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Entire Ukrainian city levelled in Russian assault

An entire Ukrainian city has reportedly been levelled by Russian attacks, with more than 80 per cent of its housing stock destroyed.

Vitalii Barabash, Head of the Avdiivka City Military Administration, said that the city's infrastructure had been "completely ruined", adding that, "it is impossible to restore or repair, but only to demolish and rebuild".

He told Interfax-Ukraine: "There is not a single house left standing. The city probably hasn't had a single building standing since summer."

In recent weeks, Moscow has switched its focus to Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, hoping to encircle the Ukrainian troops defending it after having so far failed to capture nearby Bakhmut.

It is feared the renewed Russian effort to seize Avdiivka could create a “second Bakhmut”.


03:31 PM

Today's top stories

  • A Wall Street Journal reporter has been arrested in Russia and charged with spying for the first time since the Cold War

  • Scuffles broke out outside a famed monastery in Kyiv after monks accused of ties with Russia defied an eviction order.

  • Ukraine has said that Russia's upcoming presidency of the United Nations Security Council on April 1 is "a bad joke".

  • Top US General Mark Milley said Moscow's forces were "getting hammered" in a "slaughter-fest" in Bakhmut.

  • Two prominent Russians have been caught calling Vladimir Putin a “dwarf” and a “wimp” who is ruining the country.


02:51 PM

Ukraine is 'determining factor' in China-EU ties, says EU chief

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned Beijing on Thursday that its stance on Russia's war in Ukraine would determine Chinese-EU ties but said Europe was not looking to "decouple" from China.

The head of the European Commission will accompany French President Emmanuel Macron to Beijing next week as EU leaders reach out to China's Xi Jinping.

Ursula von der Leyen delivers a keynote address on EU-China relations at the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels, Belgium - VALERIA MONGELLI/AFP
Ursula von der Leyen delivers a keynote address on EU-China relations at the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels, Belgium - VALERIA MONGELLI/AFP

The visit - and another by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez starting Thursday - comes after Xi staged a show of solidarity with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week.

"Far from being put off by the atrocious and illegal invasion of Ukraine, President Xi is maintaining his 'no limits friendship' with Putin's Russia," von der Leyen said in a major policy address.

China has tried to position itself as a neutral mediator and pitched what it describes as a plan to help end the fighting.


02:44 PM

EU agriculture commissioner says he would support limits on trading with Ukraine

European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski would support curbs on trading with Ukraine if Poland proposed such a solution, he said on Thursday, amid anger from farmers over the effect of Ukrainian imports on grain prices.

"If the Polish government requests trading curbs with Ukraine obviously I will support that proposal," he told reporters in Brussels.


02:17 PM

Blinken to meet Ukrainian counterpart and Nato chief next week

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to attend the Nato foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3 to April 5, where he will emphasise continued US support for Ukraine and transatlantic security, the State Department said.

While there, he will meet with European Union High Representative and Vice President Josep Borrell, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba, it said in a statement on Thursday.


01:50 PM

Russian court orders US journalist to be held in pre-trial detention until May 29

Moscow's Lefortovo district court ordered Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on spying charges, to be held in pre-trial detention until May 29, Reuters is reporting.

Evan Gershkovich told a Moscow court on Thursday that he was not guilty of espionage, something he has been accused of by the FSB security service, Russia's TASS news agency reported.


01:38 PM

Wall Street Journal 'vehemently denies' Russian allegations about reporter

The Wall Street Journal said it "vehemently denies" Russian allegations about its reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been arrested on charges of spying.

"The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich," the newspaper said in a statement. "We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family."


01:32 PM

Pictured: A Ukrainian soldier on a tank performs firing practice at a special shooting range in Zaporizhzhia

A Ukrainian soldier on a tank performs firing practice at special shooting range in Zaporizhzhia - Anadolu Agency/Anadolu
A Ukrainian soldier on a tank performs firing practice at special shooting range in Zaporizhzhia - Anadolu Agency/Anadolu

01:28 PM

Scuffles at Kyiv monastery as Church accused of Moscow ties resists eviction

Scuffles broke out outside a Kyiv monastery after a Ukrainian branch of the Orthodox Church accused by the government of having ties with Russia defied an eviction order.

Tensions over the presence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) at the 980-year-old Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery have risen since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Hours after a deadline to leave the monastery passed at midnight on Wednesday, members of the UOC refused entry to a government representative who came to inspect buildings in the gold-domed monastery's sprawling complex.

Shortly afterwards, Reuters correspondents saw UOC representatives trying to prevent journalists filming a senior UOC cleric as he walked inside the monastery grounds.

"You lie," one man inside the complex shouted at reporters.


12:39 PM

France says it is 'worried' by Russia's arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter

France said that it was "worried" after Moscow detained a US journalist working for the Wall Street Journal in Russia on suspicion of spying for Washington.

"We are particularly worried and have had the occasion to condemn the repressive attitude of Russia" towards Russian and foreign media, foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said, after the detention of Evan Gershkovich, who previously worked for AFP in Moscow.


12:15 PM

'Journalism is not a crime'

Nataliya Vasilyeva, The Telegraph's Russia Correspondent, has tweeted about the arrest of Evan Gershkovich, a US journalist working for the Wall Street Journal who has been detained in Russia on suspicion of spying for Washington.


11:55 AM

King Charles: Europe's security 'under threat' amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Europe's security has come under threat amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Britain's King Charles told German MPs on Thursday, adding however that "we can draw courage from our unity".

"The scourge of war is back in Europe, the war of aggression against Ukraine has brought unimaginable suffering on so many innocent people," he said. "The security of Europe as well as our democratic values are under threat. But the world did not stand idly by... we can draw courage from our unity."


11:37 AM

Zelensky describes 'horrific' year in Kyiv

Ukraine's president said the past year had been "the most horrific" in the lives of many residents of the Kyiv region, where Russian troops are accused of committing war crimes before withdrawing a year ago.

The Ukrainian military recaptured the small towns of Irpin and Bucha outside the capital, Kyiv, in late March last year.

International investigators are now collecting evidence in Irpin, Bucha and other places where Ukraine says Russian troops committed large-scale atrocities. Russia denies the allegations.

"For many residents of the Kyiv region, the past year has become the most horrific in their entire lives. And the liberation of the Kyiv region has become a symbol of the fact that Ukraine will be able to win this war," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote in English on the Telegram messaging app.

"Events that could not be imagined in the 21st century have become a reality in the satellite cities of Kyiv – Bucha and Irpin. Russian troops marched on the Ukrainian capital from the north and brought death and destruction."


11:01 AM

Russia claims arrest of WSJ reporter 'not related to journalism'

Russia has commented on the arrest of the WSJ reporter Evan Geshkovich.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed on Telegram that the activities of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on suspicion of espionage in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, were "not related to journalism".

The Wall Street Journal said it was "deeply concerned" for its reporter Evan Gershkovich after Russia's FSB security services said he had been arrested on charges of spying. - AFP
The Wall Street Journal said it was "deeply concerned" for its reporter Evan Gershkovich after Russia's FSB security services said he had been arrested on charges of spying. - AFP

10:44 AM

Wall Street Journal 'deeply concerned' for reporter detained in Russia

The Wall Street Journal said Thursday it was "deeply concerned" for its reporter Evan Gershkovich after Russia's FSB security services said he had been arrested on charges of spying.

"The Wall Street Journal is deeply concerned for the safety of Mr. Gershkovich," the newspaper said in a statement.


10:15 AM

Ukraine in pictures:

Two women holds banners against the eviction of the monks of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra - Celestino Arce/NurPhoto/Shutterstock/Shutterstock
Two women holds banners against the eviction of the monks of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra - Celestino Arce/NurPhoto/Shutterstock/Shutterstock
A Ukrainian soldier says goodbye to his relative as she takes a train to Odessa - Anadolu Agency/Anadolu
A Ukrainian soldier says goodbye to his relative as she takes a train to Odessa - Anadolu Agency/Anadolu
A Ukrainian tank rolls on a muddy road near Bakhmut - GENYA SAVILOV/AFP
A Ukrainian tank rolls on a muddy road near Bakhmut - GENYA SAVILOV/AFP

09:51 AM

Comment: A new age of spying gives Kyiv the upper hand

In February last year, surrounded by takeaway pizza, a group of students at a tiny liberal arts college in the US sat watching Google Maps, writes Tom Tugendhat.

Earlier that day they’d unearthed a TikTok video showing a column of tanks positioned just outside the Russian city of Belgorod. Now, they looked on as a series of traffic-jam alerts turned the roads between Belgorod and the Ukrainian border red.

Using nothing but social media and the world’s most commonly downloaded travel app, this small group of students became the first to publicly announce that Russia was invading Ukraine.

And ever since, open-source information has been instrumental in giving the Ukrainians the upper hand against Vladimir Putin’s forces – changing the way we think about intelligence in the process.

Read: A new age of spying gives Kyiv the upper hand


09:18 AM

Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia for espionage

Russia’s top security agency says a reporter for the Wall Street Journal has been arrested on espionage charges.

The Federal Security Service (FSB), the top domestic security and counterintelligence agency that is the top successor agency to the Soviet era KGB, said Thursday that Evan Gershkovich was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg while allegedly trying to obtain classified information.

Gershkovich is the first reporter for an American news outlet to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War. His arrest comes amid the bitter tensions between Moscow and Washington over the fighting in Ukraine.

The security service alleged that Gershkovich “was acting on the U.S. orders to collect information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex that constitutes a state secret.”

The FSB didn’t say when the arrest took place. Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage.


09:10 AM

Russia's presidency of UN Security Council 'a bad joke', says Ukraine

Ukraine has said that Russia's upcoming presidency of the United Nations Security Council this week was "a bad joke".

"Russian UN Security Council presidency on April 1 is a bad joke. Russia has usurped its seat; it's waging a colonial war; its leader is a war criminal wanted by the ICC for kidnapping children. The world can't be a safe place with Russia at UNSC," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.


08:55 AM

Turkey's parliament to vote on Finland's Nato bid

Turkey was set Thursday to become the final NATO member to approve Finland's membership in the US-led defence alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey's parliament scheduled a vote on the Nordic country's bid to become the 31st member of the Western defence alliance for 2:00 pm (1100 GMT).


08:37 AM

Robots can work alongside spies to detect enemy threats to UK, Tom Tugendhat says

Intelligence gathered by AI will be used to help spies and identify enemy threats to the UK, Tom Tugendhat said.

The new plans will see AI used to sift through vast amount of data to catch intelligence that might otherwise be missed by humans.

Lessons from Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine have shown how information from open sources can help identify threats, provided analysts are not swamped by data, Mr Tugendhat said.

Read the full story here


08:24 AM

Latest MoD update


08:10 AM

Ukrainian fencers unite behind federation's boycott call

Ukraine's fencers have welcomed their federation's decision to boycott international competitions featuring Russians and Belarusians, amid a row over whether athletes from the two latter countries should be allowed at next year's Olympics.

Russians and Belarusians have been banned from most elite international sporting competitions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, in what Moscow calls a "special military operation".

However, fencers from Russia and Belarus were cleared to return to international events at the fencing global federation's (FIE) Extraordinary Congress on March 10, days before the window for 2024 Paris Olympic qualifying opens.


08:05 AM

Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers wait for a train to Odesa at the Kramatorsk Train Station

Ukrainian soldiers wait for a train to Odesa, at the Kramatorsk Train Station - Anadolu Agency/Anadolu
Ukrainian soldiers wait for a train to Odesa, at the Kramatorsk Train Station - Anadolu Agency/Anadolu

08:03 AM

The unusually frank call between two Russian socialites and what they said about Putin

Vladimir Putin is a “dwarf” and a “wimp” who is ruining Russia, according to a leaked phone conversation between two prominent society figures, reports Nataliya Vasilyeva.

The unusually frank call purportedly involves Iosif Prigozhin, a music producer, and Farkhad Akhmedov, an Azerbaijan-born energy billionaire, and has exposed deep resentment towards the Kremlin among the country’s overtly pro-regime elite.

In the 35-minute conversation, Mr Akhmedov calls Putin “Satan”, a “wimp” and a “dwarf” who “doesn’t give a damn about anything and doesn't give a f--- about the people”.  “They f----- us over, f----- over children, their future, do you get it?” he adds.

Read the full story here


08:02 AM

Listen to Ukraine: the latest

Read: Ukraine repulses attacks in the Donbas and the changing face of Russia's cyber war


08:00 AM

Good Morning

Good morning and welcome to today's Ukraine liveblog.

We will be guiding you through all the latest updates on Ukraine.