine. They’re very much like other Ukrainian kids. We live with sirens.”
“We want victory. We don’t want to get used to war, but we got used to the challenges. Everyone wants one thing: to end the war,” he said.
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'We don't have any circumstances to talk to [Putin]' Zelenskiy tells CNN
Zelenskiy appeared on CNN this evening in the US, in a pre-recorded interview.
When asked by Wolf Blitzer what it would take to get him to meet with Putin, Zelenskiy said, “We don’t have any circumstances to talk to the Russian Federation president because he doesn’t hold his word”.
“We don’t have any confidence in him,” Zelensky added.
“Russia should leave our territory. And after that, we’re happy to join the diplomatic tools. In order to do that, we can find any format with our partners just after that”.
Here is more detail on what local officials have said. The governor of Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, said a mass missile attack had hit an energy facility in the port city, triggering power cuts.
“As a result of a mass missile strike, an energy infrastructure site was hit in the region as well as residences,” Marchenko said on Telegram. He said anti-aircraft units had downed some missiles and new attacks could follow.
“Fortunately, there are no casualties. Electricity restrictions are in effect.”
Kharkiv region Governor Oleh Synehubov said the city and region had been hit by about 15 strikes.
“The enemy made about 15 strikes on the city and region,” he said on Telegram. “Infrastructure was again among the targets. Information on casualties is being clarified.”
Another strike was reported in the central city of Dnipro and in the western towns of Lutsk and Rivne, far from the front lines in the year-old war.
Air raid sirens are sounding across the country before dawn this morning. BBC Ukraine correspondent Myroslava Petsa wrote on Twitter, “It’s 3 am in Ukraine. Russia won’t let Ukrainians sleep tight tonight. Lots of drones and rockets fired in all possible directions in Ukraine … This is the terror civilians’ve been living through for more than a year already.”
Analysts and Ukrainian leaders had expected mass missile strikes during the week of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 24 February.
It’s 3 am in Ukraine. Russia won’t let Ukrainians sleep tight tonight. Lots of drones and rockets fired in all possible directions in Ukraine. Will everyone wake up in the morning? This is the terror civilians’ve been living through for more than a year already. pic.twitter.com/UuZGe8X8YB
— Myroslava Petsa (@myroslavapetsa) March 9, 2023
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The Kyiv Independent reports that explosions have been heard in several cities and regional communities, but we are waiting for confirmation from local officials.
The newspaper listed the cities and regions of Kyiv, Poltava, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk among those where explosions were heard.
⚡️Explosions reported in several cities, Kyiv, Poltava, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil oblasts amid Russia's mass attack.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 9, 2023
Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said at 3:45 a.m. that Russian forces attacked the region. He urged residents to remain in shelters.
Russia strikes many Ukrainian regions
Russian strikes hit a series of Ukrainian regions early on Thursday, including the Black Sea port of Odesa and Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas, Reuters reported, citing regional officials.
The governor of Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, said on Telegram that a mass missile attack had hit an energy facility in the port city, triggering power cuts. Residential areas had also been hit, but no casualties were reported.
Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synehubov said the city and region had been hit by 15 strikes, with targets including infrastructure. Other strikes were reported in the central city of Dnipro and regions throughout the country.
Summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest.
It’s 5am local time in Kyiv, and we have reports of strikes across Ukraine, including the Black Sea port of Odesa and Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas, regional officials said.
The governor of Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, said on Telegram that a mass missile attack had hit an energy facility in the port city, triggering power cuts.
We’ll have more news shortly. In the meantime here are the key recent developments in the war:
The city of Bakhmut, in Ukraine’s east, could fall in the next few days, said Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg. “What we see is that Russia is throwing more troops, more forces and what Russia lacks in quality they try to make up in quantity. They have suffered big losses, but at the same time, we cannot rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days,” he said.
The founder of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, which has been leading the Russian assault on Bakhmut, has said Russian forces now fully control the east of the city. The claims have not been independently verified. The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in its Wednesday morning report: “The enemy, despite significant losses, continues to storm the town of Bakhmut.”
Russia is unlikely to capture significantly more territory this year, according to the US director of national intelligence, Avril Haines. She told a Senate hearing that the military will probably be unable to carry on its current level of fighting, even with the possible capture of Bakhmut.
The Pentagon has been accused of blocking the sharing of US intelligence with the international criminal court (ICC) about Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The defence department is said to be firmly opposed to using the Hague-based ICC, as a means of holding Russian forces accountable for widespread war crimes on the grounds that the precedent could eventually be turned against US soldiers.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has invited top US house speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Ukraine as doubts over support for Kyiv’s war efforts simmer in Congress, particularly among conservatives. Zelensky proposed the visit in an interview with CNN.
Zelensky has also called for “democratic success” in Georgia where thousands of protesters have rallied for a second day, against a controversial “foreign agent” bill, reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics. “There is no Ukrainian who would not wish success to our friendly Georgia. Democratic success. European success,” he said in his evening address to the nation.
The US obtained a warrant to seize a Boeing aircraft owned by Russian oil company Rosneft that is valued at over $25m, the Justice Department said. The District Court for the Eastern District of New York authorised the seizure, based on violations of export controls and sanctions against Russia, the Justice Department said.
In a visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, UN secretary general, António Guterres, told journalists it was “critical” that a deal that allows safe passage for ships carrying grain out of Ukraine across the Black Sea be renewed, with Ukraine traditionally being one of the world’s largest exporters of grain. A senior UN trade official will meet Russian representatives to discuss the extension of the deal.
European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Wednesday he had suggested the bloc spend €1bn for the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine and to refill their own stockpiles. “I propose to mobilise another €1bn,” Reuters reported he told the media after a meeting of EU defence ministers in Stockholm.
Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg said that it was still uncertain who carried out the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September last year, and that national investigations needed to be allowed to finish.
German officials announced that they searched a ship in January that they believe many have been used to transport explosives used in the sabotage. Germany has the lead role in the investigation.
Intelligence reviewed by US officials suggested a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022, the New York Times has reported. There was no evidence President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, or his top lieutenants were involved, or that the perpetrators were acting at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials, said the report, citing US officials.
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