Summary
The time in Kyiv is 8pm. Here is a round-up of the day’s news:
Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson has made a surprise visit to Ukraine, where he said that it was “the moment to double down and to give the Ukrainians all the tools they need to finish the job”. Downing Street said Rishi Sunak is “supportive” of Boris Johnson’s visit, despite warnings that it would undermine the current prime minister’s authority.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz, under pressure to allow the shipment of German-made tanks to Ukraine, said on Sunday that future decisions on weapons deliveries will be made in coordination with allies, including the United States. Scholz, when asked at a news conference about providing tanks to Ukraine, said that all weapons deliveries to Ukraine so far have taken place in close coordination with western partners.
French president Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he does not rule out the possibility of sending Leclerc tanks to Ukraine. He was speaking at a summit with German chancellor Scholz.
The UK foreign secretary said the UK wants to see Ukraine equipped with Leopard 2 tanks. “I would like to see the Ukrainians equipped with things like the Leopard 2, as well as the artillery systems that they’ve been provided by us and by others,” he said. “I will keep having those conversations with our NATO allies and friends.”
Russia has claimed to have made advances in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. After months of stalemate in the south-eastern region, Moscow-installed officials say the front is now “mobile” while the Ukrainian army reported that 15 settlements had come under artillery fire.
Talks between government representatives from France and Germany took place in Paris, as officials mark the 60th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty and the relationship between the two nations. It comes as the two countries seek to overcome differences exposed by differing attitudes about how the continent should proceed and whether Germany will agree to send tanks to Ukraine.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz promised that Germany will “continue to support Ukraine – for as long and as comprehensively as necessary”, adding: “Together, as Europeans – in defence of our European peace project.”
Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, criticised Germany’s failure to supply tanks to Ukraine. “Germany’s attitude is unacceptable. It has been almost a year since the war began. Innocent people are dying every day,” Morawiecki said.
An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that caution and slow decision making over whether to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine is costing lives. Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on Saturday his frustration at “global indecision” over arms supply to Ukraine: “Today’s indecision is killing more of our people. Every day of delay is the death of Ukrainians. Think faster.”
Baltic countries have told Germany to send the tanks “now” to Ukraine after perceived heel-dragging by the government in Berlin. The Latvian foreign minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, tweeted they are “needed to stop Russian aggression”. The same tweet was put out by his counterparts in Estonia and Lithuania.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the Ukraine live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz, under pressure to allow the shipment of German-made tanks to Ukraine, said on Sunday that future decisions on weapons deliveries will be made in coordination with allies, including the United States.
Scholz, when asked at a news conference about providing tanks to Ukraine, said that all weapons deliveries to Ukraine so far have taken place in close coordination with western partners.
“We will do that in the future,” he said.
Updated
France does not rule out sending Leclerc tanks to Ukraine - Macron
French president Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he does not rule out the possibility of sending Leclerc tanks to Ukraine.
He was speaking at a summit with German chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The speaker of Russia’s parliament warned that countries supplying Ukraine with more powerful weapons risked their own destruction.
The message followed Ukraine’s supporters pledging billions of pounds in military aid to the country on Friday, including armoured vehicles, air defence systems and other equipment, but not including the battle tanks Kyiv had requested, the Associated Press reported.
State Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said:
Supplies of offensive weapons to the Kyiv regime would lead to a global catastrophe.”
If Washington and Nato supply weapons that would be used for striking peaceful cities and making attempts to seize our territory as they threaten to do, it would trigger a retaliation with more powerful weapons.
A soldier prepares his vehicle near the Bakhmut frontlines on 22 January in Chasov Yar, Ukraine.
Ukraine’s government has praised the former UK prime minister Boris Johnson following his visit to the country, saying: “Friends like this are worth more than a squadron of tanks.”
Friends like these are worth more than a squadron of tanks. We are glad to welcome Boris Johnson to Ukraine. A person who has been with the Ukrainian people since day one. pic.twitter.com/RQjawNJj7l
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) January 22, 2023
Updated
Olga Chyzh, an expert in political violence and repressive regimes has argued that as Putin is not answerable to an electorate, he can only be stopped by his inner circle.
Putin’s second advantage comes in the form of policy latitude. With no requirement to answer to the public, who bear the brunt of the war’s financial costs, Putin’s policy range is determined by competing interests in his small inner circle. And those mainly military and intelligence elites are fully onboard with the war: to them, the benefit of reuniting Soviet territories far outweighs what they perceive as temporary costs. Some of these elites have been clamouring for further escalation, such as the total military mobilisation of Russian society. The current concentration of power within Russia’s conservative elites points to the Kremlin’s imperialist foreign policy stretching far beyond Putin’s leadership.
[…]
Even if Ukraine chases every last Russian soldier from its land, Russia’s aggression will not end. Russia will continue to make claims to Ukraine’s territory, and will back them up with threats, intermittent missile launches and border skirmishes. There is no such thing as a decisive victory for the defender. A decisive victory implies the destruction of the attacker, lest it come back after a brief reprieve. Destroying Russia’s will or long-term capacity to take its land is something that, for Ukraine, is not an option. With an aggressor impervious to international or domestic pressure, tenuous peace, backed by a state-of-the-art anti-missile defence system and a world-class military on standby, may just be the best outcome Ukraine can hope to achieve.
Updated
Kyiv has dismissed deputy minister Vasyl Lozynskiy who allegedly received a $400,000 (£322,870) bribe, reports the Kyiv Independent.
⚡️ Cabinet dismisses deputy minister Vasyl Lozynskiy who allegedly received a $400,000 bribe.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) January 22, 2023
According to law enforcement, the money was a kickback for rigging a large procurement tender for generators and other equipment.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau detained Deputy Minister Vasyl Lozynskiy on 21 January.
The Kyiv Independent reports that the deputy minister allegedly accepted $400,000 in bribes for the procurement of electricity generators.
The Guardian’s chief reporter, Dan Boffey, has filed this dispatch from Kyiv on the fierce fighting in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, where Russia claims it has made advances, and the developments of the day.
He writes:
Russia has claimed to have made advances in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region as Nato allies continued to squabble over the potential supply of tanks to the war-torn country’s defence.
After months of stalemate in the south-eastern region, Moscow-installed officials said the front was now “mobile” while the Ukrainian army reported that 15 settlements had come under artillery fire.
“Attempting to study our defence, the enemy has activated artillery fire,” wrote Oleksandr Starukh, governor of the Zaporizhzhia region of south-eastern Ukraine, on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia fired on the region 166 times through the day, Starukh said, with 113 attacks aimed at populated areas, killing one civilian.
Updated
Two years since the arrest and imprisonment of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, his deputy, Maria Pevchikh, an investigative journalist, has talked to the Observer’s Carole Cadwalladr about continuing his anti-corruption work and why she won’t give up hope of his release.
It’s a fascinating read.
“We prepared for it very well,” she says of Navalny’s absence. And then hesitates. “It’s just a very noticeable loss. We’re fully functioning, probably better than before. But we lost a lot of our spirit. We do our work because we’re angry.”
Updated
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s minister of defence, has tweeted to mark Ukraine’s Day of Unity, saying that in difficult times the nation “more than ever” feels like a single country.
Today, 🇺🇦 celebrates the Day of Unity. In these difficult times,we,more than ever,feel like a single country&nation. The North, South, East, West&Center of 🇺🇦 are doing everything possible for victory. We’ve learned the lessons of history. We‘ll win this war!
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) January 22, 2023
Art by Nikita Titov pic.twitter.com/s7SJxITbLs
Updated
The CNN journalist Luke McGee has written an interesting piece of analysis on why “Germany is struggling to stomach the idea of sending tanks to Ukraine”.
McGee writes:
If Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has confirmed one thing, it’s that peace on the continent cannot be taken for granted. The status quo – decades of low spending and defence not being a policy priority – cannot continue.
This is especially true in Germany, which for years has spent far less on its military than many of its western allies but is now reconsidering its approach to defence at home and abroad.
He notes the criticism mounting against Germany, which holds the key to sending – or allowing other countries to send – German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Experts estimate there are around 2,000 Leopard tanks in use by 13 countries across Europe, and they are increasingly being seen as vital to Ukraine’s war effort as the conflict grinds into a second year. But Berlin must grant these nations approval to re-export German-made tanks to Ukraine, and it has so far resisted calls to do so.
But he notes that for all of the criticism of Germany’s hesitancy, Berlin has played a crucial role in supporting Ukraine over the past year. The US and the UK are the only two countries to have delivered more military aid to Kyiv than Germany since the invasion began, according to the Kiel Institute.
Germany now finds itself at a “pivotal moment”, the piece concludes.
Germany, Europe’s wealthiest country, has undeniably benefited enormously from its policy of keeping feet in two camps. It is protected by Nato membership while maintaining economic relations with undesirable partners.
That policy has been called out and Germany must now decide exactly what kind of voice it wants to have in the current conversation taking place about global security. The decisions it takes in the next few years could play a crucial role defining the security of the entire European continent for decades to come.
Updated
Rishi Sunak is “supportive” of Boris Johnson’s visit to Ukraine, Downing Street has said.
The prime minister’s press secretary said he is “always supportive of all colleagues showing that the UK is behind Ukraine and will continue to support them”.
Updated
Here are a few more pictures from Johnson’s visit to the Ukraine. The former prime minister visited a church in Bucha after his appearance in Borodianka.
Updated
Johnson says Ukrainians should get 'all the tools they need' to beat Russia
Boris Johnson has weighed in on the row over whether Ukraine will get more tanks to fight back against Russian forces.
The former UK prime minister, who said he was invited to Ukraine by Volodymyr Zelenskiy, was on a walkabout of Borodyanka.
In a statement carried by PA Media, he hinted at his support for more tanks to be sent to Kyiv, saying: “This is the moment to double down and to give the Ukrainians all the tools they need to finish the job.”
Johnson also said: “It is a privilege to visit Ukraine at the invitation of President Zelenskiy. The suffering of the people of Ukraine has gone on for too long.
“The only way to end this war is for Ukraine to win – and to win as fast as possible … The sooner Putin fails, the better for Ukraine and for the whole world.”
Russian forces are improving their positions in the Zaporizhzhia region, the country’s defence ministry has claimed.
“During offensive operations in the direction of Zaporizhzhia, units of the Eastern Military District took up more advantageous ground and positions,” the defence ministry said.
Reuters writes that the Russians claim to have inflicted casualties and destroyed equipment including Ukrainian fighting vehicles, howitzers and two US-made Himars rockets.
Reuters was not able to independently verify Russia’s claims. Ukraine on Saturday saidthe accounts were exaggerated.
Fighting in recent weeks has centred around the town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where Russia’s Wagner mercenaries and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a battle of attrition.
Neither side has claimed major movements on the southern front since November, when Russia pulled out of the city of Kherson.
With the war now 11 months old, Ukraine has said it believes Moscow is likely to attempt a new offensive in the coming months.
Boris Johnson visits Ukraine
The former UK prime minister Boris Johnson has been seen on a visit to Ukraine. Johnson was photographed walking through Borodyanka, which was destroyed in the early part of Russia’s invasion.
Johnson, who is facing questions about his financial dealings back home, was awarded an honorary ‘Citizen of Kyiv’ medal from the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko at Davos last week.
He has been treated as a hero by many Ukrainians thanks to his support after Russian troops invaded the country in February 2022.
Updated
Germany: ‘We will continue to support Ukraine’
Meanwhile, in Paris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised that Germany will “continue to support Ukraine - for as long and as comprehensively as necessary”
Speaking at an event to celebrate friendship between Germany and France, he said:
We will continue to support Ukraine - for as long and as comprehensively as necessary. Together, as Europeans - in defence of our European peace project.
#UPDATE France and Germany will support Ukraine for "as long as necessary" in its fight against Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday on a visit to France.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 22, 2023
"Together, as Europeans, to defend our European peace project" pic.twitter.com/LGCLjGvLYx
Polish Prime Minister: Germany’s attitude is unacceptable
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has hit out at Germany’s decision not to supply the Leopard 2 tanks to war-hit Ukraine by saying that Berlin’s attitude is unacceptable.
News agency AFP reports that Morawiecki said:
Germany’s attitude is unacceptable. It has been almost a year since the war began, innocent people are dying every day.
The Polish government has previously said it was ready to supply 14 tanks to Ukraine and was discussing the matter with around 15 countries. On Sunday, Morawiecki said that he was waiting for a clear signal from Berlin whether countries who have Leopards could transfer them to Kyiv.
AFP reports that he said that if Berlin refuses Poland would set up “ a ‘small coalition’ of countries ready to donate some of their modern equipment, their modern tanks.”
The Kyiv Independent reports Morawiecki as saying Ukraine and Europe will “win this war, with Germany or without it”
⚡️Polish PM: Ukraine, Europe to win the war 'with Germany or without.’
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) January 22, 2023
Germany “should not weaken or sabotage" other countries’ activities, Mateusz Morawiecki said, adding that Poland would not look on passively while Ukraine bleeds.
Germany “should not weaken or sabotage” other countries’ activities, Morawiecki said, adding that Poland would not look on passively while Ukraine bleeds.
Government representatives from Germany and France meet in Paris
Mass talks between government representatives from France and Germany are taking place today in Paris, as the two European powerhouses seek to overcome differences exposed by differing attitudes about how the continent should proceed over Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Sylvie Corbet and Frank Jordans of AP News have reported on the significance of the day, which will see Germay’s entire cabinet decamp to the French capital to discuss Europe’s security, energy and other challenges.
There will also be ceremonies, as officials mark the 60th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty signed by French President and wartime anti-Nazi resistance leader Charles de Gaulle and West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer on Jan. 22, 1963.
AP reports:
Germany’s entire Cabinet is in Paris for joint meetings, and 300 lawmakers from both countries are coming together at the Sorbonne University to mark 60 years since a landmark treaty sealed a bond between the longtime enemies that underpins today’s European Union.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will oversee two rounds of talks at the Elysee Palace, focusing first on energy and economic policy, and then on defense.
A top priority is working out Europe’s response to the subsidies for U.S. electric car makers and other businesses in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, according to senior French and German officials.
Sunday’s gathering is the first such in-person joint government meeting since 2019. It was originally scheduled for October, but was repeatedly delayed, reports the news agency.
On defense, the neighbors are expected to discuss military aid to Ukraine, according to French and German officials who weren’t authorized to be publicly named according to their governments’ policies.
Both countries have contributed significant weaponry, but Ukraine is asking for tanks and more powerful arms as Russia’s war drags on.
The war has exposed differences in strategy between the two countries, notably in European talks on how to deal with the resulting energy crisis and punishing inflation, as well as over future military investment.
Cleverly refused, again, to comment directly on whether Germany should send tanks to Ukraine on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.
Asked if he was disappointed Germany did not agree to send their tanks to Ukraine, he said:
Well, over Christmas and in the new year, I had conversations with the Defence Secretary, with the Prime Minister, other senior members of Government, about our posture with regard to Ukraine.
The Prime Minister decided quite rightly that the most humane thing to do is to bring this war to a swift conclusion and for the Ukrainians to be successful in the defence of the homeland.
That is why we made the commitment to significantly increase our military support to Ukraine, to help them defend themselves, including with Challenger 2 tanks.
I would like nothing more than to see the Ukrainians equipped with those most up-to-date armoured vehicles, both tanks and artillery, and others. The Leopard 2 is an incredibly effective piece of military equipment. I would like nothing more than to see the Ukrainians armed with Leopard 2.
Pressed on the point and to comment on Germany’s reluctance, he said it was for “every sovereign government to decide how they are best able to support the Ukrainians as a member of Nato”.
Germany has been a huge contributor and I don’t think we should ignore that both in terms of its hosting of refugees, in terms of its provision of military equipment, economic aid, and also in terms of its application of sanctions.
Ultimately, it’s for every sovereign government to decide how they are best able to support the Ukrainians as a member of Nato.
The Ramstein process is about co-ordinating our respective support. The Ukrainians said that they need and want tanks, and they need Western calibre Nato standard tanks. We provided some Challenger 2s.
Countries across Nato have provided a range of armoured vehicles. Some of that includes light tanks and some of that includes significant artillery.
We will continue working with our friends and allies across Nato to make sure that the support we give to the Ukrainian armed forces and Ukrainian people are the most effective at helping them defend themselves against this brutal invasion.
Updated
UK’s foreign secretary : UK wants to see Ukraine equipped with Leopard 2 tanks
The UK’s foreign secretary James Cleverly has been speaking to Sophie Ridge on Sky News this morning. Asked about sending weapons and tanks to Ukraine he said:
We want to make sure that the Ukrainians prevail. We want to make sure that that is done quickly because that is the best way of saving as many lives as possible.
The United Kingdom has been very much at the forefront of supporting Ukraine with military equipment since before the invasion started.
And we continue to do so with the announcement of those challenges to tanks as well as a whole range of other military donations.
Speaking about the roadblock of Berlin’s reticence to provide and authorise the sending of tanks to Ukraine, Cleverly said the UK would “continue to liaise with our international partners”.
He said:
We would like to see everybody carrying as far as they can, but each country will support Ukraine in a way that is most appropriate to them.
Of course, I have been talking on the international stage about vision of armoured vehicles including tanks to Ukraine, because that is what they’re telling us that they need to defeat Russia in the eastern South of their country.
Asked if it was true that Germany wasn’t doing enough, Cleverly said Germany had done “a huge amount” already.
Germany has done a huge amount already. And it’s worth it’s worth remembering that they come from a very different starting point in terms of their defence posture.
I have been talking with my international counterparts about the provision of military equipment, particularly the Leopard 2 tank which is an incredibly effective piece of equipment.
Of course, I would like to see the Ukrainians equipped with things like the Leopard 2, as well as the artillery systems that they’ve been provided by us and by others.
I will keep having those conversations with our NATO allies and friends, to to facilitate the donation of the best military equipment to Ukraine to help them defend themselves against this brutal invasion.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has posted an update about the situation in Ukraine. In a statement posted on Twitter this morning it states:
On 17 January 2023, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announced plans for major changes to the structure of the armed forces’, to be implemented between 2023 and 2026.
This included an increase to 1.5 million personnel – an 11% increase on top of the previously announced expansion to 1.35 million.
Shoigu also announced the re-establishment of Moscow and Leningrad military districts, a partial return to the Soviet era organisation of forces in Western Russia. A new army corps is to be established in Karelia, near the Finnish border.
Shoigu’s plans signal that the Russian leadership highly likely assesses that an enhanced conventional military threat will endure for many years beyond the current Ukraine war. However, Russia will highly likely struggle to staff and equip the planned expansion.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 22 January 2023
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) January 22, 2023
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/OJRHXxIf1u
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/afUUNcFnAv
Putin ally: Western weapons supply to Ukraine will lead to 'global catastrophe'
A close ally of Vladimir Putin has warned that the world faces a “global catastrophe” if Washington and NATO countries supply weapons that threaten Russian territories.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Duma - Russia’s lower house of parliament, said such action would also make arguments against using weapons of mass destruction “untenable”.
In a post on the messaging app Telegram, Volodin said that the United States and NATO’s support of Ukraine is leading the world to a “terrible war”.
He wrote:
If Washington and NATO countries supply weapons that will be used to strike civilian cities and attempt to seize our territories, as they threaten, this will lead to retaliatory measures using more powerful weapons.
Arguments that the nuclear powers have not previously used weapons of mass destruction in local conflicts are untenable.
He added that this was because the US and NATO “did not face a situation where there was a threat to the security of their citizens and the territorial integrity of the country”.
On Friday, 50 countries agreed to provide Kyiv with billions of dollars’ worth of military hardware, including armoured vehicles and munitions needed to push back Russian forces.
But Germany is facing a backlash from allies over its reluctance to supply Leopard 2 tanks to bolster Ukraine’s fighting capacity.
In a joint statement the foreign ministers of the three Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania said they “call on Germany to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now”. The tanks are held by a number of NATO nations, but in order to transport them to Ukraine, the countries need Berlin’s approval.
Updated
The Metropolitan Opera in New York will mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a concert on 24 February to remember victims of the war.
Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will conduct Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. General manager Peter Gelb says Requim will be played to remember innocent victims of the war, while the Fifth “ is in anticipation of the victory to come”.
The concert will be broadcast on radio. All tickets cost $50 and go on sale 1 February, and the Met is encouraging ticket buyers to make donations to Ukraine relief efforts.
Russia increased shelling of Ukraine’s eastern regions outside the main frontline in the Donbas industrial area, officials from the Zaporizhzhia and Sumy regions have said.
Senior US officials have meanwhile advised Ukraine to hold off on launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the latest supply of US weaponry is in place and training has been provided, a senior Biden administration official said.
The United States will impose additional sanctions next week against Russian private military company the Wagner Group.
The head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, published a short letter to the White House asking what crime his company was accused of, after Washington announced the new sanctions.
Wagner plans to send the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed in fighting in the captured town of Soledar to territory held by Ukraine, a website linked to founder Prigozhin reported.
Summary
Hello and welcome to this latest instalment of the Guardian’s Russia-Ukraine war live coverage. Let’s start with some of the most recent developments.
An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that caution and slow decision making over whether to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine is costing lives. Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on Saturday his frustration at “global indecision” over arms supply to Ukraine: “Today’s indecision is killing more of our people. Every day of delay is the death of Ukrainians. Think faster.”
Baltic countries have told Germany to send the tanks “now” to Ukraine after perceived heel-dragging by the government in Berlin. The Latvian foreign minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, tweeted they are “needed to stop Russian aggression”. The same tweet was put out by his counterparts in Estonia and Lithuania.
Joe Biden told reporters after an event on Friday night that “Ukraine is going to get all the help they need” in response to a question about the tanks.
The German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said that despite heightened expectations “we still cannot say when a decision will be taken, and what the decision will be, when it comes to the Leopard tank”. Germany has said it is doing a stocktake of its current tank numbers ahead of a possible decision.
Some 50 nations agreed on Friday to provide Kyiv with billions of dollars’ worth of military hardware, including armoured vehicles and munitions needed to push back Russian forces.
A tearful Volodymyr Zelenskiy attended a memorial service on Saturday to commemorate seven senior interior ministry officials killed in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The interior minister, Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy and five others were killed when their helicopter plummeted amid fog into a nursery on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv. Including those on the ground, a total of 14 people were killed.
Agence France-Presse has reported the Russian army as saying its troops have launched an offensive in the Zaporizhzhia region in south-east Ukraine. Russian forces claimed to have taken “more advantageous lines and positions” during the assault.
A 17-year-old boy has been injured by Russian shelling of Sumy oblast, Ukraine.
Russian attacks on Friday killed one person in Kharkiv, three people in Donetsk and one person in Zaporizhzhia. Four were also injured in Kherson, according to Zelenskiy’s office.
The war in Ukraine is in a state of deadlock, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. In an intelligence update, it said there was a possibility of Russian advances around the heavily contested city of Bakhmut in the Donbas region, but otherwise little movement.
Near Kremina in the north-east, Ukraine’s forces have made small gains and defended against Russian counterattacks.
