Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has blasted Moscow’s airstrikes in the frontline city of Severodonetsk as “madness” after Russian troops hit a chemical plant in their bid to fully capture the key eastern city.
Authorities have warned people to stay indoors due to the risk posed by toxic fumes, after enemy forces struck a nitric acid tank at the chemical plant.
In his nightly video address on Tuesday, President Zelensky condemned the airstrikes in the city, but added he was not surprised by Russia’s attack.
“Given the presence of large-scale chemical production in Severodonetsk, the Russian army’s strikes there, including blind air bombing, are just madness,” he said.
“But on the 97th day of such a war, it is no longer surprising that for the Russian military, for Russian commanders, for Russian soldiers, any madness is absolutely acceptable.”
Follow the latest updates below.
07:36 AM
Joe Biden will provide advanced rockets to Ukraine
The United States will send more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine capable of travelling nearly 80km, a senior US official confirmed.
It came after Ukraine gave assurances to the US that it would not use the precision-guided munitions against targets inside Russia.
Ukraine will be provided with a small number of the medium-range M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars), a senior Biden administration official said.
The system can launch a rocket capable of 48 miles (77km), the official said. They are mounted on a truck and can carry a container with six rockets.
You can read the full report from our US Editor Nick Allen here.
07:15 AM
Russia accused of torture in Kherson
Ukrainian civilians living in Kherson have accused Russian forces of torture, according a report by the BBC.
Olexander Guz, a deputy in the village of Bilozerka in the Kherson region, told the broadcaster he was left with severe bruising after being beaten by Russian forces.
“They put a bag on my head,” he said. “The Russians threatened that I would not have kidneys left.”
They questioned him while “they tied a rope around [his] neck and another around [his] wrists.”
“When I didn’t answer them, they hit me between my legs. When I fell, I started to suffocate. As you try to get up, they beat you. Then they ask again.”
Russian troops took control of Kherson, in southern Ukraine, early in the war. Ukrainian TV stations were quickly replaced with Russian state broadcasts. Western products were changed for Russian alternatives.
According to multiple first-hand testimonies, people also began to disappear.
06:59 AM
Swiss veto Danish request to send Ukraine armoured vehicles
The Swiss government has vetoed Denmark’s request to send Swiss-made armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine, citing its neutrality policy of not supplying arms to conflict zones, Swiss broadcaster SRF has reported.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) rejected Denmark’s bid to provide around 20 Piranha III infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, SRF said, citing confirmation from the agency.
SECO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Neutral Switzerland requires foreign countries that buy Swiss arms to seek permission to re-export them.
In April it vetoed the re-export of Swiss-made ammunition used in anti-aircraft tanks that Germany is sending to Ukraine. It has also rejected Poland’s request for arms to help neighbouring Ukraine.
06:36 AM
Ukraine today, in pictures
06:19 AM
Russians focus on ‘small section’ of Luhansk – MoD
05:52 AM
Western sanctions push Russia’s economy to the brink of recession
Russia is on course to suffer its deepest recession since the collapse of the Soviet Union as its economy collapses under the weight of Western sanctions.
Official government analysis of the punitive measures, briefed to The Telegraph, also revealed how they have helped cripple Vladimir Putin’s war machine in the 100 days since Britain first sanctioned Moscow.
According to the research, Russia’s economy is set to take a £256 billion hit from the sanctions issued in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, with its GDP expected to shrink up to 15 per cent this year.
The measures, it was said, have wreaked havoc to Moscow’s prized energy and arms export industries, as well as cut off domestic consumers from purchasing foreign products.
03:49 AM
Ukraine losing up to 100 soldiers every day
Ukraine is losing as many as 60 to 100 soldiers every day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“The situation in the east [of Ukraine] is very difficult. We are losing 60 to 100 soldiers every day and something like 500 wounded in combat,” Mr Zelensky told Newsmax in an interview on Tuesday.
The President said shipments of grain had also been blocked by Russia in the Black Sea.
02:48 AM
In pictures: Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in ruins
02:29 AM
Reports Russian nuclear forces holding manoeuvre drills
Russia’s nuclear forces are reportedly holding drills in the Ivanovo province, northeast of Moscow, Interfax news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying on Wednesday.
Some 1,000 servicemen are reported to be exercising in intense manoeuvres using over 100 vehicles, including Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers.
02:17 AM
Watch: Helicopter pilots brave ‘suicidal’ resupply missions
New footage reveals the incredible heroism of Ukraine’s pilots, some of whom lost their lives while carrying supplies to their trapped comrades in Azovstal:
01:09 AM
Thirty-two journalists killed since war began
According to President Zelensky, 32 journalists have died since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Parliament posted the grim figure on Twitter overnight.
12:16 AM
Biden to send more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine
US President Joe Biden will provide Ukraine with advanced rocket systems that can strike with precision at long-range Russian targets as part of a $700 million weapons package set to be announced on Wednesday.
The US is providing Ukraine with high mobility artillery rocket systems that can accurately hit targets as far away as 80km (50 miles) after Ukraine gave “assurances” they will not use the missiles to strike inside Russia, senior administration officials said.
In a New York Times op-ed published on Tuesday, Mr Biden said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would end through diplomacy, but the US must provide significant weapons and ammunition to give Ukraine the highest leverage at the negotiating table.
“That’s why I’ve decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine,” Mr Biden wrote.
12:13 AM
Today’s top stories
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President Joe Biden on Tuesday confirmed the United States will send more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine to strike what he said were “key targets” of Russia’s invasion force
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A Russian airstrike has hit a nitric acid tank in the frontline city of Severodonetsk, local governor Serhiy Gaidai said, as he urged local residents of the risk posed by toxic fumes
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Mr Gadai said Russian forces now control “most” of eastern Ukraine’s Severodonetsk, the scene of fierce battles
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Two Russian soldiers were sentenced to more than 11 years in jail each on Tuesday after a court in central Ukraine found them guilty of firing artillery at civilian areas
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A ship left the Ukrainian port of Mariupol for the first time since Russia took the city and is headed east to Russia
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Russia claimed it will hand over the bodies of 152 Ukrainian soldiers found underneath the Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol, now under Moscow’s control
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European Union leaders handed Hungary concessions to agree an oil embargo on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine
