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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Several killed in Russian drone attack on school

Ukrainian servicemen fire with a D-30 howitzer at Russian positions near Bakhmut - AFP
Ukrainian servicemen fire with a D-30 howitzer at Russian positions near Bakhmut - AFP

At least eight people were killed by Russian forces on Wednesday in a series of drone attacks that hit a school near Kyiv and a residential building in Zaporizhzhia.

The overnight attack in the city of Rzhyshchiv, south of the Ukrainian capital, partially destroyed a high school and two dormitories, hospitalising 20.

It was followed by attacks on two residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, where officials said one person was killed and 25 taken to hospital.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the airstrikes showed Moscow was not interested in peace.

"Over 20 Iranian murderous drones, plus missiles, numerous shelling incidents, and that's just in one last night of Russian terror against Ukraine," he wrote on Twitter.

"Every time someone tries to hear the word 'peace' in Moscow, another order is given there for such criminal strikes."

Follow the latest updates below


03:02 PM

Today's live coverage has ended

Today’s live coverage has ended. Here is a roundup of the day’s main events:

  • British military intelligence believes the Russian assault on the town of Bakhmut is likely losing the limited momentum it had obtained.

  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the front line near the eastern city of Bakhmut.

  • Moscow has warned of “serious consequences” for Russian-British relations should the UK supply Ukraine with shells that contain depleted uranium.

  • Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday that the probability of a nuclear conflict was at its highest level in decades, Russian news agencies reported.


03:00 PM

Zelensky coffee photo goes viral

A photo of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stopping off at a petrol station for coffee on his way to Bakhmut has gone viral on Twitter.


02:49 PM

Russian Church shares blame for 'crimes' in Ukraine, says religious leader

The spiritual head of the world's Orthodox Christians said on Wednesday that Russia's powerful Orthodox Church shared responsibility for the conflict in Ukraine but that he stood ready to help in Russia's postwar "spiritual regeneration".

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's comments are a rebuke for Russian Patriarch Kirill, whose full-throated blessing for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church.

Bartholomew, who in 2019 infuriated Moscow by recognising the newly established Orthodox Church of Ukraine, said Russian authorities were using the Church as an "instrument for their strategic objectives".

"The church and the state leadership in Russia cooperated in the crime of aggression and shared the responsibility for the resulting crimes, like the shocking abduction of the Ukrainian children," he told a conference held in Lithuania's parliament.


02:21 PM

Russia says risk of nuclear conflict at highest level in decades

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday that the probability of a nuclear conflict was at its highest level in decades, Russian news agencies reported.

He also said there could be no talk of secret or open negotiations with Washington on restoring the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, which Russia pulled out of in February.


02:02 PM

China's Xi returns to Beijing after state visit to Russia

Chinese President Xi Jinping has returned to Beijing after a state visit to Russia between March 20 and 23, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with the Chinese leader that Chinese proposals could be used as the basis of a peace settlement in Ukraine, but that the West and Kyiv were not yet ready.


01:27 PM

Moscow warns of 'serious consequences' in British-Ukrainian arms deal

Moscow has warned of “serious consequences” for Russian-British relations should the UK supply Ukraine with shells that contain depleted uranium.

"This decision will not remain without serious consequences both for Russian-British bilateral relations and at the international level, where the initial reaction from multilateral structures already indicates the complete rejection of London's plans. We will not leave such actions unanswered," a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"Violating the fundamental norms of international law, London must not forget that it will have to bear full responsibility for this," the statement added.

On Tuesday Ben Wallace, the defence minister, said that Russia is “deliberately trying to disinform” since depleted uranium "is a standard component" for shells and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, warned that the UK’s shipment of such munitions could be a step towards escalating the conflict.


01:07 PM

Slovakia offered $1bn in US arms in trade-off for Ukraine aid

Slovakia on Wednesday said it had received a US offer of $1 billion in helicopters, missiles and other arms at a discounted rate in compensation for promising to send MiG-29 warplanes to Ukraine.

"The value of this material is slightly over $1 billion... Slovakia would pay around $340 million," Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad said on Facebook, adding that the US offer was in exchange "for 13 old MiGs and a part of the KUB air defence system" promised to Ukraine.


12:31 PM

Russia to modernise Moscow's air defence systems

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Wednesday plans to modernise anti-missile defence systems in the capital Moscow, after a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory.

Several air defence systems have appeared on rooftops around Moscow this year.

"This year we will complete the modernisation of the anti-missile defence systems of the city of Moscow," Shoigu told army officials, cited by Russian news agencies.

He said that developing the air defence weapons was "one of the priorities" for the army.

Shoigu said the army would also form an "air defence division brigade that will be trained and equipped with new generation S-350 air-to-ground missile systems".


12:11 PM

In pictures: Zaporizhzhia strike

Paramedics and rescuers work at a site of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike - REUTERS/Sergiy Chalyi
Paramedics and rescuers work at a site of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike - REUTERS/Sergiy Chalyi
Rescuers work at a site of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia - REUTERS/Sergiy Chalyi
Rescuers work at a site of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia - REUTERS/Sergiy Chalyi

11:52 AM

Zelensky visits front line in Bakhmut

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the front line near the eastern city of Bakhmut.

Russia has been attempting to encircle Ukrainian troops defending Bakhmut for weeks in what is now the longest single-running battle of the war.

An official statement said that Mr Zelensky heard "reports on the operational situation and the course of hostilities on the frontline” during his visit.

He was greeted by Ukrainian servicemen and held a moment of silence for those killed in the war.

“I am honoured to be here today, in the east of our country, in Donbas, and to award our heroes, to thank you, to shake hands. Thank you for protecting the state, sovereignty, the east of Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said.

The president’s former spokesperson, Iuliia Mendel, posted a video to Twitter which she said showed him near Bakhmut.


11:34 AM

Footage shows Russian strike on residential area

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has shared footage of what he says is a Russian missile hitting an apartment building in Zaporizhzhia, southeastern Ukraine.

Zelensky said that residential areas “where ordinary people and children live are being fired at”, adding that the situation cannot become “just another day” in the country.

“The world needs greater unity and determination to defeat Russian terror faster and protect lives,” he wrote on Twitter.


11:22 AM

Poland slams 'dangerous' Russia-China 'axis'

Poland's prime minister on Wednesday branded the China-Russian alliance "dangerous" after Chinese leader Xi Jinping wrapped up a three-day visit to Moscow.

"The Chinese president's visit to Moscow makes us anxious, this China-Moscow axis is dangerous," Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters after hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Warsaw.

Xi left Russia on Wednesday following a summit with President Vladimir Putin that hailed a "new era" in their relations, putting on a display of unity against the West.

Poland, one of Ukraine's closest allies, raised alarm about the increased cooperation between Beijing and Moscow.

"We are trying to convince China not to support Russia in its aggressive international policy," Mr Morawiecki told reporters.


10:55 AM

MOD shares latest update

The Ministry of Defence has shared its latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine.


10:19 AM

Zaporizhzhia under attack

Zaporizhzhia is under attack, according to Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the Ukrainian presidency.

“Russians are barraging Zaporizhzhia. Residential buildings and Khortytsia island are under enemy fire,” he wrote on Twitter.

Khortytsia island is the biggest island on the Dnieper River and is within the boundaries of the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Zaporizhzhia is a partially occupied region that the Kremlin claimed to have annexed last year.


09:54 AM

Death toll in Russian strike rises to four

The death toll in an overnight Russian strike on Rzhyshchiv in the Kyiv region has risen to four, according to Suspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster.

A further seven people, including a child, were injured in the attack.

Suspilne wrote its Telegram channel:

“The number of people killed due to drone strikes on Rzhyshchiv in the Kyiv region has increased to four, the head of the regional police said. The body of a 40-year-old man was recovered from the fifth floor of one of the dormitories damaged by drones.”

Rzhyshchiv is south of the capital on the right bank of the Dnieper River and has a population of around 7,000.


09:24 AM

Analysis: Putin got very little out of Xi’s visit except pomp and ceremony

In the end, Xi Jinping’s much-vaunted visit to Moscow proved little more than a photo opportunity, writes Roland Oliphant.

There was pomp and ceremony in the Kremlin’s glittering halls, but the joint statement he gave with Vladimir Putin suggests the leaders did not make any major breakthroughs.

There was no big announcement on Ukraine. No surprise Chinese diplomatic gambit on peace talks, nor any shock announcement of military support from Beijing.

Read Roland's analysis of Xi Jinping's much-vaunted visit to Moscow here.

Putin and Xi at a lavish banquest put on for the visiting Chinese leader - Pavel Byrkin/Pool Sputnik Kremlin
Putin and Xi at a lavish banquest put on for the visiting Chinese leader - Pavel Byrkin/Pool Sputnik Kremlin

08:59 AM

US rejects China mediation on Ukraine

The United States has said it does not see China as capable of being an impartial mediator between Moscow and Kyiv over the war in Ukraine.

It was the most direct US criticism yet of China's aim to be a middleman in efforts to end the war.

"I don't think you can reasonably look at China as impartial in any way," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

He noted that China has refrained from criticising the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has continued to buy Russian oil even as the West piles sanctions on Moscow's energy industry to starve the Kremlin of money to pay for the war.

China, Mr Kirby added, also "keeps parroting the Russian propaganda" to the effect that the US and other countries in the West are to blame for the war for giving such strong support to pro-western Ukraine over the years that Russia felt threatened and justified in invading.


08:31 AM

Slovakia offered discounted US helicopters after sending jets to Ukraine

The United States has offered to sell Slovakia 12 new Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopters at a two-thirds discount after Bratislava sent its retired MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad has said.

Mr Nad said his government still had to approve the deal, under which it would pay $340 million for a package worth more than $1 billion.

The deal was offered under the US Foreign Military Financing programme, Mr Nad said in his post on Facebook.

The Bell AH-1Z Viper is an upgraded version of the Cobra attack helicopter that has been in service with the US military since the Vietnam war. Despite its age, it remains a highly potent attack helicopter, and can carry a range of missiles and rockets.


08:00 AM

School badly damaged in deadly Russian drone attack

The drone attack that killed three people in the Kyiv region hit a high school about 50 miles south of the capital, a source in Ukraine's emergency services has said.

The attack "partially destroyed" two floors of two student residences and a building that is used for studying, the source said.

A fire affecting more than 3,200 square feet of the school was extinguished shortly before 7 am local time, according to the emergency services.


07:38 AM

Russian drone attack kills three in Kyiv region

Three people were killed and seven others wounded in a Russian drone attack overnight in the Kyiv region, authorities said.

"A civilian site was damaged as a result of the night drone attack in the Kyiv region," which caused a fire, the regional military administration said on Telegram without giving further details, including about the location of the strike.


07:33 AM

Russia 'likely losing momentum in Bakhmut'

British military intelligence believes the Russian assault on the town of Bakhmut is likely losing the limited momentum it had obtained.

This could be happening because "some Russian MoD units have been reallocated to other sectors", the Ministry of Defence tweeted in a regular bulletin.

Ukrainian forces on Tuesday had repelled Russian attempts to advance into the centre of the small eastern city of Bakhmut.