Russia Ukraine Crisis Live, Russia Ukraine Conflict Latest Update Live: Eastern Ukraine sees sharp surge in shelling; UK says Putin planning biggest war in Europe since 1945
Ukraine Crisis News Live: The Ukraine-Russia tension is rising with every passing minute, say Western intelligence reports even as Moscow maintains that the massive military build-up and nuclear drills are just business as usual. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has went on record to state that the rebel-held regions have witnessed sharp escalation in terms of ceasefire violations since Friday evening. Though situation has never remained entirely peaceful since 2014, the shelling and explosions have risen significantly.
This along with huge presence of the Russian Army across the border has ratcheted up the tension in Europe. In Munich, where top leaders are meeting for the key security meet, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the Russian plan of destabilising Ukraine has ‘already begun in some sense’. In an interview to the BBC, Johnson said that Russia is planning the biggest war Europe has seen since 1945. This statement comes a day after US President Joe Biden and other American security officials said that Russia will invade Ukraine ‘any time now. Situation remains tense along with Ukrainian borders. Russia on Saturday launched hypersonic missiles as part of the nuclear drills.
Here are the latest news, views and other updates on the Ukraine-Russia crisis:
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Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Ukraine temporarily closes checkpoint in Donbass due to shelling
Ukraine on Sunday suspended operations at one of the seven checkpoints to territory in the eastern Donbass region controlled by Russia-backed separatists, due to heavy shelling, the Ukrainian military said.Incidents of shelling across the line dividing government forces and separatists increased sharply last week, in what the Ukrainian government called a provocation. Kyiv’s Western allies say Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine and are concerned that the escalation might be used as a pretext.Russia denies any plans to attack its neighbour, while Ukraine strongly denied suggestions by Moscow that Kyiv could launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine.Separatists on Saturday fired three times on the Schastya checkpoint using mortars and heavy anti-tank grenade launchers, as ceasefire violations by separatists along the frontline increased to 136 from 66 on Friday, the military said on its Facebook page. – Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Ukraine receives shipment of machine guns and surveillance gear from Canada
Ukraine has received a plane load of machine guns, surveillance gear and rifles as part of a Canadian military assistance package, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Saturday.Ukraine has received plane loads of arms and military gear from NATO allies as the country braces for a possible military attack by Russia.”We received military aid in the form of rifles, machine guns with optical sights, night vision & surveillance devices & military equipment. Thank you for this important & timely decision,” Reznikov wrote in a tweet. – Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Zelenskiy and Macron talk about ways of immediate de-escalation in east Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday he had an “urgent” phone conversation with the French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed possible ways of immediate de-escalation and political-diplomatic settlement in eastern Ukraine.Ukraine has reported an increase in ceasefire violations by Russia-backed separatists recently, and Kyiv’s Western allies are concerned that Russia is poised to launch a military offensive against Ukraine. Russia denies any plans to attack its neighbour.”(I)Informed about the aggravation on the frontline, our losses, the shelling,” Zelenskiy wrote in a tweet. – Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy calls on Putin to meet as tensions soar
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, facing a sharp spike in violence in and around territory held by Russia-backed rebels and increasingly dire warnings that Russia plans to invade, on Saturday called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet him and seek resolution to the crisis. AP
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Almost 2,000 ceasefire violations logged in eastern Ukraine
Almost 2,000 ceasefire violations were registered in eastern Ukraine by monitors for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Saturday, a diplomatic source told Reuters on Sunday.Ukrainian government and separatist forces have been fighting in eastern Ukraine since 2014. An upsurge in shelling has thrust the region to the centre of tensions between Moscow and the West over a Russian military buildup near Ukraine. – Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Ukraine won’t respond to provocations, Zelenskiy says
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday said Ukraine would not respond to provocations in the eastern Donbass region and would strive to establish peace through diplomacy.Zelenskiy flew to Germany to attend a security conference as his country is bracing for a possible military attack from Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders. Russia denies plans to attack.”We do not respond to provocations and strive to establish peace exclusively through diplomacy,” Zelenskiy wrote on his Instagram. Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Russia launches hypersonic missiles as part of nuclear drills
Russia hit sea and land-based targets with ballistic and cruise missiles on Saturday as part of strategic nuclear exercises overseen by President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, the Kremlin said.The annual exercises featured launches of Kinzhal and Tsirkon hypersonic missiles and a number of other weapons, the Kremlin said in a statement. Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Putin starts Russia’s strategic nuclear exercises as tensions soar
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Saturday ordered the start of strategic nuclear exercises involving launches of ballistic missiles, the RIA news agency cited the Kremlin as saying.The exercises are Moscow’s latest show of strength at a time of acute tension with the West over Ukraine.”Yes,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying when asked if the drills had begun.Separately, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Putin, took part in military exercises alongside Putin from a situation centre in the Kremlin, Belarusian state media reported.The drills follow a huge series of manoeuvres by Russia’s armed forces in the past four months that have included a build-up of troops — estimated by the West to number 150,000 or more — to the north, east and south of Ukraine. Russia denies planning to attack Ukraine. Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Russia is “poised to strike” Ukraine, U.S. defense secretary says
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that Russia’s military was “poised to strike” Ukraine, even as he voiced hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin would step back from the brink of war.Austin vowed Washington would stand with its Baltic allies during a visit to Lithuania on Saturday, as the region anxiously weighed the risks of a possible invasion. Russia denies planning any attacks.”I want everyone in Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia to know — and I want President (Vladimir) Putin in the Kremlin to know — that the United States stands with our allies,” Austin told a news conference in Vilnius, after talks with Lithuanian leaders. Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Russia makes demands that it knows NATO cannot fulfill, Stoltenberg says
Moscow is confronting NATO with demands it knows the alliance cannot meet, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Saturday.”The danger is now the combination of this massive military build-up with the very threatening rhetoric, putting forward demands they know we cannot meet and say: If we don’t meet them, there will be military consequences,” Stoltenberg told the Munich Security Conference.”This is a new normal, that we have a Russia which is openly contesting core values for European security and then demonstrating their will to use force or the threat of force to get their will,” he added. – Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Putin to oversee nuclear drills as Ukraine crisis mounts
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was set to oversee exercises by strategic nuclear missile forces on Saturday as Western leaders gathered in Munich, fearful that he could order troops massed on Ukraine’s border to invade at any time.Russian-backed separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine declared a full military mobilisation, a day after ordering women and children to evacuate to Russia, citing the threat of an imminent attack by Ukrainian forces. Kyiv flatly denied the accusation and Washington said it was part of Russia’s plan to create a pretext for an invasion of Ukraine.Multiple explosions could be heard on Saturday morning in the north of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a Reuters witness said. The origin was not immediately clear. Ukraine said earlier that one of its soldiers had been killed. – Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: More firing in eastern Ukraine
Multiple explosions could be heard on Saturday morning in the north of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a Reuters witness said.The origin of the explosions was not clear. – Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: What’s the status of evacuation in eastern Ukraine?
Less than 7,000 people had been evacuated from Donetsk as of Saturday morning, the local emergencies ministry said. – Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine declare full military mobilisation
Russian-backed separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine declared a full military mobilisation on Saturday, a day after ordering women and children to evacuate to southern Russia because of what they said was the threat of conflict.Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said in a video statement that he had signed a decree on mobilisation and called on men “able to hold a weapon in their hands” to come to military commissariats. – Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Ukraine reports 12 ceasefire violations by separatists on Saturday morning
The Ukrainian military said it had recorded 12 ceasefire violations by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine on Saturday morning after 66 cases over the previous 24 hours.Separatists opened fire on more than 20 settlements, using heavy artillery, which have been prohibited by Minsk agreements, the military said on its Facebook page.Incidents of shelling across the line dividing government forces and separatists increased sharply this week, in what the Ukrainian government called a provocation. It strongly denied suggestions by Russia that Kyiv could launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine. – Reuters
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: The wait and watch policy
The United States and its European partners are keeping on with their strategy of diplomacy and deterrence, offering to keep talking with the Kremlin while threatening heavy sanctions if an invasion happens. – AP
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Metadata suggests Kremlin-backed information war in Ukraine
The cyberattacks, undated videos and photos, all seem to be part of Russia’s information war. A Report by HuffPost say that the latest video of a rebel leader asking pro-Russian masses to evacuate a region in eastern Ukraine is actually two-days-old. The dated video is part of Moscow’s information plan, says the report that came to the conclusion based on the metadata of those video clips.
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: What’s happening is Donetsk
If Friday was about false flag ops and sporadic explosions, Saturday is about ‘general mobilisation.’ Latest ground reports from Donetsk suggest that a rebel leader has announced ‘general mobilisation’ in the region.
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: How many Russian troops are stationed near Ukraine?
The US has said that on contrary to the reports of Russia withdrawing forces from border areas, the latest estimate by the American intelligence suggest that near 2 lakh Russian soldiers have amassed near the Ukraine borders.
Ukraine Russia Crisis Live: Biden ‘convinced’ Putin’s decided to further invade Ukraine
US President Joe Biden said Friday he’s ‘convinced’ that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to launch a further invasion in Ukraine, including an assault on its capital, Kyiv, as tensions spiked along the militarized border with attacks that the West called ‘false-flag’ operations meant to establish a pretext for invasion. On Friday, a humanitarian convoy was hit by shelling and pro-Russian rebels evacuated civilians from the conflict zone. A car bombing hit the eastern city of Donetsk, but no casualties were reported. AP