Russia Ukraine war latest: Russian nuclear forces uses ballistic missile launchers in drill

The Ukraine’s armed forces said that the Russia has fired a Su-35 missile at Bilopillya, Sumy oblast.

“Artillery fire damaged in the area of the settlement of Seredyna-Buda, Sumy oblast,” the Ukrainian armed forces said in its latest update on Wednesday morning.

In the Sievierodonetsk direction, “Russian aggressor carried out assault operations in the northern, southern and eastern districts of the city of Severodonetsk,” the armed forces said.

“In the past 24 hours, nine enemy attacks have been repulsed in Donetsk and Luhansk, two tanks, 13 artillery systems, eight armoured fighting vehicles and six enemy vehicles have been destroyed. In the South, in the Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts, the losses of the Russian occupiers, in addition to military equipment, amounted to about 70 people,” the latest update from the military read.

A family who was forced to flee Ukraine has been reunited with their dog after he spent two months quarantining in the UK.

Mike, his wife Alla and mother-in-law Valentyna travelled from Kyiv to north-east England with Archie, who helped keep their spirits up on the 2,000-mile journey.

But after arriving in the UK, their pet was quarantined for eight weeks.

“He kept us sane and amused, it felt like he saved us in a way,” Mike said of Archie.

“Because of the quarantine, it felt like we couldn’t save him and we let him down.”

Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated the war casualties among his troops and said that the besieged country is losing 60-100 soldiers every day in combat.

“We’re losing 60-100 soldiers per day killed in action and around 500 people wounded in action. So we are holding our defensive perimeters,” Mr Zelensky said, calling Ukraine and its citizens the “defensive perimeter” for the world.

He added that country under invasion is facing the most tense situation in the east of Ukraine and southern Donetsk and Luhansk.

Soon to mark it’s 100th day, the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shaken Europe’s post-Second World War order and exposed the complacency of peace with it.

After all, it was the war we were told would never happen, or one which would take just a few days until the rapid surrender of Kyiv.

But on Friday, Russia’s dismal, bloody, stuttering and, ultimately, horrifying invasion of neighbouring Ukraine reaches its grim 100-day mark.

It has changed the widely-held view that Vladimir Putin was some sort of admirable autocrat, instead of the warmongering nationalist he is. His country is still fearsome but his army, once thought of as a machine which could march across Europe in days, is now derided as one which seems as if it will spend its life fighting in the Donbas.

The Independent’s International Editor David Harding writes here:

Russia’s nuclear forces held a drill in the Ivanovo province in the northeast part of the country, the Russian defence ministry said, reported Interfax news agency on Tuesday.

This comes shortly after the US announced it will provide Ukraine with advanced rockets.

The ministry said some 1,000 servicemen were engaged in intense manoeuvres and more than 100 vehicles were used including Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers.

The United States has announced it will provide Ukraine with more artillery like advanced rockets in an attempt to bring Moscow on the negotiating table over the conflict.

Ukraine will be armed with more advanced rocket systems and ammunitions so it can “more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield”, Joe Biden said on Tuesday.

In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Mr Biden wrote: “We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.”

The weaponry provided will include the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which was dubbed as “crucial” to counter Russian missile attacks by the Ukraine’s armed forces chief.

Over concerns if the latest arms supply to Ukraine could draw Washington into direct conflict with Moscow, a top official from the Biden administration said that Kyiv has given assurances the missiles would not be used to strike inside Russia.

“These systems will be used by the Ukrainians to repel Russian advances on Ukrainian territory, but they will not be used on targets in Russian territory,” the official said.

Volodymyr Zelensky cautioned that the situation in Donbas and the whole frontline is “very difficult” as he drummed up support for supplying modern heavy weapons to Ukraine.

“The frontline situation must be assessed comprehensively. Not by one area, where there is the most tough situation and which attracts the most attention, but by the whole frontline,” Mr Zelenksy said.

He added: “The situation in the Donbas direction is very difficult. Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Kurakhove are now at the epicenter of the confrontation.”

Warning about the existent threats in the region, Mr Zelensky said: “Given the presence of large-scale chemical production in Severodonetsk, the Russian army’s strikes there, including blind air bombing, are just madness. But on the 97th day of such a war, it is no longer surprising that for the Russian military, for Russian commanders, for Russian soldiers, any madness is absolutely acceptable.”

“Of course, everyone in Ukraine wants all our territories, all our people to be liberated today, as soon as possible. The full restoration of the territorial integrity of our state is our goal. But we must act carefully, valuing life,” the Ukrainian president said.

Stating that the ramped up military help can “speed up the victory of Ukraine”, he said “everyone at all levels must now be lobbyists for the supply of modern heavy weapons and modern artillery to our state.”

Although Ukrainians are hard-pressed defending the eastern Donbas region against Russian attacks, they are having some success near the Kremlin-controlled city of Kherson in the south, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.

In his late night address on Tuesday, the Ukrainian president said: “Our defenders are showing the utmost courage and remain masters of the situation at the front despite the fact the Russian army has a significant advantage in terms of equipment and numbers.”

The genetic code for almost 2,000 crops is under threat due to Russian bombing near Ukraine’s national seed bank, a charity has warned.

The Crop Trust, which was set up by the UN, highlighted the risk by saying a research facility near the country’s seed bank was recently damaged.

The site is based in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, which has seen fierce fighting over the last three months.

Ukraine’s seed store, which only has 4 per cent of its seeds backed up, is the tenth largest in the world.

Stefan Schmitz, who runs the Crop Trust, told Reuters: “Seed banks are a kind of life insurance for mankind. They provide the raw materials for breeding new plant varieties resistant to drought, new pests, new diseases, and higher temperatures.

“It would be a tragic loss if Ukraine‘s seed bank were destroyed.”

The US will issue details about potential new security assistance for Ukraine “before too long,” the Biden administration has said.

Speaking on Tuesday, state department spokesperson Ned Price said Washington is concerned by Russian efforts to intituionalize its rule over captured Ukrainian cities like Kherson.