Germany's Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, recently told a German newspaper "we have to take into account that Vladimir Putin might even attack a Nato country one day". While he said such an attack is unlikely now, "our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible". Putin has also sent his military on a “peacekeeping mission” to Ukraine, meaning that Russia will formally occupy sovereign Ukrainian territory for a second time following the 2014 annexation of Crimea. A document signed by Putin on Monday also allows him to establish military bases or place missiles in the territories.
Russian forces struck the settlement of Mykhailivka in the Berislav district eight times, with one shell hitting the yard of a residential building. An 89-year-old woman was injured today in a Russian attack in the Kherson oblast, the regional military administration said. Ukraine’s air defence systems destroyed four of eight Russia-launched drones overnight, the air force said. Further south-east in the Zaporizhzhia region, the governor, Yuri Malashko, said an infrastructure site had been hit in a drone attack.
Potential energy disruption
This brings the United Kingdom’s total package of support to Ukraine to approximately £12 billion. We remain deeply humbled by the bravery and the resilience of the Ukrainian people and their determination to win. https://euronewstop.co.uk/who-voted-against-ukraine-joining-eu.html launched three missiles, eight drone strikes and 82 shellings on Ukrainian troops and civilian infrastructure over the past day, the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said in its morning briefing. There are reports of attacks on Ukrainian military infrastructure across the country, and Russian convoys entering from all directions. Last week, another senior Nato military chief said countries needed to be on alert "and expect the unexpected".
- This will impact banks, transport, energy, oil, gas and telecommunications, reports say, along with eight wealthy Russian individuals.
- "We don't understand what we should do now," one woman called Svetlana told the BBC.
- President Putin, 70, has sought to distance himself from military failures, but his authority, at least outside Russia, has been shredded and he makes few trips beyond its borders.
- Fighting has also been raging at an airfield on Kyiv's outskirts and there have been reports of gunfire inside the city.
- HMS Diamond has also left Portsmouth Naval Base as part of the UK's response to support Nato countries in eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, UN estimates suggested more than 100,000 people have already fled their homes in Ukraine. Overnight, at least 1,000 Ukrainians arrived by train in Poland's south-eastern city of Przemysl alone. Since the invasion began in the early hours of Thursday, 194 Ukrainians - including 57 civilians - have been killed, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said. Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday morning and its forces have now advanced on the capital Kyiv. The nation’s four Vanguard-class nuclear submarines can each carry up to 16 missiles. Civil defence, military and local council sources have all confirmed no UK cities have had air raid sirens or civil defence systems in place since they were wound up at the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s.
Russia attacks Ukraine: More coverage
But the president has imposed martial law across the country, saying that Ukraine was "ready for everything". Blaming Nato's expansion eastwards is a Russian narrative that has gained some ground in Europe. Before the war, President Putin demanded Nato turn the clock back to 1997 and remove its forces and military infrastructure from Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Baltics.
One Whitehall source told the Times that the training of Ukrainian civilians on UK soil could act as a rehearsal for rapid Army expansion. The overall effect means Finland can muster one of Europe's largest armies. The size of its active armed forces is only 19,000 personnel, but it can call on another 238,000 reserves. In Sweden and Norway, conscription is partial - not everyone gets drafted. But it boosts the strength of the professional armed forces, which is often relatively small. Conscription requires young men and women to serve for a limited time in uniform.
Explosions heard across the country
Phillips P OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, wrote in an analysis piece that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could see the US "neuter" the Western military alliance. As cars queued on Ukraine's border with Moldova, the country's pro-EU president, Maia Sandu said she was declaring a state of emergency and was prepared to give help to tens of thousands of Ukrainians. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda also said he was signing a state of emergency to be approved by parliament.
- Watch Boris Johnson call the Ukraine invasion "wanton and reckless aggression" by Russia.
- An 89-year-old woman was injured today in a Russian attack in the Kherson oblast, the regional military administration said.
- Further south-east in the Zaporizhzhia region, the governor, Yuri Malashko, said an infrastructure site had been hit in a drone attack.
- Russia launched drone and missile attacks targeting civilian and critical infrastructure across wide areas of Ukraine, Kyiv’s air force said on Sunday.