Russian troops are “getting slaughtered” in Bakhmut, a top US general has said.
General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: “For about the past 20, 21 days, the Russians have not made any progress whatsoever in and around Bakhmut.
“So it’s a slaughter-fest for the Russians,” he told US politicians at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Russia’s military forces in Bakhmut.
“They’re getting hammered in the vicinity of Bakhmut and the Ukrainians have fought very very well.”
The mining city of Bakhmut and surrounding towns in the eastern industrial region of Donetsk have been the focal point of assault for much of the 13-month-long invasion by Russia of neighbouring Ukraine.
The average number of daily Russian attacks on the front line reported by Ukraine’s general staff has declined for four straight weeks since the beginning of March, to 69 in the past seven days from 124 in the week of March 1-7. Just 57 attacks were reported on Wednesday.
08:55 AM
Turkey’s parliament to vote on Finland’s Nato bid
Turkey was set Thursday to become the final NATO member to approve Finland’s membership in the US-led defence alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey’s parliament scheduled a vote on the Nordic country’s bid to become the 31st member of the Western defence alliance for 2:00 pm (1100 GMT).
08:37 AM
Robots can work alongside spies to detect enemy threats to UK, Tom Tugendhat says
Intelligence gathered by AI will be used to help spies and identify enemy threats to the UK, Tom Tugendhat said.
The new plans will see AI used to sift through vast amount of data to catch intelligence that might otherwise be missed by humans.
Lessons from Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine have shown how information from open sources can help identify threats, provided analysts are not swamped by data, Mr Tugendhat said.
08:24 AM
Latest MoD update
08:10 AM
Ukrainian fencers unite behind federation’s boycott call
Ukraine’s fencers have welcomed their federation’s decision to boycott international competitions featuring Russians and Belarusians, amid a row over whether athletes from the two latter countries should be allowed at next year’s Olympics.
Russians and Belarusians have been banned from most elite international sporting competitions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, in what Moscow calls a “special military operation”.
However, fencers from Russia and Belarus were cleared to return to international events at the fencing global federation’s (FIE) Extraordinary Congress on March 10, days before the window for 2024 Paris Olympic qualifying opens.
08:05 AM
Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers wait for a train to Odessa at the Kramatorsk Train Station
08:03 AM
The unusually frank call between two Russian socialites and what they said about Putin
Vladimir Putin is a “dwarf” and a “wimp” who is ruining Russia, according to a leaked phone conversation between two prominent society figures, reports Nataliya Vasilyeva.
The unusually frank call purportedly involves Iosif Prigozhin, a music producer, and Farkhad Akhmedov, an Azerbaijan-born energy billionaire, and has exposed deep resentment towards the Kremlin among the country’s overtly pro-regime elite.
In the 35-minute conversation, Mr Akhmedov calls Putin “Satan”, a “wimp” and a “dwarf” who “doesn’t give a damn about anything and doesn’t give a f— about the people”. “They f—– us over, f—– over children, their future, do you get it?” he adds.
08:02 AM
Listen to Ukraine: the latest
Read: Ukraine repulses attacks in the Donbas and the changing face of Russia’s cyber war
08:00 AM
Good Morning
Good morning and welcome to today’s Ukraine liveblog.
We will be guiding you through all the latest updates on Ukraine.
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