Russia 'preparing to retreat' from parts of Kherson

Russia appears to be preparing a retreat from some areas of Kherson, a Ukraine military spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Russian troops have reportedly been packing up their belongings, “civilian clothes” and local property in a sign that they are preparing to move, Natalia Gumenyuk has said. Earlier on Tuesday morning, an attack on an outdoor market in Kherson killed one and injured nine, according to the latest tally.

It comes as the Kremlin announced on Tuesday that president Vladimir Putin had visited troops in the Kherson region, asking them to give their views on how the situation was developing and handing out Easter gifts.

Elsewhere, the British Ministry of Defence said in its latest update that “there is a realistic possibility that Russia has reduced troop numbers and is decreasing offensive action around Donetsk city”, which they believe is to divert resources towards Bakhmut.

In the frontline city, “Ukraine is generally holding Russia’s envelopment from the south along the line of Korsunskovo Street, the old main road west out of town,” the Ministry of Defence added.

02:59 PM

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Thank you for following today's liveblog. Here is a summary of today's stories.

• A Russian court has denied bail for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on charges of espionage for which he faces up to 20 years in prison.

• President Zelensky visited "frontline positions" of Ukrainian soldiers in Andiivka, Donetsk Oblast, on Tuesday, his official website has said. Mr Zelensky handed out awards to soldiers and heard reports from military commanders about the situation on the battlefield, his office said.

• Russia has said that it has deployed nuclear submarines to the Pacific Ocean as part of a surprise readiness check ordered by Vladimir Putin. The Russian ministry of defence released a statement alongside images of the submarines on Tuesday, which claimed: "Strategic and multi-purpose nuclear submarines deployed in the Pacific Ocean as part of a sudden check of the combat readiness of the Pacific Fleet forces."

• Russian forces have increased the use of heavy artillery and air strikes in the city of Bakhmut, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said. "Currently, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, turning the city into ruins," General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a statement.

• Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to occupied territories in Ukraine, visiting the headquarters of his forces in the Kherson and Luhansk regions.

Please follow along tomorrow for all the latest updates on Ukraine.

02:42 PM

Russian foreign ministry summons British, Canadian and US ambassadors for dressing down

Russia’s foreign ministry summoned British, Canadian and US ambassadors for a dressing down on Tuesday afternoon, following their condemnation of the conviction of Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Mr Kara-Murza, who is a Russian and British national, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason on Monday in a trial he and the West said was politically motivated.

Russia's foreign ministry accused the three ambassadors of "gross interference" in Russian domestic affairs.

02:26 PM

Ukraine builds up stockpile of air defence ammunition as Russia slows campaign of long-range attack

Ukraine is building up a stockpile of air defence ammunition because Russia has slowed its campaign of long-range attack, according to a Western official.

The admission came amid speculation that Kyiv was struggling to replace Soviet-era weaponry that are the cornerstone of the network used to protect its skies, Joe Barnes reports. 

“Of the reports of Ukrainian stockpiles being low, I think everybody’s low, we’ve had a year of conflict and crisis,” the official said.

“It’s not an inexhaustible supply and nobody has an inexhaustible supply of weapons, but what we do know is that they [Ukraine] have enough to defend themselves at the moment.”

The source added: “What we haven’t seen for a while are large-scale attacks into Ukraine, and that’s given the Ukrainians a bit of breathing space.”

02:07 PM

Evan Gershkovich: Wall Street Journal reporter denied bail by Russian judge

A Russian court has denied bail for US reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on charges of espionage for which he faces up to 20 years in prison, reports Nataliya Vasilyeva.

A judge read out the ruling saying his detention "should remain in place", after which Mr Gershkovich responded in Russian: "All understood. Thank you very much."

Mr Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, denies the espionage charges.

To read more from The Telegraph's Russia correspondent, and watch footage of Evan Gershkovich in court, click here. 

01:43 PM

President Zelensky visits soldiers in Andiivka

President Zelensky visited "the frontline positions" of Ukrainian soldiers in Andiivka, Donetsk Oblast, on Tuesday, his official website has said.

Mr Zelensky handed out awards to soldiers and heard reports from military commanders about the situation on the battlefield, his office said.

The Ukrainian leader was quoted saying: “"I have the honour to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families.”

01:29 PM

Listen: Latest episode of Ukraine: The Latest out now

01:15 PM

Pictured: Man treated by medics at Kherson market following Russian shelling

12:39 PM

Iconic Moscow march for Victory Day celebrations cancelled by organisers

The organisers of the ‘Immortal Regiment’ (Bessmertni Polk) will not host their traditional march through Moscow this year for security reasons.

The annual ‘Immortal Regiment’ procession commemorating the Russians lost in the Second World War, which first took place on 9 May 2010, will not take place this year, and instead organisers are looking at other formats for the event.

The march has often drawn tens of thousands to Russia’s capital, and Vladimir Putin himself has taken part in the event in the past.

Co-chairwoman of the “Immortal Regiment Russia” committee and State Duma deputy Elena Tsunaeva said at a press conference: “The Immortal Regiment will be held in other formats this year for security reasons. We propose to honour the memory of our heroes throughout the day by choosing the formats we talked about today.”

Among the suggested formats were an online database for veterans and a “remembrance wall” with photographs of war heroes, RIA Novosti reported.

12:04 PM

Watch: Russia deploys nuclear submarines into Pacific Ocean in surprise readiness check

11:45 AM

Analysis: Putin's visit to occupied territories 'has showcased the Kremlin's anxiety'

Vladimir Putin’s unannounced visit to occupied territories in Ukraine has showcased the Kremlin’s anxiety about what would be a hostile local population in what Russia now calls part of its country, writes Russia correspondent Nataliya Vasilyeva.

Mr Putin had famously avoided travelling anywhere near the front line of a devastating war he unleashed for a full year earlier before he was spotted on a brief visit in Mariupol last month.

Photos and videos from the southern Kherson region released by the Kremlin on Tuesday morning showed Mr Putin either sitting down at two separate meetings with his generals or getting off helicopters and cars, surrounded by bodyguards.

The landscape is unrecognisable, and there is no spontaneous interaction with locals.

The subdued scenes from what Mr Putin calls Russia’s “new territories” stand in sharp contrast to the genuine outpouring of support he received on his first trip to Crimea that Moscow illegally annexed in 2014 when jubilant crowds thronged the streets, chanting “Putin” and “Russia”.

Such scenes would be inconceivable in Kherson now: not a day passes without news of yet another act of sabotage or a bombing against occupation authorities in the area that the Kremlin now considers its territory.

With that implicit security threat, all Mr Putin has to do is hole up in windowless rooms with his generals and pore over battle maps.

11:16 AM

Russia carries out surprise readiness check of nuclear submarines, says defence ministry

Russia has said that it has deployed nuclear submarines to the Pacific Ocean as part of a surprise readiness check ordered by the president, Newsflash Media reports.

The Russian ministry of defence released a statement alongside images of the submarines on Tuesday, which claimed: "Strategic and multi-purpose nuclear submarines deployed in the Pacific Ocean as part of a sudden check of the combat readiness of the Pacific Fleet forces."

It added: "In the course of a surprise check of the combat readiness of the forces of the Pacific Fleet (Pacific Fleet), which is carried out by decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, strategic nuclear missile submarines and multipurpose nuclear submarines of the Submarine Forces of the Pacific Fleet are deployed at the indicated positions in the Pacific Ocean.”

The footage allegedly shows at least one submarine departing from a Kamchatka port in the east of the country before at least half a dozen of the submersibles are shown at sea with the coast in the background.

Newsflash Media has not been able to independently verify the footage or claims.

11:01 AM

Pictured: WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich appears in Moscow court

10:54 AM

Crimea resident jailed for ten years for setting fire to military draft office and preparing bridge attack, says FSB

A resident of Russian-held Crimea has been jailed for ten years after setting fire to a military draft office and preparing an attack on a bridge, the Russian security service has said.

The man was arrest in June 2022, and convicted of arson at a military draft office in Simferopol", the regional capital of Crimea, and "preparing the destruction of a railway bridge", according to a statement from the FSB on Tuesday.

"During a search, an RGD-5 grenade was confiscated," the statement added.

Investigators had also found a phone with photos of railway bridges in the peninsula and a notebook with a hand-drawn map of a hidden arms arsenal with an anti-tank mine and a detonator, according to the FSB.

The chief of the security service in Russia Alexander Bortnikov said in April that 118 "terrorist crimes" had been prevented in Russia since February last year.

10:33 AM

In pictures: More from Putin's visit to the Kherson region

10:19 AM

Macron looks to work with China to establish framework for Ukraine war negotiations

French president Emmanuel Macron is to approach China with a plan that he believes could potentially lead to talks between Russia and Ukraine, Bloomberg reports.

Foreign policy adviser Emmanuel Bonne has been tasked by Mr Macron to work with top China diplomat Wang Yi to establish a framework that could be used as a potential basis for future negotiations, sources familiar with the plans told the outlet.

Talks between Russia and Ukraine could happen as soon as the summer if all goes well with the French strategy, the anonymous sources said. Any negotiations would be dependent on certain conditions being met, such as Kyiv conducting a successful spring offensive that would put Ukraine in a strong position during the talks.

It is currently unclear whether Mr Macron has any support from Ukraine or its allies for his plan.

09:57 AM

'Putin's degradation is impressive': Zelensky adviser responds to Putin's visit to Ukraine

09:35 AM

Pictured: Putin visits Russian National Guard headquarters in Luhansk region

09:22 AM

Egypt reverses plan to give rockets to Russia, leaked documents suggest

Egypt reversed a plan to give rockets to Russia after talks with top US officials and instead offered to make artillery shells for Ukraine, according to leaked documents, reports Nick Allen.

The documents reported by the Washington Post gave further detail about Egypt's role, which was detailed in earlier leaks last week.

According to the classified documents that emerged last week, Cairo planned to produce up to 40,000 rockets for Moscow, and told its officials to keep the deal secret “to avoid problems with the West”.

Read more on this story here.

09:09 AM

WSJ journalist to appeal against arrest and detention

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will appeal against his arrest and detention in an ex-KGB prison in Moscow on espionage charges on Tuesday, according to court documents.

The first US journalist to be detained in Russia on espionage charges since the Cold War, Mr Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal have both denied he was involved in espionage, as has Washington.

According to a public judicial document, a Russian court will hear a complaint filed by Mr Gershkovich against the decision to keep him in custody in Lefortovo prison while the case is being investigated.

The court documents only provided basic details about the case, and the court said it was forbidden to publish some documents. A Russian lawyer for Mr Gershkovich did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The hearing is essentially procedural, and will cover how Mr Gershkovich should be detained as he awaits trial, and will not cover the substance of the charges as investigators are still working on the details of the case.

08:51 AM

More than 2000 Ukrainians have been returned from Russian captivity, says Zelensky

President Zelensky announced that Ukraine has returned a total 2,235 Ukrainian men and women from captivity since the war began in a post on his official Telegram channel on Tuesday morning.

Writing in both Ukrainian and English, he said: "Since February 24, Ukraine has returned 2,235 Ukrainian men and women from Russian captivity. We remember everyone. We will bring back each and every one."

08:31 AM

Pictured: Putin gives Easter gifts to troops on Ukraine visit

During his visit to troops in the occupied regions on Tuesday, President Putin presented copies of religious icons as Easter gifts.

When handing over the gift to troops at the "Dnieper" headquarters, Mr Putin remarked that the icon had previously belonged to "one of the most successful defence ministers of the Russian empire," RIA Novosti reported.

08:14 AM

Russia turning Bakhmut ‘into ruins’ with artillery and air strikes, says Ukraine general

Russian forces have increased the use of heavy artillery and air strikes in the city of Bakhmut, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said.

"Currently, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, turning the city into ruins," General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a statement.

The region of Bakhmut has been the epicentre of the war in Ukraine for several weeks and fighting in the area showing no sign of abating, as General Syrskyi added that Russia remained committed to taking the city “at any costs”, though they were suffering heavy losses. 

08:02 AM

Pictured: Ben Wallace meets US defence secretary Lloyd J. Austin III at the Pentagon

07:42 AM

Watch: President Vladimir Putin visits troops in Ukraine

07:35 AM

G7 vows 'severe costs' for those helping Russia in Ukraine

G7 foreign ministers warned Tuesday that those helping Russia wage war in Ukraine would face "severe costs", as they offered a united front on another key policy challenge: China.

After two days of talks in the Japanese mountain resort town Karuizawa, the top diplomats from leading economies unveiled no new sanctions on Moscow over its invasion but pledged to crack down on those helping Russia evade the measures and acquire weapons.

The ministers also put Beijing on notice over its "militarisation activities" in the South China Sea and insisted their Taiwan policy was unchanged despite recent controversial comments from France's president.

While talks were dominated by Ukraine and regional challenges, including a demand that North Korea "refrain" from new nuclear tests or ballistic missile launches, the ministers covered a broad sweep of global policy problems.

07:31 AM

Poland, Ukraine to resume grain talks

Poland and Ukraine will resume negotiations early on Tuesday to try to reopen the transit of food and grains, the Polish agriculture minister told public radio station PR1.

The two countries held talks on Monday over bans by central eastern European countries seeking to shelter their farmers from the impact of an influx of cheaper Ukrainian grain.

Some Black Sea ports were blocked after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and large quantities of Ukrainian grain have been trapped in Central Europe because of logistical bottlenecks.

"We are talking with the EU as well as with Ukraine to find solutions. We want these products to go to Europe, but go deep into Europe," Agriculture Minister Robert Telus said.

"We talked yesterday, there were long talks. Today we are also sitting down for talks...These are typically technical talks to find a solution and let this transit go to Europe," he added.