Britain will reportedly soon send armoured missile launchers to Ukraine after Russia started its full-scale offensive to take control of the country’s east.
The Ministry of Defence demonstrated the Stormer High Velocity Missile (HVM) launcher for Ukrainians on Salisbury Plain two weeks ago, according to The Sun, with the paper adding the 13-tonne vehicles can be flown to the war on C-17 transport planes in days.
The Stormer is manufactured by BAE Systems, needs just three people to operate it and and uses Starstreak missiles, which can be used to take down low-flying aircraft.
It comes as Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said a “significant part of the entire Russian army” was concentrated on an offensive in the east in the mostly-Russian speaking Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have declared two independent republics that have been recognised by Russia.
Follow the latest updates below.
04:45 AM
Economists urge G20 to set up asset register
Leading economists Tuesday urged G20 leaders to draw up a world asset register for tracking tax evaders that could pressure Russia by exposing oligarchs’ hidden wealth.
Bestselling economists Joseph Stiglitz, of the US, and Thomas Piketty, of France, among others made the call in an open letter published in The Guardian ahead of Wednesday’s G20 finance meeting.
Building on progress in financial information-sharing over recent years, “it’s time for a global asset register to target hidden wealth,” said the letter.
Russian oligarchs are estimated to hold “at least $1 trillion in wealth abroad, often concealed in offshore companies whose true ownership is hard to determine”, they added.
03:59 AM
Russian village ‘hit’ by Ukraine
Ukrainian forces have struck a village near Russia’s border with Ukraine, wounding one resident, the governor of the Russian province of Belgorod has said.
It was not immediately clear whether the strike referred to by governor Vyacheslav Gladkov in posts on messaging app Telegram was carried out by artillery, mortars, missiles or was an aerial attack.
This month, Russia accused Ukraine of a helicopter attack on a fuel depot in Belgorod, as well as of shelling villages there several times, and firing missiles at an ammunition depot.
03:50 AM
Today’s top stories
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Russian has launched a long-feared offensive against Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, starting what could become the pivotal battle of the war
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In Kharkiv, local authorities said a man and a woman died in the latest shelling to hit Ukraine’s second city
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Volodymyr Zelensky said that 18 people had been killed and 106 injured by Russian bombardment of Kharkiv in the past four days
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Residents of Vasylkiv, a town south of the capital of Kyiv that is home to a military air base, reported a large explosion on Monday morning
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Russian missiles also hit Lviv, killing at least seven people, according to its regional governor
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Ukrainian soldiers have “liberated” at least three towns in a counter-offensive aimed at stifling the attack on the east of the country
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The Pentagon announced four flights of US weapons have arrived in Ukraine since Joe Biden, the US president, authorised the latest $800 million in military assistance last week
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Ukrainian soldiers have launched a courageous counterattack in Mariupol despite “overwhelming” numbers of Russian forces around the besieged city, new video shows
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Vladimir Putin has bestowed military honours on a brigade accused of committing atrocities in the Ukrainian town of Bucha
