Ukraine-Russia war: Six Russian balloons spotted over Kyiv, says Ukraine

Six Russian balloons were spotted over Kyiv and most were shot down after being engaged by air defences, the Ukrainian capital's military administration said on Wednesday.

It said on the Telegram messaging app that the balloons may have been carrying corner reflectors and reconnaissance equipment.

It comes after the White House insisted that objects being shot down over US airspace in recent days are not of extraterrestrial origin.

Since a Chinese spy balloon was downed on Feb 4, there have been several more objects which US and Canadian officials have struggled to explain the origin of, prompting some to suggest aliens are involved.

03:48 PM

What we learned today

• Six Russian balloons were spotted over Kyiv and most were shot down after being engaged by air defences, the Ukrainian capital's military administration said.

• Oleksii Reznikov, the Ukrainian Defence Minister, whose political future has been the subject of intense speculation, said on Wednesday President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked him to remain in his current post.

• Russian troops are suffering "almost First World War levels of attrition and with success rates of a matter of metres" in Ukraine, Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, has said.

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03:42 PM

Ukraine will launch its own offensive in spring, says US

Ukraine has a "real good chance" of taking the initiative on the battlefield, Lloyd Austin, the US Defence Secretary, has said.

Speaking after the meeting with Nato defence ministers, he told reporters: "I think they'll have a real good chance of making a pretty significant difference on the battlefield and establishing the initiative. And being able to exploit that initiative going forward."

He also said that for every system that Nato will provide, it will train troops on that system. "We're laser-focused on making sure that we provide a capability and not just the platform", he said.

He added that Nato’s supply of tanks, weapons and ammunition will decisively tip the balance toward Ukraine in a planned “counter-offensive” against Russia this spring.

03:08 PM

Six Russian balloons spotted over Kyiv, most shot down

Six Russian balloons were spotted over Kyiv and most were shot down after being engaged by air defences, the Ukrainian capital's military administration said on Wednesday.

It said on the Telegram messaging app that the balloons may have been carrying corner reflectors and reconnaissance equipment.

02:43 PM

Ukraine-Russia in pictures

02:20 PM

Ukraine has "real good chance" of taking the initiative on the battlefield, says Lloyd Austin

Lloyd Austin, the US Defence Secretary, said that Ukraine has a "real good chance" of taking the initiative on the battlefield.

"I think they'll have a real good chance of making a pretty significant difference on the battlefield and establishing the initiative. And being able to exploit that initiative going forward", he told reporters after a meeting with Nato defence ministers in Brussels.

He also said that for every system that Nato will provide, it will train troops on that system. "We're laser-focused on making sure that we provide a capability and not just the platform", he said.

01:57 PM

Bern says it cannot confiscate Russian assets

Switzerland's government announced Wednesday that confiscating private Russian assets in the country to help rebuild Ukraine would be contrary to Swiss law.

Traditionally-neutral Switzerland decided four days after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 to align itself with the neighbouring European Union's sanctions against Moscow.

The wealthy Alpine nation has since frozen billions in Russian assets.

Faced with international proposals to confiscate such assets and to use the money to help rebuild Ukraine, Switzerland's Federal Council, as the government is known, had asked a justice department working group to clarify the legality of such a move.

The group concluded that "the expropriation of private assets of lawful origin without compensation is not permissible under Swiss law," a government statement said.

01:55 PM

Ukrainian village renamed after top general fighting Russia

A village in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine has been renamed Zaluzhne in honour of Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the top general in the war against Russia.

Halyna Kuts, a deputy on the Kharkiv regional council, said regional deputies had backed a motion by the village council to drop the name Vatutine, after the Soviet general who commanded Red Army operations in Ukraine during World War Two.

"The village of Vatutine is renamed Zaluzhne. Kharkiv regional council has supported this decision," Kuts wrote on Facebook after an online session of the regional council. "This is wonderful news."

The village, which has just over 1,200 residents, lies about 40 km (25 miles) southwest of the regional capital, Kharkiv.

Zaluzhnyi, 49, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2021. Together with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the four-star general has become the face of the war effort against Russia.

Ukraine has been renaming cities, villages and streets connected with Soviet history since 2015 under a so-called decommunisation law.

01:04 PM

Pictured: A man is rescued by firefighters after an apartment block was heavily damaged by a missile strike

12:45 PM

UK and European allies send military equipment to Ukraine through global fund

Britain and other European nations will provide military equipment including spare parts for tanks and artillery ammunition to Ukraine through an international fund, Britain said on Wednesday.

Britain has agreed with the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Lithuania to send an initial package of support to Ukraine with an expected value of more than 200 million pounds ($241 million), the British Ministry of Defence said.

"This equipment package will provide a significant capability boost for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and will support their ability to defend their country," defence minister Wallace said following a meeting with his Nato counterparts in Brussels

12:40 PM

Ukrainian defence minister Reznikov says Zelensky asked him to stay in post

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, whose political future has been the subject of intense speculation, said on Wednesday President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked him to remain in his current post.

Asked in a Reuters interview whether he expected to continue as defence minister in the months to come, he replied: "Yes, it was the decision of my president."

Reznikov's future was thrown into doubt in recent weeks after a senior parliamentarian from Zelenskiy's party said he would be replaced. But Reznikov remained in post.

A lawyer who became defence minister only a few months before Russia launched its invasion, he has been under pressure due to a corruption scandal linked to his ministry.

Reznikov said Zelenskiy had asked him to remain as defence minister but also discussed a future role leading a legal battle to ensure Russian war crimes are punished. Reznikov said he hoped that role would come after the end of the war.

12:09 PM

Swiss govt: confiscation of Russian assets found unconstitutional

The confiscation of private Russian assets would undermine the Swiss constitution and the prevailing legal order, the Swiss government said on Wednesday, citing the findings of a working group set up by the Federal Office of Justice.

"Support for Ukraine will continue, independent of the discussions on frozen assets," the Swiss Federal Council said in a statement.

11:22 AM

Ukraine-Russia in pictures

10:54 AM

Ukrainians still defending Luhansk

Russia is pouring heavy equipment and mobilised troops into the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine but Ukrainian forces are still defending the region, regional governor Serhiy Haidai said on Wednesday.

Earlier today, Volodymr Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces have repelled some Russian attacks in the eastern region of Luhansk but the situation there remains difficult.

It comes after Russia claimed its troops had broken through the defences of Ukrainian forces in part of the Luhansk region.

10:28 AM

Tank delivery for Ukraine came a bit late, German vice chancellor says

The delivery of German-made Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine came "a bit too late", Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said, since time was running short ahead of an expected Russian offensive.

"With the decision to send the tanks we are doing what we can," he told newspaper Die Zeit in comments published on Wednesday. "A bit too late, but it's done... Everyone is expecting a terrible Russian offensive... Time is pressing."

He added that Germany was not up for a debate on sending warplanes, which Ukraine says it needs in its war against Russian invaders. Germany does not own any of the US F-16 warplanes that are most often mentioned in this context.

10:17 AM

Russian troops suffering almost 'World War One levels of attrition, says Wallace

Russian troops are suffering "almost First World War levels of attrition and with success rates of a matter of metres" in Ukraine, Ben Wallace has said.

The Defence Secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the Russian effort to advance has come at a huge cost to the Russian army.

"I think what Russia is doing is trying to advance, doing so at a human wave, almost First World War levels of attrition and with success rates of a matter of metres rather than kilometres."

He continued: "I think what we have to ask ourselves is - and this is the biggest unknown - is, when you have a president and a general staff that simply bears either a gap in the reality or indeed no regard for human life of its own, how does that stop?"

Mr Wallace said an estimated 97 per cent of the whole Russian army is in Ukraine.

10:12 AM

EU chief hails Ukraine's 'tangible progress' on membership bid

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Union chief, hailed what she said was Ukraine's "tangible progress" towards securing membership talks with the bloc, despite Russia's brutal invasion.

Kyiv wants to join the 27-nation union as soon as possible and has called for formal accession talks to begin as early as this year, much faster than any recent candidate has managed.

There is scepticism in several EU capitals that this will be possible, amid demands that Ukraine first pass anti-corruption reforms and clean up its political and economic life.

But Ukraine's struggle has also proved an inspiration to von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, as she told MEPs at a debate to mark the war's one-year anniversary.

09:58 AM

British medic killed in Ukraine named as Jonathan Shenkin from Glasgow

A British man killed while working as a medic in Ukraine has been named as Jonathan Shenkin, 45, from Glasgow.

In a tribute posted on social media, his family said he died in December after enlisting in the Ukrainian army.

He "died as a hero in an act of bravery as a paramedic", they said.

Read more on the story here

09:42 AM

Ukraine says it has repelled Russian attacks in Luhansk region

Ukrainian forces have repelled some Russian attacks in the eastern region of Luhansk but the situation there remains difficult, President Volodymyr Zelensky's office said on Wednesday.

Russia said earlier on Wednesday that its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front. The Russian Defence Ministry said Ukrainian forces had retreated in the face of Russian attacks in the Luhansk region.

Zelensky's office made no mention of any retreats but said: "The situation in the region remains difficult."

09:19 AM

Russian bomber jets intercepted by NORAD near Alaska

Multiple Russian military aircraft including fighter jets and strategic bombers were intercepted by North American air defence forces as they flew over international airspace near Alaska, US military said.

The aircraft, which were identified on Feb. 13, did not enter United States or Canadian airspace and did not pose a threat, the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) said in a statement dated Feb. 14.

It added that the Russian flights were in no way related to the mysterious spate of airborne objects shot down by the U.S. military over North America in the past few weeks.

"NORAD had anticipated this Russian activity and, as a result of our planning, was prepared to intercept it ... Two NORAD F-16 fighters intercepted the Russian aircraft," it said.

While NORAD said it sometimes escorts aircraft out of the space near Alaska if needed, it did not say whether this was the case this time.

Russia did not say whether its aircraft had been intercepted but said on Wednesday that it had carried out multiple flights over international waters in recent days, including in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia.

09:00 AM

EU to sanction Iran entities involved in Russian war in Ukraine

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday the EU will propose sanctions targeting for the first time Iranian economic operators involved in the Russian war in Ukraine.

"For the first time we are also proposing to sanction Iranian entities including those linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard," Von der Leyen told European lawmakers in Strasbourg.

Von der Leyen said the 10th package of sanctions, worth a total of 11 billion euros ($11.79 billion), would target new trade bans and technology export controls, including drones, helicopters and missiles.

08:53 AM

UN appeals for $5.6 billion for aid to Ukraine in 2023

The United Nations said Wednesday that $5.6 billion was needed to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine and to the millions who have fled the war-ravaged country.

Nearly a year after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the UN estimated that 21.8 million Ukrainians were now in need of humanitarian assistance.

"The war continues to cause death, destruction and displacement daily, and on a staggering scale," UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement.

"We must do all we can to reach the hardest-to-reach communities, including those close to the front line," he said.

"The suffering of the Ukrainian people is far from over - they continue to need international support."

08:20 AM

UK training Ukrainians to fight in 'Western way' with less ammunition

Britain is training Ukrainian soldiers to fight in a more "Western way" and use less ammunition than the traditional Soviet way of fighting, Ben Wallace, the British Defence Secretary, said on Wednesday.

Britain along with other Western allies has been training Ukrainian soldiers and providing weapons and ammunition to support Kyiv in its battle with Russia.

"Ukraine uses huge amounts of ammunition to defend itself, partly that's why we're training them to fight in a Western way," Wallace told Times Radio.

Wallace said Britain had been buying and trading ammunition "that is Soviet" in standard while also helping the Ukrainian military convert to unlock "access to our ammunition stocks".

"At the same time we're training to make sure it's used in a way that's very productive and accurate," he said.

"The Russian or the Soviet way of fighting is very ammunition heavy, massive artillery barrages, and that's never how we have organised ourselves to fight in Nato," he said.

07:53 AM

Ben Wallace: 'What we're focusing on is delivering for Ukraine'

Ben Wallace was asked when the UK will be sending fighter jets to Ukraine.

Speaking to Kay Burley on Sky News, the Defence Secretary said: "Well, at the moment I've been quite clear with that. First and foremost what we're focusing on is delivering for Ukraine, the effects that they need, which is either the ability to strike in the deep, that's the longer range, and that's why things like the M270, or the HIMARS are in.

"And indeed the use of UAVs that can drop munitions."

He added: "In the long term, what we've got to do is help Ukraine's resilience, potentially post conflict to make sure that they can defend themselves in their skies. And that's why training people to fly fighter jets is an important step in that direction."

Pressed on the amounts of ammunition the UK is providing Ukraine with, he said: "I think we're giving them lots of ammunition and we continue to do so. If you look at the amount the international community have donated, we're talking tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition."

07:47 AM

Pictured: A Ukrainian soldier in Bakhmut

07:43 AM

Latest MoD update

07:41 AM

UK should reconsider defence budget over Russia threat, Wallace says

Britain needs to reconsider how much it is willing to spend on defence following the increase in threat levels from the likes of Russia, Ben Wallace said on Wednesday.

"I've been very open here that the threat has increased, and just like other parts of government when ... threat increases, we should reconsider how much we fund it," the Defence Secretary told Sky News.

07:40 AM

UK supporting Ukraine on the ground, rather than with jets, Wallace says

Ben Wallace, the British Defence Secretary, said on Wednesday that Western allies could help Ukraine more quickly by supporting their position on the ground rather than focusing on the provision of jets.

Wallace has argued that fighter jets require a "very substantial pit crew" and that Britain could provide more immediate support through the provision of long range weapons and anti-aircraft missiles.

"I think we can help Ukraine sooner by delivering the effects they need on the battlefield rather than the platform specific request," he told Sky News.

07:40 AM

Good Morning

Good morning and welcome to today's Ukraine liveblog.

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