Threat of Putin soldiers massacring refugees halts evacuations

Biden proposes $6.9bn to aid Ukraine against Russia & bolster NATO

The US would spend $6.9 billion to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion and support NATO member countries under a budget proposal President Joe Biden’s administration released Monday.

The funds would represent Washington’s latest allocation of defence aid after Russia’s shock invasion of its neighbor last month.

Th budget would be used to “enhance the capabilities and readiness of US forces, NATO allies, and regional partners in the face of Russian aggression,” the White House said.

US says Putin does not seem ready to compromise on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not appear ready to make compromises to end the war in Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.

It comes as Ukraine and Russia have been preparing for their first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks.

“Everything I have seen is he is not willing to compromise at this point,” the senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters on condition of anonymity after Ukraine’s president sketched out a potential way to end the crisis over the weekend. (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed and Jonathan

Ukrainian forces regain control of Irpin, says mayor

The mayor of Irpin, near Kyiv, said on Monday Ukrainian forces had seized back full control of the town which has been one of the main hotspots of fighting with Russian troops near the capital.

“We have good news today – Irpin has been liberated,” Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said in a video post on Telegram.

“We understand that there will be more attacks on our town and we will defend it courageously.”

The information could not immediately be verified.

Ukrainian amateur drone users destroy Russia’s 40-mile convoy

A SQUAD of amateur drone users say they’ve managed to destroy Russia’s 40-mile convoy in a number of deadly ambushes.

The unlikely heroes took out swathes of Russia’s infamous “death convoy” of tanks and armoured vehicles, which was trapped outside Kyiv.

Volunteer experts from specialist air reconnaissance unit Aerorozvidka used drones with thermal imagine cameras or those capable of dropping small bombs as well as sniper rifles to attack Russian troops.

The group’s commander Lt Col Yaroslav Honchar said an ambush near the town of Ivankiv helped to halt the massive Russian operation during the first days of the Ukraine invasion.

The special IT force used quad bikes to approach the column at night, and attacked its supply depot to prevent the Russians from advancing.

Honchar told the Guardian: “This one little unit in the night destroyed two or three vehicles at the head of this convoy, and after that it was stuck.

“They stayed there two more nights, and [destroyed] many vehicles.”

“The first echelon of the Russian force was stuck without heat, without oil, without bombs and without gas. And it all happened because of the work of 30 people,” he added.

The elite unit claims it also helped to stop a Russian airborne attack on Hostomel airport by shelling 200 paratroopers.

Honchar compared the group’s fight to the work of “a hive of bees.”

Deadly female Russian sniper ‘with kill count of 40 captured by Ukraine’

A FEMALE Russian sniper with 40 kills to her name was captured after being abandoned on the battlefield, it was reported.

Irina Starikova – whose call sign is Bagira – is said to have told her captors she was left to die after being wounded in a battle with Ukrainian troops.

According to the Peacemaker centre, which researches crimes committed by Russian separatists in the Ukraine war, she is 41-years-old.

She also has two daughters, aged 11 and nine, and is divorced from their father Alexander Fedotov.

Starikova served with the forces of the Russian separatist Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, which has been fighting the government in Kyiv since 2014.

Her capture was announced by the Ukrainian armed forces, who said she “shot our prisoners in 2014”, alongside pictures of her.

Starikova’s capture was also confirmed by Giorgi Revishvili, a researcher at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.

Sir Keir Starmer says UK government’s response was ‘completely wrong’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that the UK government’s response to the Ukraine refugee crisis was “completely wrong”.

He went on to say that the government have acted ‘too slowly’ as he believes they should have gone “further and faster” on imposing sanctions.

He told LBC radio: “They’ve still got this DIY package really, which is all over the place, where we hear the refugees who were supposed to be on their way here still haven’t got visas and clearance.”

Russia to restrict entry for those from ‘unfriendly countries’

Russia is preparing retaliatory visa measures that would restrict entry for citizens from “unfriendly countries”, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

Downing Street says direction on peace talks is ‘up for Ukrainian Government to decide’

Downing Street has said that it is up to the Ukrainian government to decide what approach it should take for any peace talks with Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he is ready to discuss his country’s neutrality in any talks with Moscow.

In response, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister believes that Putin must fail in Ukraine and the sovereignty of Ukraine must be restored.

“Obviously it would be for President Zelensky and the Ukrainian government to decide on the right approach to negotiations. We will support them in that.

“But it is not for the UK or any other country to seek to impose its will on the Ukrainian government as to what it should accept in those negotiations.”

After the White House was forced to clarify remarks by President Joe Biden appearing to call for regime change in Moscow, the Downing Street spokesman said: “It is up to the Russian people who should be governing them.”

Respected Russian newspaper suspending online and print activities

Russia’s Novaya Gazeta newspaper, whose editor Dmitry Muratov was a co-winner of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, said on Monday it was suspending its online and print activities until the end of Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine.

The newspaper, which has already removed material from its website on Russia’s military action in Ukraine to comply with a new media law, said it had received another warning from state communications regulator Roskomnadzor on Monday about its reporting, prompting it to pause operations.

Home Office has granted 21,600 visas to Ukrainian refugees with family in UK

The Home Office has now granted 21,600 visas to Ukrainians with family links in the UK, Downing Street has said.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that as of 5pm Sunday, 76,200 applications had been opened through the family route of which 37,400 had been completed and submitted.

The Government is due to start publishing figures for visas issued through the Homes for Ukraine scheme this week.

UN says 3.9 million people have fled Ukraine since invasion began

Nearly 3.9 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion a month ago, UN figures showed Monday, with the flow continuing to slow.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said 3,862,797 Ukrainians had fled the country — an increase of 41,748 from Sunday’s figures.

Around 90 percent of them are women and children, it added.

Of those who have left, 2.2 million have fled for neighbouring Poland, while more than half a million have made it to Romania. Nearly 300,000 have gone to Russia.

Before the crisis began a month ago, EU member Poland was home to around 1.5 million Ukrainians.

In total, more than 10 million people — over a quarter of the population in regions under government control before the February 24 invasion — are now thought to have fled their homes, including nearly 6.5 million who are internally displaced.

Ukraine’s refugee crisis is Europe’s worst since World War II.

Graphic: Current Russian losses

The Ukrainian army says Russian units are being pulled out of northern Ukraine into Belarus in order to replenish personnel and supplies.

The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces wrote on Facebook saying Russian ranks needed rotation.

Many units have suffered heavy losses and are in dire need of food, fuel and ammunition.

Ukrainian forces recapture Trostianets

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have reclaimed Trostianets, one of the first towns to fall, in another blow to Putin’s war.

Russia’s defeat is a significant victory, defence sources say – as it opens a route to the besieged city of Sumy.

It is also understood Ukraine has won back Husarivka.

The Russian President is believed to be facing defeat in Kyiv while Ukrainians have fought hard to reclaim Kherson.

‘Starving’ Kyiv civilians are forced to drink SEWAGE water

DESPERATE civilians in Kyiv have resorted to drinking SEWAGE water as the city continues to be bombarded by horror Russian missile strikes.

Panicked people in the Ukrainian capital are facing starvation as food becomes scarce while they are “made to stay in basements and metro stations” amid relentless shelling, according to an official.

With the besieged city hit by shortages of water and supplies, MP Lesia Vasylenko says families are turning to unthinkable measures.

“People are actually starving without food, and drinking sewage water,” she told Times Radio.

Bitcoin price soars after Russia says it could try to dodge sanctions

BITCOIN prices soared after Russia said it could try to dodge sanctions by selling oil and gas in cryptocurrency.

The digital money has shot up around five per cent since Putin’s energy chief Pavel Zavalny said it could be used by friendly countries.

He added they could use various currencies, such as the Turkish lira or Chinese yuan, depending on the buyer’s preference.

The move is an attempt by the Kremlin to boost Russia’s currency, which has fallen 20 per cent in value this year, to avoid the West’s economic sanctions.

Mr Zavalny said on Thursday: “We have been proposing to China for a long time to switch to settlements in national currencies for roubles and yuan.

“With Turkey, it will be lira and roubles. You can also trade bitcoins.”

The price of bitcoin has gone from around £32,576 on Thursday to around £34,156 on Sunday morning.

Analyst David Broadstock, of the Energy Studies Institute in Singapore, said: “Russia is very quickly feeling the impact of unprecedented sanctions.

“There is a need to shore up the economy and in many ways, Bitcoin is seen as a high growth asset.”

Russia foreign minister says Putin-Zelensky meeting should happen after agreement on key issues

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy should happen once the two sides are closer to agreeing on key issues.

Speaking to Serbian media outlets, Lavrov added that any meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy to exchange views on the conflict right now would be counter-productive.

Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its southern neighbour’s military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.

Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw its forces.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Joe Biden’s comments about Vladimir Putin’s position were “not helpful”.

The White House scrambled to row back Mr Biden’s unscripted declaration that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”, insisting he was not calling for a regime change.

Sir Keir told LBC radio: “Not helpful, to say something, to row back – big thing to say, for obvious reasons.”

The Labour leader said the Ukraine situation is “thoroughly depressing” and, following the end of the Cold War, “I didn’t think in my lifetime we would see Russian tanks going into a European country”.

Public sector bodies ordered to cancel contracts with Russian & Belarusian companies

Public sector bodies are being urged to check if they have any contracts with Russian or Belarussian companies and, if possible, cancel them and switch suppliers.

The Cabinet Office has issued guidance to public bodies – including hospitals, councils and Whitehall departments – advising them on what they should do.

Cabinet Office minister Steve Barclay said: “Public money should not fund (Vladimir) Putin’s war machine.

“We are asking hospitals, councils and other organisations across the public sector to urgently look at all the ways they can go further to sever their commercial ties to Russia.

“The Government will continue to work closely with these organisations, ensuring they are able to take the necessary steps as quickly as possible, including taking legal routes where necessary.”

Ukraine-Russia peace talks to begin in Turkey later today

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators will begin peace talks in Istanbul later on Monday, a senior Turkish official said, without elaborating.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone call on Sunday for Istanbul to host the talks, which Ankara hopes will lead to a ceasefire.

Ukraine claims it has taken down a Russian Su-35

Security analyst Michael A Horowitz tweeted a video appearing to show the wreckage of a Russian Su-35 jet on the ground after being shot down.

He tweeted: “Gerashchenko (advisor to the Interior Ministry) published this video of an Su-35 he says was shot down on March 24 near Izyum by Ukrainian air defenses.”

The Sun has not been able to immediately verify the footage.

Growing fears for animals suffering in zoos

Fears are beginning to grow for thousands of animals suffering from cold, hunger and stress in Ukraine’s zoos.

Vitaly Ilchenko, who runs an ecopark near Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv, said part of it had been occupied by Russian forces.

Three staff members have also been killed trying to get food to the animals.

But he said he feared the park’s lions and tigers could starve to death.

Karina Detiuk, the zoo’s deputy director, told the BBC: “Our monkeys need fruit and vegetables, our predators need meat and so on.

“We are doing the impossible trying to keep them alive. Our wolves are howling worse than the air-raid sirens and it is heart-breaking.”

Good morning

Joe Gamp here, signing in to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

I’ll be bringing you the latest news, as it happens, throughout the day.

Vitali Klitschko gives Oleksandr Usyk his blessing to rematch Anthony Joshua

VITALI KLITSCHKO has backed Oleksandr Usyk’s decision to leave Ukraine and train for a rematch with Anthony Joshua.

The unified heavyweight champion, who dethroned AJ in September, had bravely taken up arms to defend his nation amid Russia’s invasion.

And it threatened to postpone his sequel with Joshua, 32, who was instead contemplating a confidence-building interim bout.

But Usyk, 35, has since revealed he is crossing the border to go through with a second fight against AJ.

Former boxing champ Klitschko, now the mayor of Kyiv, has thrown support to his countryman and will even offer him some advice.

He told The Telegraph: “A very important message could be carried through an event like this. We do not know if in three months we will exist.

“I actually have plans to speak to Oleksandr Usyk to give him advice if he decides to make the fight, to have some special messages that he can put out there.”

Bitcoin price soars after Russia says it could try to dodge sanctions

BITCOIN prices soared after Russia said it could try to dodge sanctions by selling oil and gas in cryptocurrency.

The digital money has shot up around five per cent since Putin’s energy chief Pavel Zavalny said it could be used by friendly countries.

He added they could use various currencies, such as the Turkish lira or Chinese yuan, depending on the buyer’s preference.

The move is an attempt by the Kremlin to boost Russia’s currency, which has fallen 20 per cent in value this year, to avoid the West’s economic sanctions.

Mr Zavalny said on Thursday: “We have been proposing to China for a long time to switch to settlements in national currencies for roubles and yuan.

“With Turkey, it will be lira and roubles. You can also trade bitcoins.”

The price of bitcoin has gone from around £32,576 on Thursday to around £34,156 on Sunday morning.

Analyst David Broadstock, of the Energy Studies Institute in Singapore, said: “Russia is very quickly feeling the impact of unprecedented sanctions.

“There is a need to shore up the economy and in many ways, Bitcoin is seen as a high growth asset.”

Ukraine ready to deploy baguette-sized Switchblade flying bombs

UKRAINE is ready to deploy baguette-sized Switchblade flying bombs that fit in a backpack to rain death on Russian tanks.

The weapon, controlled from a tablet, can scout out targets over enemy lines to hit battlefield command and control headquarters.

US President Joe Biden agreed to give Ukraine 100 Switchblades for around £600million.

The devices fly at around 60mph for up to 15 minutes using a camera relaying video of the terrain, before accelerating to 100mph when its remote pilot locks onto a target.

Military analysts say it gives Ukraine major advantages by providing surveillance and reconnaissance intelligence.

They weigh about 2.5kg and are much lighter than the 20kg Javelin anti-tank missiles already used, which America also supplied.