Closing summary
The UN human rights expert on Russia has said that Alexei Navalny’s death was Moscow’s responsibility as he was either killed in prison or died from detention conditions that amounted to torture. “So the Russian government is responsible, one way or another, for his death,” Mariana Katzarova told Reuters.
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, reportedly said she was open to a deal in which London supplies Ukraine with additional Storm Shadow missiles in exchange for Germany backfilling British long-range missile stocks.
Josep Borrell, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president of the European Commission, called for Europe to boost its defence industry to replenish depleting weapon stocks sent to Ukraine. It came as CNN reported that Russia is producing about 250,000 artillery munitions a month, or about 3 million a year, in contrast to the US and Europe, which collectively have the capacity to generate only about 1.2 million munitions annually to send to Kyiv, according to a senior European intelligence official.
The fallout from Pope Francis saying Ukraine should have “the courage to raise the white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia continued on Monday. In an apparent reference to the remarks, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said in a joint press conference with Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, that “surrender is not peace” for Ukraine, adding that only the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had the power to end the war. The Kremlin’s invasion not only prompted formerly non-aligned nations Sweden and Finland to come under Nato’s defence umbrella, but now “Ukraine is closer to Nato membership than ever before,” Stoltenberg said. “When President Putin launched his full-scale invasion two years ago, he wanted less Nato and more control over his neighbours. He wanted to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign state, but he failed,” Stoltenberg said, adding that “Nato is bigger and stronger”, after Sweden became the alliance’s 32nd member last week. In an interview with Reuters, Stoltenberg distanced himself from French president Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that western allies should not rule out deploying troops to Ukraine. “Nato has no plans to send troops to Ukraine and Nato’s not party to the conflict, nor are Nato allies,” Stoltenberg said.
Donald Trump will not give money to help Ukraine fight Russia if he wins the presidency again, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán said after meeting him in Floria on Friday. “He will not give a penny into the Ukraine-Russia war and therefore the war will end,” the Hungarian premier told state television on Sunday evening. “As it is obvious that Ukraine on its own cannot stand on its feet.” “If the Americans do not give money and weapons, and also the Europeans, then this war will be over. And if the Americans do not give money the Europeans are unable to finance this war on their own, and then the war will end.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on reports that Nikolai Yevmenov, the head of the Russian navy, had been replaced, saying he did not comment on decrees which were classified. The Izvestia newspaper said that Alexander Moiseyev, who previously served as commander of Russia’s northern fleet, had reportedly been appointed as acting navy chief.
Belarus has started a comprehensive inspection of combat readiness of the armed forces, the defence ministry said. The exercise will include the movement of military equipment, as well as training of personnel with live firing, according to the defence ministry.
Updated
Russian government responsible for Alexei Navalny's death - UN rights expert
The UN human rights expert on Russia said that Alexei Navalny’s death was Moscow’s responsibility as he was either killed in prison or died from detention conditions that amounted to torture.
“So the Russian government is responsible, one way or another, for his death,” Mariana Katzarova told Reuters on the sidelines of an event on Russian political prisoners at the UN in Geneva.
Russia’s spy chief previously said that Navalny, who died on 16 February in an Arctic prison, died a natural death. The Kremlin has denied involvement in his death but western leaders have said they hold the Kremlin responsible for it.
Katzarova warned that other detainees in Russia could suffer the same fate as Navalny, saying she was “very worried” about opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, among others.
“Ever since the death of Alexei Navalny, there is no day passing without asking myself, who is the next Navalny?” she said. “And there will be a next Navalny, for sure, with this level of repression.”
Updated
Nato chief confirms there are no plans to send alliance troops to Ukraine
The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has distanced himself from French president Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that western allies should not rule out deploying troops to Ukraine.
“Nato has no plans to send troops to Ukraine and Nato’s not party to the conflict, nor are Nato allies,” Stoltenberg told Reuters in an interview.
Stoltenberg said that even if individual Nato countries sent troops to Ukraine, that would affect the alliance as a whole as its members are bound by a collective defence pact.
Asked if Macron had made a mistake by talking of “strategic ambiguity” on the possible deployment of western troops to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said: “I think it is important that we consult and that we have a common approach to these important topics because they matter for all of us.”
Britain, Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy and Hungary are among the countries that have said they are not considering sending ground troops to Ukraine after Macron’s controversial comments last month.
Protecting France’s strategic ambiguity, the French president said at a meeting of 20 mainly European leaders in Paris: “There is no consensus to officially back any ground troops. That said, nothing should be excluded. We will do everything that we can to make sure that Russia does not prevail.”
German minister says missile swap involving Britain is 'an option' - report
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, has reportedly said she was open to a deal in which London supplies Ukraine with additional Storm Shadow missiles in exchange for Germany backfilling British long-range missile stocks.
Baerbock’s statement came after the UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, proposed the idea of a so-called ring exchange in an interview with German Süddeutsche Zeitung on 8 March.
“The ring exchange is a German invention, so to say. It would be an option. And we’ve already done it with other equipment some time ago,” Baerbock told German public broadcaster ARD on 10 March.
This way of transferring weapons has already taken place some time ago to avoid directly arming Ukraine, the minister said.
Taurus missiles, which have a range of up to 500 kilometres (310 miles), have been the subject of extensive discussion since Ukraine submitted a request to acquire the weapons in May 2023.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz is reportedly against sending Taurus missiles to Kyiv because he fears the move will draw Germany into the war. Ukraine has received other long-range missiles, such as the Storm Shadow from the UK, and the French-made Scalp.
Here are some of the latest images coming out from the newswires:
Updated
A South Korean citizen has been arrested in Russia on suspicion of espionage, Russian state news agency Tass has reported.
The news agency quoted law enforcement agencies as saying the man had been detained in the far eastern city of Vladivostok before being transferred to Moscow for “investigative actions”.
The state news outlet said it was the first such case against a South Korean national. It did not provide any detail on the nature of the alleged spying.
Russia regards South Korea as an “unfriendly” country because of Seoul’s support for western sanctions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
At the same time, Russia has cultivated closer relations with North Korea, which the US says is providing munitions to Moscow for use in the war.
North Korea and Russia have denied this, although they have pledged to strengthen military cooperation.
Russia producing three times more artillery shells than US and Europe - report
Russia appears on track to produce nearly three times more artillery munitions than the US and Europe, CNN reports.
Russia is producing about 250,000 artillery munitions per month, or about 3 million a year, according to Nato intelligence estimates of Russian defence production shared with CNN, as well as sources familiar with western efforts to arm Ukraine.
Collectively, the US and Europe have the capacity to generate only about 1.2 million munitions annually to send to Kyiv, a senior European intelligence official told CNN.
The US military set a goal to produce 100,000 rounds of artillery a month by the end of 2025 – less than half of the Russian monthly output – and even that number is now out of reach with $60bn in Ukraine funding stalled in Congress, a senior Army official told reporters last week.
“What we are in now is a production war,” a senior Nato official told CNN. “The outcome in Ukraine depends on how each side is equipped to conduct this war.”
Officials say Russia is currently firing around 10,000 shells a day, compared to just 2,000 a day from the Ukrainian side. The ratio is worse in some places along the 600-mile front, according to a European intelligence official.
Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, is participating in a EU-facilitated event called ‘Unveiling Ukraine’s Anticorruption Journey: Progress towards EU Membership’.
On X, she said Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts are “an essential part of our journey towards EU membership”.
“Ukraine has already a solid track record. Anticorruption institutional architecture is in place and demonstrates its effectiveness through daily work,” she added.
My pleasure to participate in today's public discussion on Ukraine's anti-corruption efforts, which are an essential part of our journey towards EU membership.
— Olga Stefanishyna (@StefanishynaO) March 11, 2024
Ukraine has already a solid track record. Anticorruption institutional architecture is in place and demonstrates its… pic.twitter.com/rG9RShrvXc
EU security chief calls for stronger defence industry to replenish depleting weapon stocks sent to Ukraine
Josep Borrell, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president of the European Commission, has called for Europe to boost its defence industry to replenish depleting weapon stocks sent to Ukraine.
In a statement, Borrell said: “We need to boost our defence industrial and technological base. It was not clear to anybody before Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, but now it has become common sense. It is a prerequisite if we want to be able to strengthen our defence capacity in a tense geopolitical context.”
Borrell noted that, after two years of a high intensity war where Ukraine was provided weapons from EU allies, mainly from existing stocks, these existing stocks are now depleted and “the conflict has evolved from a war of stocks to a war of production.”
He said that ammunition production needs to be boosted further, which he said is constrained “not so much a lack of production capacity, but rather a lack of orders and financing,” adding that industry leaders were saying “place orders and we will produce more.”
Borell also called for EU member states to work together, noting they are “still not coordinating and pooling their defence planning and procurement enough.”
Updated
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, has sharply criticised Pope Francis’s call for Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow, saying she didn’t “understand” his stance.
The pope sparked controversy at the weekend after saying in an interview on Swiss television that one should “have the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate”, two years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“I don’t understand it,” Baerbock said in a talkshow on public broadcaster ARD late Sunday.
“I think some things you can only understand if you see them for yourself,” Baerbock, who has travelled to Kyiv several times since the start of the war, said.
When talking to children in Ukraine who are suffering because of the war, she said:“I ask myself: Where is the pope? The pope must know about these things.”
Baerbock said if Ukraine and its allies “don’t show strength now, there will be no peace”.
Updated
Summary of the day so far...
The fallout from Pope Francis saying Ukraine should have “the courage to raise the white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia continued on Monday. In an apparent reference to the remarks, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said in a joint press conference with Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, that “surrender is not peace” for Ukraine, adding that only the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had the power to end the war. The Kremlin’s invasion not only prompted formerly non-aligned nations Sweden and Finland to come under Nato’s defence umbrella, but now “Ukraine is closer to Nato membership than ever before,” Stoltenberg said. “When President Putin launched his full-scale invasion two years ago, he wanted less Nato and more control over his neighbours. He wanted to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign state, but he failed,” Stoltenberg said, adding that “Nato is bigger and stronger”, after Sweden became the alliance’s 32nd member last week.
Donald Trump will not give money to help Ukraine fight Russia if he wins the presidency again, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán said after meeting him in Floria on Friday. “He will not give a penny into the Ukraine-Russia war and therefore the war will end,” the Hungarian premier told state television on Sunday evening. “As it is obvious that Ukraine on its own cannot stand on its feet.” “If the Americans do not give money and weapons, and also the Europeans, then this war will be over. And if the Americans do not give money the Europeans are unable to finance this war on their own, and then the war will end.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on reports that Nikolai Yevmenov, the head of the Russian navy, had been replaced, saying he did not comment on decrees which were classified. The Izvestia newspaper said that Alexander Moiseyev, who previously served as commander of Russia’s northern fleet, had reportedly been appointed as acting navy chief.
Belarus has started a comprehensive inspection of combat readiness of the armed forces, the defence ministry said. The exercise will include the movement of military equipment, as well as training of personnel with live firing, according to the defence ministry.
Updated
Russia said a group of its warships had arrived in Iran to take part in drills with Iran and China in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
The joint exercises, called “Maritime Security Belt – 2024”, will involve warships and aviation, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement quoted by state media on Monday.
“The practical part of the exercise will take place in the waters of the Gulf of Oman of the Arabian Sea,” the ministry said. “The main purpose of the manoeuvres is to work out the safety of maritime economic activity.”
Nato chief: Ukraine closer to Nato membership than ever before
Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg appeared to reject Pope Francis’s call for Ukraine to “raise the white flag” to Russia, saying that only Vladimir Putin has the option to end the war immediately.
Ukraine, he said, was “closer to Nato membership than ever before”.
His comments, on Monday morning, came as he declared a “historic day” for Nato as Sweden’s flag was raised outside the western military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels for the first time after becoming its 32nd member last week, marking the end of more than 200 years of neutrality and alignment for the Nordic country.
In an apparent reference to the pope’s comments, Stoltenberg said in a joint press conference with Ulf Kristersson that “surrender is not peace” for Ukraine, adding that only the Russian president has the power to end the war.
Asked whether Ukraine would soon get a Nato invite, he said: “Ukraine will become a Nato ally. The question is not if but when. Ukraine is now closer to Nato membership than ever before.”
He said he had confidence that “Sweden will be a very committed ally” and praised its “high class” defence capabilities and defence industry.
Stoltenberg said that Sweden joining Nato was important for Sweden, for Nato, but also for “me personally”. As a Norwegian, he said he has followed Sweden for many years, and that he never expected when he started the job of Nato secretary-general in 2014 to oversee the entry of Sweden and Finland during his tenure.
This, he said, “demonstrates that Nato’s door is open”.
Kristersson said that Sweden is now a “proud member” of Nato and pledged: “Unity and solidarity will be Sweden’s guiding lights as a Nato member.”
Reiterating previous comments, he said Sweden has “come home” to Nato and that it was entering “a new era”.
However, he said his country would be not be hosting nuclear weapons on Swedish soil in peacetime, a decision that he said is being “fully respected” by the alliance.
At the official flag raising ceremony, held in driving rain, afterwards, Stoltenberg spoke Swedish, saying: “To all Swedes, I say ‘välkommen till Nato’ [welcome to Nato].”
Kristersson, who stood between Sweden’s Crown Princess, Victoria, and Stoltenberg at the podium, thanked Nato allies, saying “All for one and one for all”.
Updated
Nato chief: Sweden joining the alliance shows Putin's Ukraine war strategy has failed
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said that Sweden’s accession to the alliance shows Vladimir Putin “failed” in his Ukrainian war strategy of weakening it.
The Kremlin’s invasion not only prompted formerly non-aligned nations Sweden and Finland to come under Nato’s defence umbrella, but now “Ukraine is closer to Nato membership than ever before,” Stoltenberg said.
His comments, made next to Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, came just before Sweden’s flag was to be run up a flagpole outside Nato’s Brussels headquarters in a ceremony sealing Sweden becoming the alliance’s 32nd member country.
“When President Putin launched his full-scale invasion two years ago, he wanted less Nato and more control over his neighbours. He wanted to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign state, but he failed,” Stoltenberg was quoted by AFP as saying.
“Nato is bigger and stronger,” he added.
Kyiv said an Oscar awarded to 20 Days in Mariupol was an important success that showed the “truth about Russia’s crimes” to the world.
The film, directed by Ukrainian film-maker Mstyslav Chernov, won the Best Documentary Oscar at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday night.
It depicts scenes of intense fighting and near constant Russian aerial bombardment from inside the southern port city of Mariupol in the first days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, hailed the victory – Ukraine’s first Oscar – on Monday.
“The world has seen the truth about Russia’s crimes. Justice is winning,” he wrote on X.
The first #Oscar in 🇺🇦 history. And how important it is now.
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) March 11, 2024
The documentary "20 Days in Mariupol" by director Mstyslav Chernov won in the category "Best Documentary Feature Film".
The world has seen the truth about russia's crimes. Justice is winning. pic.twitter.com/OIFzY7QxZQ
“Russia brutally attacked Mariupol over two years ago. The film ’20 Days in Mariupol’ depicts the truth about Russian terrorism,” Zelenskiy said on Monday.
The Ukrainian president thanked the team behind the production, and said it allowed Kyiv “to speak out loudly about Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
Updated
As referenced in the opening summary, military and regional officials said Ukrainian air defences shot down 15 out of 25 Russian drones launched in an overnight attack on the southern Odesa region, which hit an infrastructure facility.
The military said that 10 drones were downed in the skies over the Black Sea port of Odesa.
“Another massive night-time drone attack by the Russians in the Odesa region. Combat work lasted for one hour and a half,” Oleh Kiper, the Odesa regional governor, said.
“Air defence units repelled many waves of Shaheds coming from the Black Sea via complex manoeuvres and between residential buildings and industrial districts, that made air defence work more difficult.”
Viktor Orbán: Donald Trump won't give money to Ukraine if elected president
Donald Trump will not give money to help Ukraine fight Russia if he wins the presidency again, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán said after meeting him.
Orbán, who is backing his longtime ally’s bid to return to the White House, met Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, in Florida on Friday.
“He will not give a penny into the Ukraine-Russia war and therefore the war will end,” the Hungarian premier told state television on Sunday evening. “As it is obvious that Ukraine on its own cannot stand on its feet.”
“If the Americans do not give money and weapons, and also the Europeans, then this war will be over. And if the Americans do not give money the Europeans are unable to finance this war on their own, and then the war will end.”
Orban has refused to send weapons to Kyiv and kept up close economic ties with Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. He last met Vladimir Putin in October in China despite EU efforts to isolate Moscow.
A statement from Trump’s campaign did not mention Ukraine, saying the pair discussed issues affecting both nations including their respective border security.
Updated
Key event
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has declined to comment on reports that Nikolai Yevmenov, the head of the Russian navy, had been replaced, saying he did not comment on decrees which were classified.
The Izvestia newspaper said that Alexander Moiseyev, who previously served as commander of Russia’s northern fleet, had reportedly been appointed as acting navy chief.
Yevmenov, 61, was appointed head of the navy in May 2019. If confirmed, his removal would be the biggest shake-up in Russia’s senior military ranks since the sacking of aerospace force chief Sergei Surovikin last year.
The reports come a week after Ukraine sunk a Russian warship near the Kerch strait in occupied Crimea, which was seen as a further blow to Moscow’s naval power and its control over the Black Sea. Kyiv has used sophisticated home-produced drones to pick off Russian warships.
Updated
Belarus starts major inspection of armed forces' combat readiness - defence ministry
Belarus has started a comprehensive inspection of combat readiness of the armed forces, the defence ministry has said.
The exercise will include the movement of military equipment, as well as training of personnel with live firing, according to the defence ministry.
Belarus, a close Russian ally, has provided logistical support to Moscow throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus since 1994, backed Russia’s invasion by allowing Moscow to use its territory to launch the war, but is faced with a crippled economy that is heavily reliant on trade with Russia.
Italy’s defence minister, Guido Crosett, has expressed his opposition to the idea of deploying western troops to Ukraine, arguing that would stand in the way of diplomacy, the Italian newspaper La Stampa reported.
Last month, Emmanuel Macron faced criticism from France’s Nato and EU partners and a warning of conflict from Russia after he suggested it might be necessary to send ground troops to Ukraine.
Updated
A cryptocurrency firm transferred digital assets worth more than $4.2m to a crypto wallet belonging to a member of an alleged Russian arms-dealing network who was later hit with US sanctions, it can be revealed.
Details of the transactions involving Copper Technologies raise questions about whether UK laws governing crypto have adapted quickly enough to keep pace with a rapidly evolving sector that has come under increasing scrutiny over the level of anonymity it can provide.
Analysis of crypto records by the Guardian and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) highlights a connection between one of the most prominent cryptocurrency companies and Jonatan Zimenkov, an Israeli-born Russian national.
Zimenkov, 29, was subjected to US sanctions in February 2023 for allegedly assisting the Russian military with the invasion of Ukraine, as part of the “Zimenkov network” – an arms-dealing and sanctions evasion network headed by his father, Igor Zimenkov.
You can read the full story by my colleagues, Rob Davies and Matei Rosca, here:
Updated
The leaders of Japan and the US will meet in Washington DC on 10 April to “strengthen the joint production system” for defence equipment in order to ship more arms to Ukraine, according to the Japanese news outlet, Yomiuri.
Japan amended its laws in December 2023 to allow certain weapons transfers back to their countries of origin, paving the way for Japan to replenish U.S. stocks as Washington supplies arms to Ukraine.
The US president, Joe Biden, and Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, will meet in Washington on 10 April. The main theme of the summit, according to Yomiuri, will be strengthening defence industry cooperation between the two countries.
The US defence industry is straining to produce enough artillery shells and air defense systems to aid Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion. Japan has already begun helping restore American supplies by transferring weapons under its revised laws.
Japan agreed in December to send Patriot surface-to-air missiles to the US, allowing Washington to continue supplying Kyiv with the crucially needed air defense systems.
Zelenskiy hits back at pope saying Ukraine should ‘raise white flag’ and end war with Russia
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Sunday dismissed Pope Francis’s call for talks with Russia as “virtual mediation” from a distance.
In an interview broadcast on Saturday by Swiss television, but which the Vatican said was conducted in February, the pontiff urged parties in Russia’s war against Ukraine to “have the courage to negotiate”, and do so “before things get worse”.
The 87-year-old pope was asked by RTS about a debate within Ukraine on whether to surrender to Russia’s invasion.
“I believe that the strongest are those who see the situation, think about the people, and have the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate,” he said.
“That word negotiate is a brave word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not working out, you have to have the courage to negotiate.”
Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, did not refer directly to Francis or his remarks, but said the pope’s ideas had nothing to do with efforts by religious figures in Ukraine to help the country.
“They support us with prayer, with their discussion and with deeds. This is indeed what a church with the people is,” Zelenskiy said. “Not 2,500 km away, somewhere, virtual mediation between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you.”
A Vatican spokesperson later said the pope was speaking of stopping the fighting through negotiation, not capitulation.
The Kremlin seized on the pontiff’s remarks, with the Russian foreign ministry’s spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, saying: “The way I see it, the pope is asking the west to put aside its ambitions and admit that it was wrong.”
Updated
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government has responded angrily and vowed never to surrender after Pope Francis said the country should have “the courage to raise the white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the pontiff was engaging in “virtual mediation”. Zelenskiy made no direct reference to Francis or his comments but mentioned religious figures helping inside Ukraine.
“They support us with prayer, with their discussion and with deeds. This is indeed what a church with the people is,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “Not 2,500 km away, somewhere, virtual mediation between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, took a more direct approach – writing on social media on Sunday: “Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags.”
We will bring you more on this shortly. In other key developments:
European states imported almost double the amount of arms in 2019 to 2023 compared to 2014 to 2018, according to the thinktank, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Ukraine emerged as the largest European arms importer after the full-scale invasion by Russia in February 2022. Ukraine was the fourth largest importer in the world between 2019 and 2023, after at least 30 states supplied military aid to Ukraine from February 2022.
The defence forces of southern Ukraine wrote on Telegram that Russia launched a massive drone attack against the city of Odesa overnight, damaging an infrastructure facility and administrative buildings. No casualties were reported.
Ukraine said Russian shelling in the east had killed three people on Sunday. A strike on a residential building in the eastern town of Myrnograd injured a dozen more people, Kyiv officials said. Ukraine also said Moscow launched missile attacks on the north-eastern Kharkiv region and sent attack drones across the centre and south of the country.
The Ukrainian film 20 Days in Mariupol, which was shot inside the besieged port city during the assault by Russian forces, has won the best documentary Oscar at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
A visit by France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, to Ukraine to visit Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been postponed, the third time a planned trip to the country has been pushed back since February. “The two heads of state agreed to remain in close contact, notably regarding the president’s visit to Ukraine, which should happen in the coming weeks,” the French presidency said after the two leaders spoke by phone earlier on Sunday.
