Russia claims to have shot down US 'smart bomb'

Russia claims to have shot down a "smart bomb" reportedly supplied to Ukrainian forces by the US to double Kyiv's battlefield firing range.

The Ground-launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) is fired on a rocket and then glides to its target, guided by GPS satellite, at 150 km range, around double that of the US-supplied Himars that Kyiv deployed so successfully last year.

Ukraine had long sought the weapons to hit Russian command centres, supply lines and other targets deep behind the front line. Washington is thought to have begun supplying them this year.

The Russian statement said air defence forces had shot down the GLSDB within the last 24 hours, without saying where this had taken place.

02:59 PM

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• Russia claims to have shot down a "smart bomb" reportedly supplied to Ukrainian forces by the US to double Kyiv's battlefield firing range.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited two northern towns on Tuesday to celebrate their recapture a year ago in battles which he said showed Ukraine would defeat its Russian invaders.

• Russia has likely lost a large proportion of its tanks in a new army force due to low morale, ill-discipline, and flawed tactics, according to the latest British intelligence update.

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

02:58 PM

Germany plans hike in military aid for Ukraine

Germany is planning to boost its military aid spending for Ukraine, a member of the parliamentary budget committee told AFP on Tuesday.

Some 12 billion euros ($12.9 billion) more in spending is due to be approved by the committee, with the funds to go towards military help for Kyiv as well as replenishing stocks of equipment already sent to Ukraine.

The Germany army, or Bundeswehr, will be able to begin spending the cash this year, with further funds also earmarked for the coming years.

It was unclear how the sum would be allocated as well as the precise time frame covered by the spending.

The sum would dwarf the three billion euros spent so far by Berlin on military aid for Kyiv.

02:41 PM

Zelensky visits two Ukrainian towns recaptured from Russians

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited two northern towns on Tuesday to celebrate their recapture a year ago in battles which he said showed Ukraine would defeat its Russian invaders.

Video footage posted online by President Zelensky's office showed him visiting Okhtyrka and Trostyanets in Sumy, the sixth region he has visited in the past week - some of them near the front line - as expectations of a Ukrainian counter-offensive rise.

"These days, these weeks, we are celebrating the anniversary of the liberation of our cities and communities in our northern regions," Mr Zelensky told a small crowd of soldiers and civilians at the railway station in Trostyanets before handing out medals.

Russian forces poured into the Sumy region, which borders Russia, at the start of the invasion in February 2022. They were driven out of the region after about a month of occupation that was met by fierce resistance.

The video footage posted online showed heavily damaged buildings in the towns Mr Zelensky visited.

02:27 PM

What are the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs?

In February, the Pentagon announced it was providing Ukraine with GLSDBs as part of a $2.2 billion arms package.

Read our piece from the time here  and read more about the weapons of Ukraine here.

02:09 PM

Watch: Ukrainian military trying to repel a beaver attack on their positions

01:53 PM

Russia has likely lost 'large proportion' of tanks in new army force due to ill discipline and low morale

Russia has likely lost a large proportion of its tanks in a new army force due to low morale, ill-discipline, and flawed tactics, according to the latest British intelligence update.

The UK Ministry of Defence said that Russia’s 10th Tank Regiment has likely lost a large proportion of its tanks in its attempts to surround Avdiivka from the south.

The regiment is part of 3rd Army Corps, the first major new formation Russia stood up to support the invasion of Ukraine since August 2022.

"Numerous open-source accounts suggested that 3rd Army Corps has been particularly dogged by problems with ill-discipline and poor morale," the MoD said.

They added: "10th Tank Regiment’s losses have likely largely been due to tactically flawed frontal assaults similar to those in other recent failed Russian armoured attacks, such as around the town of Vuhledar."

01:33 PM

Belarus sure to face more sanctions due to nuclear arms plan, says Polish PM

Belarus will face further sanctions due to a Russian plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in the country, the Polish prime minister said on Tuesday.

"This step taken by Russia... the announcement of the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus will certainly lead to the announcement of additional sanctions, the level of sanctions will be much more severe for the Lukashenko regime," Mateusz Morawiecki said during a news conference in Bucharest.

01:14 PM

Russia says it intercepted GLSDB rocket in Ukraine for first time

Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday its air defence forces intercepted a GLSDB guided missile fired by Ukrainian forces in the last 24 hours.

Russian news agencies reported it was the first time the defence ministry said it had intercepted a Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) - dubbed a "smart bomb" - since they were sent to Ukraine by the United States earlier this year.

12:54 PM

Pictured: Zelensky poses for a photo with military personnel and police officers during a visit to Trostianets

12:33 PM

Bad weather forces electricity shutdowns in eight Ukrainian regions

Ukraine's national grid operator imposed emergency electricity shutdowns in eight Ukrainian regions on Tuesday because of bad weather, and said Russian attacks had affected the power supply in some frontline areas.

The shutdowns follow an improvement in electricity supplies across Ukraine in recent weeks, in what officials have hailed as a victory in their battle to restore power after months of Russian missile and drone strikes.

The grid operator, Ukrenergo, said storms, wind, snow and rain in seven regions of western Ukraine and in the southern region of Odesa had resulted in blackouts for consumers.

It said electricity distribution networks in the Kharkiv region in the northeast, Zaporizhzhia in the southeast and Kherson in the south had been damaged during recent shelling.

"A difficult situation with electricity supply remains in the regions along the front line where the enemy constantly damages the networks with artillery fire," Ukrenergo said in a statement. "In particular, distribution system operators' networks in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions were damaged yesterday as a result of Russian shelling."

12:08 PM

Ukraine in pictures:

11:47 AM

UK and Poland to build new temporary villages in Ukraine

Britain and Poland will build two temporary villages in western and central Ukraine to provide housing for those forced from their homes by Russia's invasion, London said on Tuesday, pledging 10 million pounds in funding.

Almost 118,000 Ukrainians have been hosted by British families as part of the government's response to Russia's February 2022 invasion, but some are finding it increasingly difficult to get permanent housing.

Britain's government said the villages in Lviv in western Ukraine and Poltava in central Ukraine would be able to house more than 700 people, a fraction of the millions either displaced in Ukraine or who have fled the country.

"For the past year, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has continued to target civilian homes and infrastructure, with the Ukrainian people paying a heavy price," British foreign minister James Cleverly said in a statement.

"This new UK-Poland partnership will help bring light, heat and homes to those most in need."

11:32 AM

Ukraine 'shoots down 12 Russian drones' over Kyiv

Ukraine has said that it shot down 12 Russian drones near Kyiv, destroying "all enemy targets" in the airspace around the capital.

Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said Russia had launched 12 drones towards Kyiv but Ukraine's air defence forces had identified and destroyed "all enemy targets" in the airspace around the capital.

Drone wreckage fell in the western Kyiv district of Sviatoshyno, sparking a fire across a 200-square-metre (2100 sq foot) area in a non-residential building, he added.

"According to preliminary data there are no casualties at this time," Mr Popko said in a Telegram post, though he added the information was being clarified.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in its daily morning update that Russia launched a total of 15 Iranian-made Shahed drones overnight on Ukraine, with Ukrainian forces destroying 14 of them.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that a shop was set ablaze in Sviatoshyno but no casualties were found and the fire was contained.

11:16 AM

France to double munitions supplies to Ukraine

France will double this month its supplies of 155 artillery rounds to Ukraine to about 2,000 shells a month, its defence minister said on Tuesday, adding that Paris was also planning to boost a fund that enables Kyiv to buy French weaponry.

Ukraine has identified the supply of 155 mm shells as a critical need as it engages in a fierce war of attrition with invading Russian forces. Both sides are firing thousands of artillery rounds every day.

"We are doubling the delivery of 155 mm shells to bring it to 2000 a month from the end of March," Sebastien Lecornu said in an interview published on Tuesday with Le Figaro newspaper.

10:40 AM

Watch: First British Challenger 2 tanks arrive in Ukraine

Read the full story here

10:21 AM

Listen to Ukraine: The Latest

10:01 AM

Beijing repeats calls for 'peaceful settlement' of Ukraine crisis

Beijing has repeated its calls for a “peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis” following reports that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, reports Nicola Smith.

“Last year, the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states released a joint statement, in which they affirmed that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought and stressed the importance of the avoidance of war between nuclear-weapon states and the reduction of strategic risks,” said Mao Ning, a foreign ministry spokesperson on Monday.

“Under the current circumstances, all sides need to focus on making diplomatic efforts towards a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and work together for de-escalation,” she added.

Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, proposed a “peace” plan to end the crisis during a visit to Moscow last week, although it has been met with scepticism in the west as a possible “stalling tactic” to allow Russia to freeze the war and its territorial gains on its own terms.

Asked if the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus would complicate China’s proposal, Ms Mao said Beijing was in talks with all sides and would continue to play a “constructive role,” urging the US to help create the conditions for peace talks “rather than add fuel to the fire.”

09:42 AM

Comment: Xi Jinping’s plan to annex Russian territory is there for all to see

Read the full piece from Matthew Henderson here

09:19 AM

Pictured: Rescuers at the site of a building damaged by Russian drone strikes in Kyiv

08:58 AM

Ukraine aiming to exhaust Russian troops in Bakhmut, says General

Ukraine is aiming to exhaust and inflict heavy losses on Russian forces trying to capture the small eastern city of Bakhmut, the commander of Ukrainian ground forces said in a video posted on Tuesday.

In a video showing him addressing soldiers in what appeared to be a large industrial warehouse, General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russia was continuing to focus on the Bakhmut area after months of battle.

Moscow sees capturing Bakhmut as vital to its efforts to establish complete control over the Donbas industrial region in eastern Ukraine.

"They do not stop trying to surround and capture the city," Syrskyi said in the video posted on the Telegram messaging app.

"As of today, our main task is to wear down the overwhelming forces of the enemy and inflict heavy losses on them. It will create the necessary conditions to help liberate Ukrainian land and speed up our victory."

08:31 AM

Belarus says Nato actions forced it to agree to house Russian nuclear weapons

Belarus' foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it had been forced to house Russian nuclear weapons on its territory by the aggressive actions of Nato countries that were threatening Belarus' own security, the Russian TASS news agency reported.

Minsk also said the plans - announced over the weekend by Russian President Vladimir Putin - to station Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus would not contravene international non-proliferation agreements as Belarus would not have control over the weapons.

08:16 AM

Ukraine thanks Britain for Challenger 2 battle tanks

The first British Challenger 2 battle tanks have arrived in Ukraine in a major boost for its armoured forces ahead of a planned spring offensive.

Oleksii Reznikov, the Ukraine defence minister, tweeted his thanks to Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, and Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary.

08:02 AM

Russia says it fired anti-ship missiles at mock target in Sea of Japan

Russia's defence ministry said Tuesday that its navy had fired test anti-ship missiles at mock targets in the Sea of Japan during military exercises.

Russia's Pacific Fleet drills came a week after Tokyo's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Ukraine.

"In the waters of the Sea of Japan, missile boats of the Pacific Fleet fired Moskit cruise missiles at a mock enemy sea target," the ministry said on Telegram early on Tuesday.

It said two ships took part in the exercise.

"The target, located at a distance of about 100 kilometres (62 miles), was successfully hit by a direct hit from two Moskit cruise missiles."

Moscow said its naval aviation oversaw the "safety of the combat exercise."

07:44 AM

Latest MoD update

07:40 AM

Zelensky accuses Russia of holding Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant 'hostage'

Ukraine's president said Russian troops were holding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant "hostage" and its safety could not be guaranteed until they left it, while his forces shut the frontline town of Avdiivka as they planned their next move.

Russian troops have occupied the nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, since the early weeks of the invasion of Ukraine and have shown no inclination to relinquish control.

"Holding a nuclear power station hostage for more than a year - this is surely the worst thing that has ever happened in the history of European or world-wide nuclear power," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

He decried the Russian presence as "radiation blackmail".

His comments followed a meeting with Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), at the Dnipro hydroelectric power station - northeast of the Zaporizhzhia plant.

07:39 AM

Good morning

Good morning and welcome to today's Ukraine liveblog.

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