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Vladimir Putin has fired one of the top generals leading Russia’s forces in Ukraine, after an attack on the eastern town of Vuhledar ended with dozens of tanks being destroyed.
General Rustam Muradov was sacked in the aftermath of the failure, the Moscow Times reported, citing officials in the Russian defence ministry.
Michael Kofman, a military analyst, told The Moscow Times: “Muradov had the Russian military repeatedly attacking in small mechanized formations through minefields, across open terrain. And they accomplished nothing in Vuhledar,”
The battle for Vuhledar, some 100 miles south west of Bakhmut, is said to have been one of the most embarrassing defeats suffered by Moscow in the entire war, with Russian forces reportedly losing 130 armoured vehicles.
Reports last week suggested the Kremlin was considering changing its senior commanders.
03:01 PM
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The Kremlin has said that Russia will take counter-measures in response to Finland joining Nato.
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Finland became the 31st member of Nato, wrapping up its historic strategic shift with the deposit of its accession documents to the alliance.
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Rishi Sunak hailed Finland’s “historic” accession to Nato and urged the military grouping to admit Sweden next, after its entry was blocked by Hungary and Turkey.
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Ukraine says it destroyed 14 out of 17 Iranian-made suicide drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack on the port city of Odesa.
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Vladimir Putin fired one of the top generals leading Russia’s forces in Ukraine, after an attack on the eastern town of Vuhledar ended with dozens of tanks being destroyed.
Please follow along tomorrow for all the latest updates on Ukraine.
03:00 PM
Zelensky congratulates Finland on joining Nato
02:52 PM
Pictured: Darya Trepova arrives at the Basmanny district court for her remand hearing in Moscow
02:36 PM
Rishi Sunak hails Finland’s ‘historic’ accession to Nato
Rishi Sunak hailed Finland’s “historic” accession to Nato and urged the military grouping to admit Sweden next, after its entry was blocked by Hungary and Turkey.
Finland’s formal accession as the 31st member of Nato “has made our Alliance stronger and every one of us safer”, Mr Sunak said.
“All Nato members now need to take the steps necessary to admit Sweden too, so we can stand together as one Alliance to defend freedom in Europe and across the world.”
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, attending the Nato meeting in Brussels where Finland acceded, announced another £12 million ($16 million) in “non-lethal” military aid to Ukraine such as medical equipment and rations.
“Russia thought its aggression would divide us. Instead, we are bound tighter together, resolute in our defence of the principles of freedom and the rule of law,” Mr Cleverly said.
“Let us be clear that our door remains open. We will welcome further allies with open arms and we continue to push for Sweden’s swift accession.”
02:03 PM
Finland becomes 31st member of NATO
Finland on Tuesday became the 31st member of Nato, wrapping up its historic strategic shift with the deposit of its accession documents to the alliance.
“With receipt of this instrument of accession, we can now declare that Finland is the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the official keeper of the treaty, said.
01:56 PM
Kremlin warns of ‘countermeasures’ as Finland joins Nato
Russia will take counter-measures in response to Finland joining Nato, the Kremlin has said.
“The Kremlin believes that this is the latest aggravation of the situation,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman said.
“And this forces us to take countermeasures… in tactical and strategic terms.”
Finland, which shares an 832-mile border with Russia, is set to officially become the 31st member of Nato on Tuesday.
01:14 PM
Anthony Blinken: Finland’s Nato membership a ‘historic day’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday hailed Finland joining Nato as a “historic day”, and said the shift was because of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
“I’m tempted to say this is maybe the one thing we can thank Mr Putin for, because he once again here has precipitated something he claims to want to prevent by Russia’s aggression,” Mr Blinken said.
12:56 PM
Russian children’s commissioner rejects ICC war crime allegations as ‘false’
Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, has dismissed International Criminal Court (ICC) allegations that she was responsible for unlawfully deporting children from Ukraine as false.
The Hague-based ICC on March 17 issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crime of unlawfully deporting children from areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.
The ICC said it had information that hundreds of children had been taken from orphanages and children’s care homes in areas of Ukraine claimed by Russia. Some of those children, the ICC said, had been given up for adoption in Russia.
Ms Lvova-Belova told a news conference in Moscow that the consent of children’s parents had always been sought, that the commission acted in the best interests of any child, and that it was more accurate to talk of guardianship rather than adoption.
If there were specific problems with specific families, she said she was ready to help solve them.
“It is unclear to the presidential commissioner for children’s rights what the International Criminal Court’s allegations specifically consist of and what they are based on,” her commission said in a statement about its work released before her news conference.
12:23 PM
Lord Dannatt: ‘Tensions will rise’ after Finland joins Nato
“Tensions will rise” after Finland joins Nato, Lord Dannatt, the former British chief of the general staff, has claimed.
He told Sky News: “There will be tensions and of course those tensions will rise, unsurprisingly, when at some point in the future other Nato countries make deterrent deployments in Finnish territory along kthe Russian border.”
He said that Western leaders must stress that Nato is purely a defensive pact.
11:59 AM
Ukraine intercepts wave of Russian drone strikes over key port city
Ukraine says it destroyed 14 out of 17 Iranian-made suicide drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack on the port city of Odesa.
Kyiv announced this morning that 13 Shahed-129 drones were destroyed over the Odesa region in the country’s southwest.
“In total, up to 17 launches of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attacks were recorded, presumably from the eastern coast area of the Sea of Azov,” the command said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine’s South military command said one drone hit an enterprise in the Odesa region, causing a fire, which was eliminated by the morning.
“According to preliminary information, there were no human losses,” the command said in a statement.
11:45 AM
German vice-chancellor ‘deeply ashamed’ by lack of military support
Germany’s “deeply ashamed” vice-chancellor has told Volodymyr Zelensky he is sorry that Berlin took so long to send weapons to Ukraine.
Robert Habeck, who is Olaf Scholz’s deputy, made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, where he made a grovelling face-to-face apology to the president of Ukraine.
The Green politician said the two men had met in 2021, before Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and that Mr Zelensky had explained the threat of war was real.
Read more here
11:29 AM
Pictured: Ukrainian servicemen ride on a BMP infantry fighting vehicle on a road near Bakhmut
11:10 AM
Comment: Putin’s meatgrinder tactics are destroying a generation of Russian men
Vladimir Putin’s regime is in its death throes.
His “special military operation”, far from disarming Ukraine, has only succeeded in disarming Russia.
Moscow has lost over 220,000 soldiers to death or injury alongside 1,900 tanks.
These are the sort of numbers we associate with the first world war; modern militaries are rarely built to handle such catastrophic losses.
Read more from Hamish De Bretton Gordon here
10:47 AM
Finland’s accession to Nato will be a ‘historic event’, says Stoltenberg
Finland’s accession to Nato later on Tuesday will be a historic event and direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said, adding the alliance would ensure that Sweden will also become a full-fledged member.
“(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin had as a declared goal of the invasion of Ukraine to get less Nato,” he told reporters ahead of a meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers.
“He is getting exactly the opposite… Finland today, and soon also Sweden will become a full fledged member of the alliance,” he said.
10:12 AM
Russian and Belarusian taekwondo athletes set to return at world championships
Russian and Belarusian taekwondo athletes are set to compete at next month’s world championships after the sport’s global governing body said it would allow them back as neutrals following the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) guidance.
The IOC issued recommendations last week for athletes from the two countries to return to international competition since their ban last year in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.
Table tennis, fencing and judo are the other Olympic sports which have readmitted Russians and Belarusians as neutrals.
World Taekwondo said a review committee will oversee a verification process to “ensure strict neutrality” of individual athletes and support personnel after its ruling council met remotely for an extraordinary meeting on Monday.
The South Korea-based body added that it would follow guidelines established by the IOC, which said athletes who support the war, or are contracted to their countries’ military or national security agency should be excluded.
“World Taekwondo will continue to support Ukrainian athletes in ensuring they can participate in taekwondo events,” the organisation said. “The Council reaffirmed its calls for peace and solidarity with the Olympic community in Ukraine.”
The world championships are scheduled to begin on May 29 in Baku.
09:44 AM
Pictured: A Ukrainian soldier next to artillery shells inside a building in Bakhmut
09:33 AM
US and EU to discuss curbing European energy dependence on Russia
The United States and the European Union are exploring ways to further reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
“Russia’s weaponization of energy is underscoring the urgency of that task and an opportunity to accelerate our progress (in the global clean energy transition),” Mr Blinken told reporters after a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Brussels.
“We will focus on how we can further reduce European dependence on Russian energy and boost the Euro-Atlantic region’s clean energy production,” he said.
09:23 AM
China has ‘moral duty’ to contribute to peace in Ukraine, EU’s Borrell says
China has a moral duty to contribute to the establishment of peace in Ukraine, and must not support the aggressor in the war started by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union’s top diplomat has said.
“China has a moral duty to contribute to a fair peace, they cannot be siding with the aggressor,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels.
09:06 AM
Comment: Putin will soon face his Julius Caesar moment in the Kremlin
As the Russian military leadership continues to flounder in the field, it is now crystal clear that, in invading Ukraine, they were totally unaware of the strategic intentions of the Kremlin.
A massive deception by their political leaders was pulled over the eyes of the young Russian soldiers who believed they were entering the country as liberators.
No wonder the UK Ministry of Defence now reports issues with heavy drinking among them.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has become a victim of his own hubris.
Read the full piece from Richard Dannatt here
08:48 AM
Vladlen Tatarsky assassination: Russia points finger at Ukraine but truth may lie far closer to home
Daria Trepova, the blonde 26-year-old said to have delivered the St Petersburg bomb, will forever be known as the chief suspect behind one of the more inventive assassinations in Russian history.
But the person who planted the explosive is only part of the story. The real question is, who were they working for?
Video from outside the café where the bombing killed ultra-nationalist Vladlen Tatarsky apparently shows Ms Trepova carrying a package through the entrance.
Read more from Roland Oliphant, The Telegraph’s Senior Foreign Correspendent, here
08:32 AM
Pictured: Volodymyr Zelensky visits a school where Russian occupiers held civilians hostage in the basement
08:08 AM
Macron faces delicate Ukraine balancing act in China
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit China from Wednesday, hoping to dissuade Beijing from supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but without alienating a crucial trade and geopolitical player.
“China is the only country in the world capable of having an immediate and radical impact on the conflict, in one direction or the other,” an official from Macron’s office told reporters Friday on condition of anonymity.
Macron will look to stand firm towards President Xi Jinping on Ukraine while taking “another path” from the directly confrontational tone often heard from Washington, the official added.
The French leader’s aims include preserving and rebalancing China’s trade ties with Europe as well as safeguarding French interests in the Asia-Pacific region – where Paris sees itself as a player thanks to its overseas territories and military deployments.
08:03 AM
Latest MoD update
08:03 AM
Russian war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky given posthumous medal for bravery by Putin
Vladimir Putin awarded Vladlen Tatarsky with a posthumous award for bravery on Monday as Russia blamed Kyiv for the bomb attack that killed the pro-war blogger.
The Russian president signed a decree to bestow the Order of Courage – one of Russia’s highest honours – on Tatarsky, in recognition of the “bravery shown in the performance of his professional duty”, the Kremlin said.
Russia’s security services quickly detained Darya Trepova, a 26-year-old woman who they said delivered the explosive device hidden in a statuette that killed Tatarsky as he spoke to supporters in a St Petersburg cafe.
Read more here
08:02 AM
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to today’s Ukraine liveblog.
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