Russia Ukraine war live: At least 10 hurt in missile attack on Kyiv as Putin’s envoy snubs Poland

RAF chief praises first Ukrainian pilots to complete training in UK

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At least 10 people have been injured in a Russian missile attack on Kyiv as the Ukrainian capital endured a third aerial bombing by Vladimir Putin’s forces in five days.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said a 16-year-old girl was among those rushed to hospital on Monday.

Russia fired at least two ballistic missiles at Kyiv from occupied Crimea in the daylight attack, but both were intercepted above the city, said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration.

The Russian attacks also continued on Ukrainian port cities, as parts of Odesa were plunged into darkness after a Russian air attack damaged a high-voltage facility.

The Russian ambassador to Poland has snubbed a summons to appear at the country’s foreign ministry as Warsaw protested the encroachment of a Russian missile into Polish airspace. Russian officials have asked Poland to provide “evidence” before they will comply with the summons.

Poland’s military said its radar systems recorded the missile entering the country’s airspace for 39 seconds on Sunday, encroaching 2 km (1.24 miles) into Polish territory before travelling into Ukraine.

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Ukraine downs 12 Russian drones in overnight attack

Ukraine has shot down all 12 attack drones launched overnight by Russia, Kyiv’s air force said in a statement today.

“On the night of 26 March 2024, the enemy attacked with 12 ‘Shahed’ type UAVs from Cape Chauda – Crimea and Kursk Oblast – Russia, as well as two S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles in the direction of Donetsk region,” the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on its official Telegram channel.

It added that the Iranian-made drones were destroyed over the southern Mykolaiv and eastern Kharkiv regions.

It warned Ukraine’s Kharkiv region to be alert for the ongoing threat of incoming Russian missiles.

Arpan Rai26 March 2024 06:28

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Ukraine ramps up spending on homemade weapons to help repel Russia

Ukraine needs any edge it can get to repel Russia from its territory. One emerging bright spot is its small but fast-growing defense industry, which the government is flooding with money in hopes that a surge of homemade weapons and ammunition can help turn the tide.

The effort ramped up sharply over the past year as the US and Europe strained to deliver weapons and other aid to Ukraine, which is up against a much bigger Russian military backed by a thriving domestic defense industry.

The Ukrainian government budgeted nearly $1.4bn in 2024 to buy and develop weapons at home — 20 times more than before Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Arpan Rai26 March 2024 06:08

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Russian envoy refuses to attend Poland summons

The Russian embassy in Poland confirmed its ambassador Sergey Andreev had been summoned by the Polish foreign ministry on Monday but refused to attend.

The summons came in protest to an incident on Sunday where a Russian missile encroached into Polish airspace before returning to Ukraine.

“The ambassador asked whether the Polish side was ready to provide evidence for its claims,” the Russian embassy said, referencing what it described as a “similar situation” in December 2023.

“Since the replies of our Polish colleagues did not indicate that such evidence would be provided this time, the ambassador decided that a discussion on this topic would be pointless and rejected the invitation to the meeting.”

Poland’s military said its radar systems recorded a Russian missile entering the country’s airspace for 39 seconds on Sunday, encroaching 2 km (1.24 miles) into Polish territory before returning into Ukraine.

The incident led to Polish and other Nato air force assets being placed on high alert.

Arpan Rai26 March 2024 06:06

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As Russia mourns concert hall attack, some families are still wondering if their members are alive

Family and friends of those still missing after an attack that killed over 130 people at a suburban Moscow concert hall waited for news of their loved ones as Russia observed a day of national mourning on Sunday.

Events at cultural institutions were cancelled, flags were lowered, and TV entertainment and ads were suspended, according to state news agency RIA Novosti. A steady stream of people brought flowers to a makeshift memorial near the burnt-out concert hall.

The attack, which has been claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State, is the deadliest on Russian soil in years.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 March 2024 05:30

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Russia no longer using Crimean bridge to restock military supplies, says Ukraine

Russia is no longer using the main bridge to the Crimean peninsula to restock its supplies on the frontline in Ukraine amid repeated Ukrainian attacks on the route, a top security official in Kyiv has said.

Russia no longer uses the Crimean Bridge to supply weapons to the front after Ukrainian strikes damaged the crossing, Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said on air on 25 March.

The Kerch bridge has seen some of the most high profile counter-attacks by Ukrainian forces, with strikes in October 2022 and July 2023 resulting in Russia shutting down the critical connection to Ukraine’s mainland. It runs over the Kerch Strait and is the only direct road link between Russia and the peninsula.

Before the bridge came under attack during the Russian invasion, around 42 to 46 trains carrying weapons and ammunition passed through there each day, said Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine.

“Today there are four or five in a day,” of which four are for passenger traffic, and one is for consumer goods, Mr Maliuk said.

Europe’s longest bridge connects the Russian city of Krasnodar in the east to Kerch in Crimea, which was illegally annexed from Ukraine by Moscow in 2014.

It consists of a separate roadway and railway – fortified by concrete stilts – which give way to a wider span held by steel arches at the point where ships pass between the Black Sea and the smaller Azov Sea.

Arpan Rai26 March 2024 04:55

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Kremlin claims Ukraine peace talks without Russia will fail

A Kremlin spokesperson claimed any global peace summit on Ukraine that excludes Russia is simply “absurd” and will fail.

Volodymyr Zelensky has called for an international peace summit to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and earlier this year Switzerland said it would host the meeting, and that a date and the details were being discussed.

“Can the Ukrainian problem be resolved without Russia’s participation? The reply is clear – it cannot,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview to news outlet Argumenty I Fakty conducted last Thursday, a day before the mass shooting at a concert hall outside Moscow.

He added: “Because Ukraine has been turned into an instrument in the hands of the collective West with whose help it intends, so it seems to them, to put more pressure on Russia, restrain Russia and abandon it to the fringes of development. And, should they succeed, to finish it off.”

In an unsubstantiated claim, Mr Peskov said Russia was pursuing its two-year-old war on Ukraine to protect itself from the West. Russia has repeatedly denounced Ukraine’s peace plans as unworkable as it continues to pound Ukraine with a full-on military offensive.

Mr Peskov reiterated that the plan was unthinkable, and also denounced plans discussed by the European Union and other countries to take control of profits from Russian assets and turn them over to Ukraine.

“I believe the Europeans understand that we will challenge such a decision. This is possibly a question not over a single year, but rather decades,” he said.

Arpan Rai26 March 2024 04:38

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Russia’s Foreign Ministry says Spanish reporter denied a visa was invited to stay

Russia‘s Foreign Ministry says it issued the necessary documents for a Spanish journalist to stay in the country although the reporter claims he was forced to leave because his visa was not renewed.

Xavier Colas of the newspaper El Mundo is the latest foreign journalist to have left Russia after visas were not continued. The cases come amid a crackdown on media that has intensified since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Colas said he was forced to leave Russia on Wednesday, a day after authorities refused to renew the visa.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 March 2024 04:30

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Ukraine ramps up spending on homemade weapons to help repel Russia

Ukraine needs any edge it can get to repel Russia from its territory. One emerging bright spot is its small but fast-growing defense industry, which the government is flooding with money in hopes that a surge of homemade weapons and ammunition can help turn the tide.

The effort ramped up sharply over the past year as the US and Europe strained to deliver weapons and other aid to Ukraine, which is up against a much bigger Russian military backed by a thriving domestic defense industry.

The Ukrainian government budgeted nearly $1.4bn in 2024 to buy and develop weapons at home — 20 times more than before Russia’s full-scale invasion.

And in another major shift, a huge portion of weapons are now being bought from privately owned factories. They are sprouting up across the country and rapidly taking over an industry that had been dominated by state-owned companies.

A privately owned mortar factory that launched in western Ukraine last year is making roughly 20,000 shells a month. “I feel that we are bringing our country closer to victory,” said Anatolli Kuzmin, the factory’s 64-year-old owner, who used to make farm equipment and fled his home in southern Ukraine after Russia invaded in 2022.

Arpan Rai26 March 2024 04:15

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Ukrainian foreign minister says he is travelling to India

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said he is visiting India this week, marking his first ever visit to the Asian country, just a few days after Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.

“Today, India celebrates Holi, the most beautiful and colourful spring holiday. I wish everyone a happy Holi! Standing here in Kyiv, in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s monument, I am also pleased to announce that this week I will pay my first ever visit to India,” he said on social media platform X.

He added: “A few days ago, president Zelensky spoke with prime minister Modi. My visit will further strengthen our relations. Ukraine and India are two big democracies. I am certain we are set to be good partners and friends.”

Arpan Rai26 March 2024 03:58

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Russia violates Poland’s airspace while Ukraine hits two large warships in Crimea

Missiles targeting the Lviv region during the early hours of Sunday morning passed close to the Polish border, with one entering its airspace for as long as 39 seconds.

The violation led to the Polish air force placing their F-16 fighter jets on high alert, with a warning that increased noise levels were expected in the southeastern part of the country.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 March 2024 03:30