Vladimir Putin is set to declare all-out war on Ukraine as his military chiefs seek “payback” for their invasion failures, according to Russian sources and Western officials.
Frustrated army chiefs are urging the Russian president to drop the term “special operation” used for the invasion and instead declare war, which would enable mass mobilisation of Russians.
When Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine at the end of February, Putin dubbed it a “special operation” and even barred Russian media from using the word “war”, thinking it would all be over in a few weeks. But more than two months later, the offensive has stalled.
Here’s what happened overnight – and you can follow the latest updates in our live blog.
1. Ukraine warns talks with Russia may collapse as battles rage in east
Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over shaky talks to end a war now in its third month as Russia pounded areas in the east of the country and U.S. lawmakers vowed a massive new weapons package for Kyiv.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in remarks published early on Saturday, said lifting Western sanctions on Russia was part of the peace negotiations, which he said were “difficult” but continue daily by video link.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, told Polish journalists that chances were “high” that the talks, which have not been held in person for a month, would end because of Russia’s “playbook on murdering people,” the Interfax news agency said.
2. Russia announces use of submarines for the first time
Russia used a diesel submarine in the Black Sea to strike Ukrainian military targets with Kalibr cruise missiles, the first time Moscow has announced the use of its submarine fleet to hit its former Soviet neighbour.
The Russian defence ministry released a video showing a volley of Kalibr missiles emerging from the sea and soaring off into the horizon – to what the ministry said were Ukrainian military targets.
This is the first time Russia’s military has reported using submarine strikes against Ukrainian targets, Interfax news agency reported on Friday.
3. Over a million people evacuated from Ukraine to Russia
Some 1.02 million people have been evacuated from Ukraine into Russia since Feb 24, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in remarks published early on Saturday.
That number includes 120,000 foreigners and people evacuated from Russian-backed breakaway regions of Ukraine, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics.
Mr Lavrov also reiterated that Nato’s vocal support of Ukraine stands in the way of reaching a political deal to end the conflict.
He urged the US and NATO to stop supplying Kyiv with arms if they are “really interested in resolving the Ukraine crisis”, Chinese state media reported Saturday.
4. Russia looks to fix problems that have hampered invasion so far, says MoD
Russia has been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate units from failed advances in Ukraine’s north-east, the UK’s ministry of defence has said.
The British military intelligence report, released early this morning, said:
“Russia hopes to rectify issues that have previously constrained its invasion by geographically concentrating combat power, shortening supply lines and simplifying command and control.”
“Russia still faces considerable challenges. It has been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate units from the failed advances in north-east Ukraine. Many of these units are likely suffering from weakened morale”
“Shortcomings in Russian tactical co-ordination remain. A lack of unit-level skills and inconsistent air support have left Russia unable to fully leverage its combat mass, despite localised improvements.”
5. Thursday’s strikes ‘a deliberate and brutal humiliation’ of the UN, says Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a stronger global response to Thursday’s strikes, calling them ‘a deliberate and brutal humiliation’ of the UN, whose secretary general he met with earlier that day.
“It is unfortunate, but such a deliberate and brutal humiliation of the United Nations by Russia has gone unanswered,” he said, following talks with Antonio Guterres.
Mr Guterres had also toured Bucha and other Kyiv suburbs where Moscow is alleged to have committed war crimes. Russia denies killing civilians.
“I was moved by the resilience and bravery of the people of Ukraine. My message to them is simple: We will not give up,” Mr Guterres tweeted on Friday.
