Russia is redeploying elements of its forces from Georgia to reinforce its invasion of Ukraine, British military intelligence said on Thursday.
Between 1,200 and 2,000 of these Russian troops are being reorganised into 3x Battalion Tactical Groups,” Britain’s ministry of defence said.
It is highly unlikely that Russia planned to generate reinforcements in this manner and it is indicative of the unexpected losses it has sustained during the invasion.”
Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ)
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 31 March 2022
“The emergency services went to the place of fire, measures are being taken to eliminate it”, said Gladkov, the governor of the region in his Telegram channel. pic.twitter.com/ey7rC5ChSz
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are due to restart this morning by video, focusing on the peace framework the Ukrainian side presented during a face-to-face meeting in Istanbul earlier this week.
A humanitarian corridor out ofMariupolis set to be opened from 10am today to allow civilians out of the besieged port city, which is in the Donbas in south-eastern Ukraine. It follows “a personal request from the French president and German chancellor to Russian president Vladimir Putin”, the Russian defence ministry said.
A convoy of Ukrainian buses has set out for Mariupol to try to deliver humanitarian supplies and bring out trapped civilians, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said.
Russian forces have reportedly left the Chernobyl power plant, the Ukrainian Atomic Energy Ministry said, citing personnel at the site. Russian troops began leaving after soldiers got “significant doses” of radiation from digging trenches at the highly contaminated site, Ukraine’s state power company said. Energoatom said the Russians had dug in the forest inside the exclusion zone around the now-closed plant and “panicked at the first sign of illness,” which “showed up very quickly,” and began preparing to leave, Energoatom said.
Russian troops reportedly took an unspecified number of captive Ukrainian servicemen hostage after leaving the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Energoatom claimed in a statement on Telegram.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy repeated his warning that Russia is preparing for “powerful strikes” in the Donbas region after appearing to withdraw from an assault on Kyiv. The Pentagon also said that Russia may be repositioning some of its forces to send them to the Donbas.
Nato’s chief Jens Stoltenberg said Russian forces are not withdrawing, but regrouping. He also said the alliance had yet to be convinced Russia was negotiating in good faith in peace talks in Istanbul because Moscow’s military objective since launching its invasion of Ukraine had not changed.
Russia is redeploying elements of its forces from Georgia to reinforce its invasion, British military intelligence said on Thursday. “It is highly unlikely that Russia planned to generate reinforcements in this manner and it is indicative of the unexpected losses it has sustained during the invasion,” the ministry added.
The White House said the US has evidence that the war against Ukraine has been “a strategic disaster”for Russia. “We have seen incontrovertible evidence that this has been a strategic disaster for Russia,” director of communications Kate Bedingfield said, adding that Russia is “working to redefine the initial aims of their invasion”.
US president Joe Biden said that Russian president Vladimir Putin “seems to be self-isolated” and noted “there’s some indication that he has fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers,” without citing evidence.
UK defence secretary Ben Wallace seemingly concurred with this assessment, saying Putin is “not the force he used to be” as he becomes increasingly more isolated. Speaking with Sky News, Wallace said: “President Putin is not the force he used to be. He is now a man in a cage he built himself. He’s isolated. His army is exhausted, he has suffered significant losses. The reputation of this great army of Russia has been trashed.”
Russia has threatened to halt contracts supplying Europe with a third of its gas unless they are paid in Russian currency. Putin signed a decree on Thursday saying foreign buyers must pay in roubles for Russian gas from Friday. He said contracts would be halted if these payments were not made. Germany and France rejected the demands and said they amounted to “blackmail”.
EU and Chinese leaders will meet for a first summit in two years on Friday, with Brussels keen for assurances from Beijing that it will neither supply Russia with arms nor help Moscow circumvent western sanctions. EU officials close to the preparations of the summit said any help given to Russia would damage China’s international reputation and jeopardise relations with its biggest trade partners – Europe and the United States.
Britain and its allies have agreed to send more lethal military aid to Ukraine to help defend it against Russia’s invasion, the British defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said. As part of the agreement, armoured vehicles and long-range artillery will be sent.
Australia will send armoured Bushmaster vehicles to Ukraine after Zelenskiy specifically asked for them during a video appeal to Australian lawmakers.
Russia said it will respond to the EU’s“irresponsible” sanctions. Senior foreign ministry official, Nikolai Kobrinets, told Russian state media agency RIA in an interview: “The actions of the EU will not remain unanswered … the irresponsible sanctions by Brussels are already negatively affecting the daily lives of ordinary Europeans.”
Destroyed Russian armoured vehicles seen on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP
Aftermath of a battle in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Photograph: LOUAI-BARAKAT/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock
A Russian military hat lies on the pavement after Ukrainian forces overran a Russian position outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. Photograph: Vadim Ghirdă/AP
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier his forces are preparing for fresh Russian attacks on the Donbas region in the southeast after they repelled Russia’s assault on the capital Kyiv.
Zelenskiy said Russian troops continue to leave the country’s north but described the move as a tactical withdrawal.
Watch his video address from the streets of Kyiv below.
Zelenskiy says withdrawal of Russian forces near Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy is tactical – video
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said Australia will send armoured Bushmaster vehicles to Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy specifically asked for them during a video appeal to Australian lawmakers.
Zelenskiy addressed the Australian Parliament on Thursday and asked for the Australian-made, four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Morrison told reporters the vehicles will be flown over on Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport planes. He didn’t specify how many would be sent or when.
Australian Army soldiers in Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said it will send armoured Bushmaster vehicles to Ukraine. Photograph: Jonathan Geodhart/AUSTRALIA DEFENCE FORCE/AFP/Getty Images
“We’re not just sending our prayers, we are sending our guns, we’re sending our munitions, we’re sending our humanitarian aid, we’re sending all of this, our body armor, all of these things and we’re going to be sending our armoured vehicles, our Bushmasters, as well,” Morrison said.
Zelenskiy specifically asked for Bushmaster vehicles during his address to Australian Parliament.
“You have very good armed personnel vehicles, Bushmasters, that could help Ukraine substantially, and other pieces of equipment,” Zelenskiy said.
Russian troops have reportedly taken an unspecified number of captive Ukrainian servicemen hostage after leaving Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to officials.
State nuclear agency Energoatom released a statement on Telegram, citing plant workers:
As they ran away from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Russian occupiers took members of the National Guard, whom they had held hostage since Feb 24, with them.”
The Guardian is unable to verify these claims and it remains unclear how many, if any, Ukrainian servicemen were taken away.
The Biden administration has approved the drawdown and sale of petroleum from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) citing a severe energy supply interruption.
In a recently published memorandum, Biden said Russia’s invasion on Ukraine “has had a profound impact on global oil markets” prompting the International Energy Agency Governing Board to agree to a collective release of petroleum reserves.
He said the United States committed to a drawdown and sale of 30 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
“The Secretary is authorised and directed to draw down and sell petroleum from the SPR at public sale to the highest qualified bidder at a rate the Secretary may determine, in accordance with section 161 of EPCA and the SPR competitive sales procedures in 10 CFR Part 625,” the statement read.
Russia will respond to European Union sanctions and says the 27-nation bloc might realise that a confrontation with Moscow is not in its interests, Russian state media agency RIA Novosti cited a senior foreign ministry official as saying on Friday.
Nikolai Kobrinets said in an interview with the news agency:
The actions of the EU will not remain unanswered … the irresponsible sanctions by Brussels are already negatively affecting the daily lives of ordinary Europeans.
Are they ready from their own pocket to pay for further killings of civilians in Ukraine, the transformation of Europe from a region of cooperation and stability into a zone of conflict? I don’t think so.”
Earlier, we heard remarks from US president Joe Biden who suggested Putin appears to be “self isolated” with indications that he has either fired some of his advisers or put them under house arrest.
UK defence secretary Ben Wallace has seemingly concurred with this assessment, saying Putin is “not the force he used to be” as he becomes increasingly more isolated.
Speaking with Sky News, Wallace said:
President Putin is not the force he used to be. He is now a man in a cage he built himself. He’s isolated.
His army is exhausted, he has suffered significant losses. The reputation of this great army of Russia has been trashed.
He has not only got to live with the consequences of what he is doing to Ukraine, but he has also got to live with the consequences of what he has done to his own army.”
Wallace added that he believed Russian forces appear to be regrouping and shifting their focus towards the south and east of Ukraine.
“We have seen it before. It always gets worse. It goes for more civilian attacks, more civilian areas.”
Sky News(@SkyNews)
“President Putin is not the force he used to be”.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace describes the Kremlin as a “man in a cage that he built himself” and “Russia is a lesser country” because of him.https://t.co/fRz3GD32S3
Russian troops began leaving the Chernobyl nuclear plant after soldiers contracted “significant doses” of radiation from digging trenches at the highly contaminated site, Ukraine’s state power company has alleged.
Ukraine’s state agency in charge of the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Energoatom, published an update late on Thursday confirming Russian troops had left the site.
According to the staff of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, there are currently no outsiders at the NPP site.
It will be recalled that today the Russian occupation forces left the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the satellite city of Slavutych.”
Energoatom said Russian troops had dug in the forest inside the exclusion zone around the now-closed plant.
“It should be noted that the information about fortifications and trenches that the [Russians] built right in the Red Forest, the most polluted in the entire Exclusion Zone, was also confirmed,” Energoatom said in a Telegram post.
So it is not surprising that the occupiers received significant doses of radiation and panicked at the first sign of illness. And it manifested itself very quickly.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had not been able to confirm reports of Russian troops receiving high doses and was seeking more information in a statement on Thursday.
The IAEA has not been able to confirm reports of Russian forces receiving high doses of radiation while being in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and is seeking further information in order to provide an independent assessment of the situation.”
Energoatom said Russian troops had dug in the forest inside the exclusion zone around the now-closed plant. Photograph: EyePress News/REX/Shutterstock
Edwin Lyman, a nuclear expert with the US-based Union of Concerned Scientists, told the Associated Press it “seems unlikely” a large number of troops would develop severe radiation illness, but it was impossible to know for sure without more details.
He said contaminated material was probably buried or covered with new topsoil during the cleanup of Chernobyl, and some soldiers may have been exposed to a “hot spot” of radiation while digging. Others may have assumed they were at risk too, he said.
Russian troops on Tuesday left Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant after weeks of occupation, officials said on Thursday.
Energoatom said Russian troops began leaving the station and other exclusion zones, which they had occupied since the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February.
The IAEA also released a statement, saying: “Ukraine informed IAEA today that Russian forces that had been in control of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant since 24 February have, in writing, transferred control of the nuclear power plant to Ukrainian personnel and moved convoys of troops.”
IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency(@iaeaorg)
#Ukraine informed IAEA today that Russian forces that had been in control of #Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant since 24 Feb have, in writing, transferred control of the NPP to Ukrainian personnel and moved convoys of troops. https://t.co/DkBXEJpDu8pic.twitter.com/guITblxwXP
The White House said that the US has evidence that the war against Ukraine has been “a strategic disaster” for Russia. “We have seen incontrovertible evidence that this has been a strategic disaster for Russia,” director of communications Kate Bedingfield said, adding that Russia is “working to re-define the initial aims of their invasion.”
Ukrainian forces are preparing for new Russian attacks on the Donbas region in the southeast after they repelled Russia’s assault on the capital Kyiv, President Zelenskiy said, confirming Russian troops continue to leave the country’s north but described the move as a tactical withdrawal. “We must also realise that for the Russian military, this is part of their tactics … We know that they are moving away from the areas where we are beating them to focus on others that are very important. On those where it can be difficult for us,” he said in a late-night address. Describing the “extremely difficult” situation in Ukraine’s south and in Donbas, Zelenskiy said Russian troops are “accumulating the potential for strikes. Powerful strikes.”
A humanitarian corridor is set to be opened on Friday morning to allow civilians out of the besieged port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine. “The Russian armed forces will reopen a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia on April 1 from 10am,” or 7am GMT, the Russian defence ministry said. The decision came after “a personal request from the French president and German chancellor to Russian President Vladimir Putin”, it said.
Meanwhile, a convoy of Ukrainian buses set out for Mariupol to try to deliver humanitarian supplies and bring out trapped civilians, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said.
Russia is redeploying elements of its forces from Georgia to reinforce its invasion of Ukraine, British military intelligence said on Thursday. “It is highly unlikely that Russia planned to generate reinforcements in this manner and it is indicative of the unexpected losses it has sustained during the invasion,” the ministry added.
Russian forces are not withdrawing, but regrouping, Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg also said the alliance had yet to be convinced Russia was negotiating in good faith in peace talks in Istanbul because Moscow’s military objective since launching its invasion of Ukraine had not changed.
The Pentagon added Russia may be repositioning some of its forces around Kyiv to send them to the eastern Donbas region. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Russia has moved a “small number” – perhaps 20% – of its troops from around Kyiv after failing to capture the city. Kirby said the “best assessment” is that the troops are “going to be repositioned, probably into Belarus, to be refit and resupplied and used elsewhere in Ukraine.”
Kirby added it was not clear that Russia’s convoy of military vehicles to Kyiv, which once stretched some 40 miles, even exists anymore after failing to accomplish its mission. “I don’t even know if it still exists at this point … They never really accomplished their mission,” he said.
US President Joe Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “seems to be self-isolated” and noted “there’s some indication that he has fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers,” without citing evidence.
EU and Chinese leaders will meet for a first summit in two years on Fridaywith Brussels keen for assurances from Beijing that it will neither supply Russia with arms nor help Moscow circumvent western sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine. EU officials close to the preparations of the summit said any help given to Russia would damage China’s international reputation and jeopardise relations with its biggest trade partners – Europe and the United States.
Russian forces have reportedly left the Chernobyl power plant, the Ukrainian Atomic Energy Ministry said, citing Chernobyl personnel. Russian troops began leaving the site after soldiers got “significant doses” of radiation from digging trenches at the highly contaminated site, Ukraine’s state power company said. Energoatom said the Russians had dug in the forest inside the exclusion zone around the now-closed plant and “panicked at the first sign of illness,” which “showed up very quickly,” and began preparing to leave, Energoatom said.
Britain and its allies have agreed to send more lethal military aid to Ukraine to help defend it against Russia’s invasion, the British defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said. As part of the agreement, armoured vehicles and long-range artillery will be sent.
Nurse Svetlana Savchenko stands next to the destroyed building where her apartment was located in Mariupol. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
Russia is redeploying elements of its forces from Georgia to reinforce its invasion of Ukraine, British military intelligence said on Thursday.
Between 1,200 and 2,000 of these Russian troops are being reorganised into 3x Battalion Tactical Groups,” Britain’s ministry of defence said.
It is highly unlikely that Russia planned to generate reinforcements in this manner and it is indicative of the unexpected losses it has sustained during the invasion.”
Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ)
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 31 March 2022
EU and Chinese leaders will meet for a first summit in two years on Fridaywith Brussels keen for assurances from Beijing that it will neither supply Russia with arms nor help Moscow circumvent western sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine.
EU officials close to the preparations of the summit said any help given to Russia would damage China’s international reputation and jeopardise relations with its biggest trade partners – Europe and the United States.
The presidents of the European Commission and European Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, will hold virtual talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and later President Xi Jinping.
An EU official said China’s stance towards Russia would be the “million-dollar question” on Friday, as reported by Reuters.
Another pointed out that over a quarter of China’s global trade was with the bloc and the United States last year, against just 2.4% with Russia.
“Do we prolong this war or do we work together to end this war? That is the essential question for the summit,” the official said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated China’s call for peace talks this week, adding the legitimate concerns of all sides should be accommodated.
Here is a handful of some of the latest images to come from Ukraine today.
A man walks past a burning gas pipeline that was hit during shelling in a neighbourhood in northern Kharkiv. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters
A woman walks past a building destroyed by Russian army shelling in the second largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Photograph: Aziz Karimov/ZUMA Press Wire Service/REX/Shutterstock
A Ukrainian serviceman carries the baby of a displaced family to help to cross a river, on the outskirts of Kyiv. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
A damaged gas mask lies on the pavement outside Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Vadim Ghirdă/AP
In another busy day of diplomacy Zelenskiy confirmed he addressed the parliaments of Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium.
“I felt total support. I am waiting for concrete steps. I called for tougher sanctions against Russia. We have to put pressure on the aggressor until the aggression is over,” he said.
In a discussion with President of the European Council, Charles Michel, Zelenskiy said the pair discussed additional sanctions on Russia, economic support for Ukraine and financing of priority projects.
“The dynamics of our movement towards full membership in the EU,” he added.
Zelenskiy said he was grateful for the new package of sanctions against Russia imposed by the United States.
“We are grateful. It will not allow the current sanctions to be circumvented – we have already noticed such attempts. It will also limit the work of sensitive sectors of the Russian economy – its defence sector.”
Finally, Zelenskiy said he also held talks with President of Turkey Erdoğan.
“We spoke very specifically. In particular, about the prospects of negotiations in Turkey with the Russian Federation. And also about the creation of an effective system of guarantees for our state. About the security we have always needed and to the real provision of which we have come closer.
“I am grateful for Turkey’s readiness to become a guarantor of security for Ukraine.”
Zelenskiy also provided an update on Ukraine’s military defence, confirming Russian troops continue to leave the country’s north but describing the move as a tactical withdrawal.
To the north of Kyiv, in the Chernihiv direction, in the Sumy region, the expulsion of the occupiers continues. They themselves are aware that they can no longer withstand the intensity of hostilities they could have maintained in the first half of March …
But we must also realise that for the Russian military, this is part of their tactics. All this is not occasional. We know their plans. We know what they are planning and what they are doing.
We know that they are moving away from the areas where we are beating them to focus on others that are very important. On those where it can be difficult for us.
Describing the “extremely difficult” situation in Ukraine’s south and in Donbas, Zelenskiy claimed Russian forces are accumulating in the temporarily occupied areas of region of Kherson.
They are trying to organise some of their incomprehensible structures there, they are trying to figure out how to consolidate their presence there,” he said.
Also in Donbas, in Mariupol, in the Kharkiv direction, Russian troops are accumulating the potential for strikes. Powerful strikes.”
Hello it’s Samantha Lock back with you on the blog as we continue to deliver all the latest from Ukraine.
As expected, Zelenskiy has delivered another late-night address.
They [Russia] said – three or five days. They thought that this would be enough for them to seize our entire state. And it’s already 36. And we are standing. And we will continue to fight. Until the end.”
Kari Paul here, signing off for the evening. Below are some of the top stories of the moment.
Thousands of civilians are still trapped in Mariupol after Russia has failed to deliver on its ceasefire promises, Ukrainian officials said.
The White House said in a press conference on Thursday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been ‘strategic disaster’
Biden’s administration has also promised additional sanctions on Russia
Roberta Metsola, president of the European parliament, is headed to Ukraine – marking the first leader of an EU institution to do so
(@DefenceHQ)
Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/zfc1MMQmCj
No comments:
Post a Comment