‘Massive’ hypersonic missile strike was ‘retaliation’ for cross-border attack, says Russia

The massive missile and drone attack that killed at least six people in cities across Ukraine on Thursday morning was “retaliation” for the cross-border attack in Russia’s Bryansk region last week, its Defence Ministry has said.

The ministry said its forces had carried out a “massive retaliatory strike” on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were among dozens of weapons used in the attack, Ukraine’s air force said. The Ukrainian military is not believed to be capable of intercepting the air-launched Kinzhal missile, which Russian sources claim can fly at more than 12 times the speed of sound.

Air raid sirens wailed for hours across the country as missiles struck the capital Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa and the second city of Kharkiv, local officials said.

More explosions were reported in the northern city of Chernihiv and the western Lviv region, as well as in the cities of Dnipro, Lutsk and Rivne.

03:05 PM

Today's top stories

• Russia launched a missile attack using hypersonic weapons that the defence ministry said was retaliation for the cross-border raid carried out by Russian volunteer fighters last week

• The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was reconnected to the energy grid after a missile strike left it running on diesel generators

• Ukraine has denied it was behind an alleged assassination plot targeting the leader of a breakaway Moldovan region

• The Pentagon is reportedly blocking efforts to share US intelligence on alleged Russian war crimes with investigators in the Hague

• Russia has enough resources continue the war in Ukraine for two years, according to Lithuania's military intelligence chief

02:54 PM

Russian missile strikes - mapped

02:45 PM

Russia says Brussels ignoring talks on probe into Nord Stream blasts

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that the European Union is completely ignoring any talks on the need to carry out an investigation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline blasts.

Russia has repeatedly asked to be allowed to join the investigations into the blasts, which ruptured three of the four pipelines of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas links that connect Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

02:24 PM

Seven things China has learned from Ukraine invasion

China’s top military minds have been paying close attention to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, watching the war’s every turn as Beijing continues to develop its armed forces.

Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has vowed to take over Taiwan as part of his ambitious plan for “national rejuvenation” even if it means using military force – a move that could lead to a war with the United States, which has promised to defend the island nation from invasion.

With the conflict in Ukraine laying bare the difficulty of conducting large-scale offensive operations, a Reuters review of almost 100 articles in more than 20 Chinese defence journals shows what Chinese academics, researchers and military thinkers have learned from the war.

Here are seven lessons China has learned from the Ukraine war.

02:08 PM

Zaporizhzhia plant reconnected to the power grid

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine was reconnected to Ukraine's energy grid on Thursday, Ukrainian grid operator Ukrenergo said.

01:56 PM

Russia's Lavrov says extending Ukraine grain deal 'complicated'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that extending a deal that allowed grain exports from Ukraine to resume was becoming "complicated" as he claimed it was not being properly implemented.

Russia's military intervention last February saw Ukraine's Black Sea ports blocked by warships until a deal last summer allowed for the safe passage of exports of critical grain supplies.

The UN and Turkey-brokered deal will automatically renew on March 18 unless Moscow or Kyiv object.

But Mr Lavrov said clauses in the agreement that provide for Russian grain and fertiliser exports were not being upheld.

"If the package is half fulfilled, then the issue of extension becomes quite complicated," he said during a press conference with his Saudi counterpart in Moscow.

01:28 PM

Pro-Russia region of Moldova 'thwarted Ukrainian assassination attempt on president'

Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria, which has close ties to Moscow and hosts Russian troops, claimed on Thursday it had thwarted an assassination attempt on its president allegedly organized by Ukraine's national security service.

Transnistria's state security ministry said an unspecified number of people had been arrested in connection with an attempted attack on the region's president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, and other officials.

Prosecutor Anatoly Guretsky said the suspects planned to detonate an explosives-packed automobile near the presidential cortege as it traveled through the capital, Tiraspol.

It said Ukraine's SBU security service ordered the assassination attempt, but did not provide evidence.

The SBU rejected the allegation, saying it “should be considered exclusively as a provocation orchestrated by the Kremlin.”

A separatist war broke out in 1990 in Transnistria — a strip of land with about 470,000 residents that borders Ukraine. As part of a cease-fire in 1992, a contingent of Russian troops remains there as nominal peacekeepers.

Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine more than a year ago, concerns have been high that Moscow would try to take control of Transnistria.

But Russia's Defense Ministry has claimed in recent weeks that Ukraine has designs on Transnistria, either through mounting a “false-flag” attack that could be blamed on Russia or by sending in its own troops.

Moldova's pro-Western government said it was following developments but could not confirm the attempted assassination claim.

01:23 PM

Listen live to Ukraine: The Latest

Our award-nominated Ukraine podcast is now live as Twitter Spaces. Tune in now to hear our Associate Defence Editor Dominic Nicholls and James Kilner discuss today's news so far.

You can listen here.

01:09 PM

France: Ukraine nuclear plant power outages an 'unacceptable risk'

France on Thursday warned of the "unacceptable risk for nuclear security" from power cuts at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia power plant.

"France has taken note and is concerned over information of a new disconnection [from the grid] at the Zaporizhzhia plant," foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said.

12:32 PM

Russia has enough resources to fight in Ukraine for two years, say Lithuanian military spies

The chief of the Lithuanian military intelligence has said he believes Russia has enough resources continue the war in Ukraine for two years.

"The resources which Russia has at the moment would be enough to continue the war at the present intensity for two years", the chief, Elegijus Paulavicius, told reporters in Vilnius.

"How long Russia is be able to wage the war will also depend on the support for Russia's military from states, such as Iran, North Korea. But if you look at what Russia has today, such as the strategic reserve, equipment, ammunition, armaments - it can wage it at the present intensity for two years", he added.

12:11 PM

Poland says latest 10 Leopard tanks delivered to Ukraine

Poland on Thursday said it had delivered to Ukraine the additional 10 Leopard 2A4 tanks it had promised, while allies would send theirs shortly.

"We're talking about a battalion of heavy tanks which, in the case of Poland's share, have already been delivered and, in the case of our allies, they will be delivered to Ukraine very soon," Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told reporters.

Warsaw had promised to ship a total of 14 German-made Leopard 2 heavy tanks to Kyiv.

The first four were delivered in late February, on the first anniversary of Russia's offensive in Ukraine.

11:45 AM

Russian Defence Ministry says 'massive' missile strike was retaliation for 'terrorist attack'

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Thursday that its forces had carried out a "massive retaliatory strike" on Ukrainian infrastructure after what it called a terrorist attack in Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, last week.

11:24 AM

Ukrainian troops on the frontline of the battle for Bakhmut - in pictures

11:04 AM

UN nuclear chief raises alarm over power outages at Ukraine plant

The UN nuclear agency's chief has warned of the danger of repeated power outages at the Zaporizhzhia power plant, after a Russian missile strike left it running on diesel generators.

“I am astonished by the complacency. What are we doing to prevent this happening?” IAEA atomic agency director Rafael Grossi told the agency’s board of governors, referring to the possibility of a nuclear accident.

"Each time we are rolling a dice," he said. "And if we allow this to continue time after time then one day our luck will run out."

10:05 AM

Kremlin says Georgia protests cause for 'concern'

The Kremlin has said it is concerned by mass protests in the Caucasus republic of Georgia sparked by planned legislation seen as reminiscent of Russian laws used to silence critics.

"This is a neighbouring country and even though we do not have relations with Georgia as such, nevertheless, the state of affairs there cannot but arouse our concern," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

09:45 AM

Russian shelling kills three in Kherson

Kyiv said Russian shelling killed three people on Thursday in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.

"Russian terrorists shelled Kherson in the morning. They hit... a public transport stop. Three people died as a result of the shelling," Ukraine's presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on social media.

09:20 AM

Russian missiles strike Ukraine - in pictures

08:55 AM

The only way Russia can make territorial gains in Ukraine, according to US spies

Russia will need to begin a mandatory mobilisation and receive a flood of weapons from China if it is to make any major territorial gains in Ukraine this year, according to a new US intelligence assessment.

Avril Haines, US Director of National Intelligence, told a Senate committee on Wednesday that the beleaguered Russian military lacked the ammunition and troops necessary to sustain its current level of fighting and may be forced to shift to a hold-and-defend strategy, dragging out the war.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, “appears to be focused on more modest military objectives now”, said Ms Haines, appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee as officials released their annual threat assessment report.

Read more from Josie Ensor here

08:30 AM

Zelensky says Russia 'won't avoid responsibility' for attacks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned the latest wave of Russian missile strikes, saying that Moscow "won't avoid responsibility".

In a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app, Mr Zelensky said critical infrastructure and residential buildings in 10 Ukrainian regions had been hit in the latest attacks overnight.

"The occupiers can only terrorise civilians. That's all they can do. But it won’t help them. They won’t avoid responsibility for everything they have done," Mr Zelensky said.

07:58 AM

Kharkiv without power, water, or heating after missile attack

Kharkiv was left without power, water or heating on Thursday after Russian missiles struck Ukraine's second largest city.

"There is no electricity in the whole city. We have switched to generators at critical infrastructure. Electric-powered transport is not working. There is no heating and water supply, due to the lack of voltage in the electricity network," Kharkiv mayor Igor Terekhov said on local television.

07:47 AM

Ukraine military says hypersonic weapons among missiles launched at Ukraine

Russia fired 81 missiles, including six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and eight drones at Ukraine in early-morning strikes on Thursday, the Ukrainian air force said.

Ukraine destroyed 34 cruise missiles and four Iranian-made Shahed suicide drones, and eight drones and guided missiles were also prevented from reaching their targets, it said in a statement.

The Ukrainian military is not believed to have the capability to shoot down the Kinzhal missile.

Russian sources claim the hypersonic weapon can fly at more than 12 times the speed of sound and can take evasive action to avoid interception.

07:36 AM

Georgian 'foreign agents' bill withdrawn after protests

Georgia's ruling party said on Thursday it was dropping a bill on "foreign agents" after two nights of violent protests against it amid criticism the draft was inspired by a Russian law and represented an authoritarian shift.

The Georgian Dream ruling party said in a statement it would "unconditionally withdraw the bill we supported without any reservations". It cited the need to reduce "confrontation" in society.

The bill would have required Georgian organisations receiving more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents" or face fines. Georgian Dream had previously said the law was necessary to unmask critics of the Georgian Orthodox Church, one of the country's most powerful institutions.

Opponents of the bill, including Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who said she would veto it if it crossed her desk, have compared it to a 2012 Russian law, which has been used to clamp down on dissent.

Parliament gave it initial approval on Tuesday but tens of thousands of protesters then gathered outside parliament, and again on Wednesday.

07:18 AM

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant left without power after Russian strikes

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been left without electricity supply following a Russian strike and is currently running on diesel generators, the country's nuclear energy operator said on Thursday.

"The last line of communication between the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Ukrainian power system was cut off as a result of rocket attacks," Energoatom said in a statement.

06:56 AM

Death toll coming to light

City officials say five people have been confirmed dead so far after last night's attacks.

Four people were killed in the Lviv region after a missile struck a residential area, said the city's governor Maksym Kozytskyi.

Three buildings were destroyed by fire after the strike and rescue workers were combing through rubble looking for more possible victims, he said.

A fifth person was killed and two others wounded in multiple strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Air raid sirens wailed through the night across Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv, where explosions occurred in two western areas of the city. Defense systems were activated around the country, and it wasn't clear how many missiles struck targets or were intercepted.

04:55 AM

'Bakhmut may fall eventually,' says Nato chief

Fighting continues in Bakhmut where Russia's Wagner mercenary group is claiming to have captured the eastern part of the city.

Ukrainian officials have warned that the fall of Bakhmut could lead to further Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on the sidelines of an EU defence ministers meeting in Stockholm: "We cannot rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days."

He said: "this does not necessarily reflect any turning point of the war".

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Maliar said that the resistance in Bakhmut should be considered a "victory".

"This is victory - the fact that our soldiers have been destroying the most powerful and professional 'Wagner' units there for several months in a row.

"The enemy has superior forces in terms of manpower and weapons, but in these conditions, our fighters bravely confront the enemy almost on an equal basis," she said.

04:39 AM

Good morning

Ukrainians are waking up on Thursday morning to yet more destruction after a barrage of missile strikes overnight.

Many people were left without lights and heating after Russia targeted energy infrastructure.

We will bring you all the latest news out of Ukraine throughout the morning.