We haven’t been able to give you live updates on the war in Ukraine today, so here’s what happened.
According to local authorities, another eight people were killed in two Russian strikes in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
The movements occurred in the early morning and afternoon.
Ukraine’s National Police said the attack was carried out by drones, but the local government said missiles and bombs were used.
At least nine high-rise buildings, including administrative buildings, a store, a gas station and a gas station, were hit.
Here are some updates from today:
That’s it for our politics today. Before we go, let’s recap the key moments of the day.
Attacks on air bases
By far the biggest news of the day is Ukraine’s nightly movements at an airfield in Russia – news that we publish exclusively here on Sky News by our Ukrainian producer Artem Lysak and Security and Defence editor-in-chief Deborah Haynes.
Since then, Ukrainian sources have reported that at least 20 Russian servicemen were killed or wounded in the attack on the Morozovsk airfield in Rostov.
According to Ukrainian sources, up to eight aircraft were damaged and six were completely destroyed.
The airbase has been the starting point for Russian bombing on the front line since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
It is home to the 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment from the 1st Guards Composite Aviation Division.
This unit has 3 squadrons of SU-34s that are used to bombard Ukrainian forces on the front line.
Claiming that the nuclear power plant struck again
Russia again claimed that Ukraine tried to attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Critical infrastructure does not appear to have been damaged despite the drone attack, state media reported, citing control of the Moscow-based plant.
Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of trying to create a nuclear crisis by attacking the nuclear plant, which has been under Moscow’s control since the early days of the war.
In addition, and unrelated to the war in Ukraine, the government of the town of Khabarovsk, in Russia’s far east, declared a state of emergency after radiation was detected in the region.
No one was injured or exposed to radiation and there is no threat to public health, the TASS news agency quoted the local branch of Russia’s customer protection agency as saying.
Russian advances?
Russia reported advances in two areas of Donetsk.
The Defense Ministry said Russian troops had reached the outskirts of the city of Chasiv Yar, which Ukraine denied.
Kiev, however, has made its presence felt in the area.
In addition, and without offering any main points or evidence, the ministry said troops had also captured the village of Vodyane, located just northwest of the city of Donetsk and southwest of Avdiivka.
Ukraine has to respond to the accusations about Vodyane.
Lord Cameron will travel to the United States next week, where he will urge politicians to approve a military aid package for Ukraine.
The foreign secretary would meet with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to urge him to pass the bill, which has been delayed for months.
“Britain has poured money into Ukraine this year, as has the European Union. The U. S. wants to do it,” he said on X.
I’m going to pass him next week and tell him that we want this money, that Ukraine wants this money. “
The bill, valued at about $95 billion (£75 billion), passed the Democratic-led Senate on Feb. 13 but faced stiff opposition in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Both houses of Congress will have to pass the bill before President Biden can sign it into law.
About $60 billion of this program goes to military aid to Ukraine alone.
However, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress need the budget to be dedicated to domestic issues such as border control, rather than wars abroad.
Several Russian workers have been expelled from NATO headquarters, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
It’s unclear exactly when the evictions took place.
“We learned that they were carrying out activities that were not diplomatic work, but intelligence work,” Stoltenberg told Bild.
He said how many of them had been deported, nor did he give the main details of the intelligence they had amassed at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
A Moscow court has taken into custody the 11th suspect in last month’s attack on a concert hall, Russian said.
The suspect, Muhammad Zoir Sharipzoda, a Tajik national, is accused of committing a terrorist act, he said.
At least 144 other people were killed when IS-K attacked the protest site on the outskirts of Moscow late last month.
This morning, Russia’s Investigative Committee claimed to have recovered footage from the phone of one of the shooters, which it said could simply imply a link between the war in Ukraine and the attack (see 8:29 a. m. message).
Ukraine has strenuously denied any involvement after repeated accusations from Russia, with Vladimir Putin adding that Kyiv was concerned or aware of the attack to some extent.
The West has also rejected hints about Kyiv’s involvement, with several leaders accusing Russia of the attack as a pretext to expand its operations in Ukraine.
At least two other people were killed and six wounded in a Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia, the head of the Ukrainian army’s directorate for the region said.
Among the wounded was a nine-year-old boy, while among the dead were a man and a woman of undetermined age, Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
The boy’s 36-year-old mother was also injured, as well as young people in their 20s and a man and woman in their 50s.
Fedorov did not specify how the attack was carried out and Russia has not commented on the claims.
He shared this unverified symbol of the damage allegedly caused by the attack, but did not give major details about the building’s identity.
As we reported in our 2:50 p. m. article, Russia claimed that Ukraine tried to attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with drones.
As we reported that day, Ukraine introduced overnight a coordinated drone attack on an airbase on Russian territory.
Ukrainian sources said at least 20 Russian servicemen were killed or wounded in the attack on Morozovsk airfield in Rostov.
According to Ukrainian sources, up to eight aircraft were damaged and six were completely destroyed.
This footage of the attack. . .
In the latest in a series of allegations, Russia claimed Ukraine had tried to attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with several drones,” Russian state media TASS reported, citing the head of the Moscow-based plant.
However, critical infrastructure does not appear to have been damaged, he added.
Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of trying to create a nuclear crisis by attacking the nuclear plant, which has been under Moscow’s control since the early days of the war.
Ukraine has responded to Moscow’s latest accusations, which have been verified.
Russia is “very likely” to have a series of disruptions affecting GPS navigation in the Baltic region, the German Defense Ministry said.
The ministry pointed to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad as the source of the problem.
“The persistent disturbances in the global satellite navigation formula are probably of Russian origin and are based on disturbances in the electromagnetic spectrum, in addition to those originating in the Kaliningrad region,” a spokesman said.
However, the spokesperson gave some main points about how Berlin came to its conclusions and the Russian embassy in the country responded to a request for comment.
Similarly, last month, a government said Russia had blocked the satellite signal of a plane used by British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps as it flew over Kaliningrad.
Kaliningrad is a Russian territory wedged between Lithuania and Poland, on the Baltic Sea.
The footage shows Russian troops fighting in unspecified locations on the front lines of Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry has reported steady progress in recent weeks, adding that troops had reached the outskirts of a town (see 9:25 a. m. message) and captured a village (see previous message).
Ukraine has complained about “difficult” battlefield situations, where ammunition remains scarce, but has rejected Russian claims of advances or capture of settlements.