Ukraine-Russia war news – live: Massive Russian missile attacks set off air raid sirens and knock out power
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Russia launched a massive barrage of missiles on many parts of Ukraine this morning, including the Black Sea port of Odesa and the country’s largest city Kharkiv, regional officials said.
A mass missile strike in Odesa hit an energy facility, leading to massive power cuts, governor Maksym Marchenko said.
At least 15 strikes have hit Kharkiv, governor Oleh Synehubov said. Other strikes were reported in the central city of Dnipro and regions throughout the country.
Ukrainian officials maintained that the bloody battle for Bakhmut is raging on even after the mercenary group Wagner’s chief said his forces were holding the eastern half.
Ukraine has also denied any involvement in September’s attack on the Nord Stream pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany.
It comes after reports that intelligence reviewed by US officials indicated that a pro-Ukrainian group was behind last year’s attacks.
Key points
Russia unleashes barrage of missiles on many Ukrainian regions
Berlin warns against hasty accusations after Nord Stream reports
Ukraine denies involvement in Nord Stream pipeline sabotage
Bakhmut a ‘meat grinder’ for Putin's forces as Russian losses soar
Wagner boss claims mercenary group has full control of eastern Bakhmut
Russia attacks many Ukrainian regions, including Black Sea port
03:21 , Arpan Rai
Russia has launched a volley of missile attacks on many parts of Ukraine this morning, including the Black Sea port of Odesa and the country’s largest city Kharkiv, regional officials have confirmed.
A mass missile strike in the Odesa region has struck an energy facility in the port city, leading to massive power cuts, governor Maksym Marchenko said.
No casualties have been reported so far but residential areas have been targeted.
At least 15 strikes have hit Kharkiv region, governor Oleh Synehubov said. Other strikes were reported in the central city of Dnipro and regions throughout the country.
Ukraine under air raid alert for hours amid attacks
04:18 , Arpan Rai
All parts of Ukraine have remained under an air raid alert for the last three-four hours due to incessant Russian missile and drone attacks targetting all parts of the country.
“That was one hell of an alarm clock here in Kyiv. Hoping it was air defense. Mass Russian attack across Ukraine ongoing,” said Oleksiy Sorokin, a journalist with the Ukraine-based The Kyiv Independent.
That was one hell of an alarm clock here in Kyiv. Hoping it was air defense.
Mass Russian attack across Ukraine ongoing.— Oleksiy Sorokin (@mrsorokaa) March 9, 2023
Ukraine vows to find killers of unarmed soldier Tymofiy Shadura
04:15 , Martha Mchardy
Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to “find the murderers” of an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war apparently shot dead by Russian forces. The man’s death was captured in graphic footage shared across social media.
Ukraine’s chief prosecutor announced a criminal investigation into the killing, and human rights chief Dmytro Lubinets said it was a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
The 12-second video, orginally posted on Telegram before being shared on Twitter, shows the man in uniform with a Ukrainian insignia on his arm, standing and smoking a cigarette in a wooded area. The man says “Slava Ukraini!” – Glory to Ukraine – before multiple shots are fired. The man then slumps to the ground.
Kate Pummer reports:
Ukraine vows to find who killed unarmed soldier Tymofiy Shadura
Pentagon doesn’t want to share evidence of Russian atrocities over fears of backlash
03:40 , Arpan Rai
The Pentagon is standing in the way of the Biden administration sharing evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, fearing that an investigation would risk setting a precedent that could be used to target US officials in the future.
According to reporting from The New York Times, the department of defence is the only part of the administration that does not want to share the evidence. The State Department, Justice Department, and intelligence agencies all favour handing evidence over to the court.
The decision about what to do will ultimately fall to president Joe Biden, who the Times reported has not yet signalled what he plans to do.
Read the full story here:
Pentagon doesn’t want to share evidence of Russian atrocities
Battle for Bakhmut takes center stage in war in Ukraine
03:15 , Martha Mchardy
The six-month battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been the longest and bloodiest fight of the war so far.
Little known outside Ukraine before the Russian invasion, Bakhmut has become a symbol of the country’s fortitude and perseverance in the face of the Kremlin’s onslaught.
The Ukrainian leadership vowed again this week to keep defending the city, but some observers have warned that holding on to it could be too dangerous and costly.
Read more here:
Battle for Bakhmut takes center stage in war in Ukraine
Will there be a second anniversary for the war in Ukraine?
02:15 , Martha Mchardy
As of now any end to the war is unlikely to be on better terms for Ukraine than were on offer before Russia invaded, writes Mary Dejevsky.
Will there be a second anniversary for the war in Ukraine? | Mary Dejevsky
Watch: The Body in the Woods
01:15 , Martha Mchardy
It was a month into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp.
His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager.
As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead.
The Body in the Woods by Bel Trew is streaming now on Independent TV and on your smart TV.
The universal – and horrible – truth: War disproportionately affects women and girls
00:15 , Martha Mchardy
After months reporting the brutal conflict in Ukraine, Bel Trew reflects on the impact of war on women.
Read more:
The horrible truth: war disproportionately affects women and girls | Bel Trew
A global mystery: What's known about Nord Stream explosions
Wednesday 8 March 2023 23:15 , Martha Mchardy
It’s a major international mystery with global consequences: Who was behind the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year in the Baltic Sea?
The answer has broad implications for European energy security but could also threaten Western unity over backing Ukraine in defending itself from Russia’s invasion. Or, it might shatter Russian and Chinese attempts to fix the blame on a hypocritical West.
Yet, nearly six months after the sabotage on the Russia-to-Germany pipelines, there is no accepted explanation. And a series of unconfirmed reports variously accusing Russia, the United States and Ukraine are filling an information vacuum as investigations into the blasts continue.
Matthew Lee reports:
A global mystery: What's known about Nord Stream explosions
EU defence ministers call for plans to support Ukraine with ammunition
Wednesday 8 March 2023 22:15 , Martha Mchardy
The European Union has called for plans to support Ukraine with ammunition.
The EU’s Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said the orgainsation is “at the decisive moment now” for the bloc’s support to Ukraine.
Mr Breton said: “It is absolutely mandatory that we move towards a sort of war economy mode in terms of supply and defense industry.”
“We need to do whatever it takes to supply Ukraine, especially with ammunitions,” he said.
Ukrainian sports stars honor soldier who was allegedy executed by Russian troops
Wednesday 8 March 2023 21:45 , Martha Mchardy
A group of Ukrainian sports stars paid tribute to a Ukrainian soldier who appeared to be executed by Russian troops in a video.
The unarmed solider, who was a Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW) could be seen in the video smoking in a trench. He sung “Glory to Ukraine!” before being shot by a Russian soldier.
Tennis star Elina Svitolina, Chelsea footballer Mykhailo Mudryk and others responded with “Glory to the Heroes!”, a battle cry in Ukraine’s army, in their video tribute.
The Ukrainian athletes appeared one-by-one in the video saying “Glory to the Heroes!”
Russia is still advancing in Bakhmut, says Ukraine
Wednesday 8 March 2023 21:15 , Martha Mchardy
Russian forces continue to advance in the battered eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the Ukrainian military acknowledged in an evening update.
“The enemy continues to advance in the Bakhmut sector. They do not stop storming the city of Bakhmut,” they said in the update.
The Ukrainian military also said it had been able to hold Moscow’s forces in several areas in and around the city.
“Our defenders repelled attacks in the areas of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Dubovo-Vasylivka, Bakhmut and Ivanivske,” it said.
“During the day, the enemy carried out 22 air strikes and fired 29 times from multiple launch rocket systems. In particular, the enemy used 1 Shahed-136 UAV. The drone was eliminated,” the update continued.
US intelligence chief says Russia won’t make major gains in Ukraine in 2023
Wednesday 8 March 2023 20:45 , Martha Mchardy
Russia’s military is unlikely to capture significantly more territory this year, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines has said.
Ms Haines also said the Russian military is not likely to be able to sustain its current level of fighting in Ukraine following major setbacks and large battlefield losses.
“We do not foresee the Russian military recovering enough this year to make major territorial gains,” Haines told a Senate hearing.
Nevertheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin “most likely calculates that time works in his favour”, Haines said.
Putin likely believes that prolonging the war, with intermittent pauses in fighting, “may be his best remaining pathway to eventually securing Russian strategic interests in Ukraine, even if it takes years”, she said.
Fewer than 4,000 residents remain in Bakhmut
Wednesday 8 March 2023 20:15 , Martha Mchardy
Fewer than 4,000 civilians – including 38 children – remain in Bakhmut, according to Deputy Ukrainian prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
The city’s pre-war population was 70,000.
It comes as Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose troops have spearheaded the fight in Bakhmut, said they have taken full control of all districts east of the Bakhmutka River that crosses the city.
A Ukrainian border guard said in a video released by the State Border Service that “the situation in the city is difficult.”
“The enemy actively storms our positions. However, they don’t have any success and suffer colossal losses,” the video said. “The city stands because Bakhmut was, is, and will be Ukraine.”
Wednesday 8 March 2023 19:45 , Martha Mchardy
Ukraine‘s first lady on Wednesday offered spirited support to her nation’s people while visiting the United Arab Emirates, a country that still remains open to Russia despite Western sanctions.
Olena Zelenska described her role and that of other first ladies and gentlemen in the world as a real power while speaking before a packed ballroom on International Women’s Day. She also applauded the work of the average Ukrainian amid the ongoing war.
“We are a force and we can continue to change the world,” Zelenska said at the Forbes 30/50 Summit via a translator.
Jon Gambrell reports:
Ukraine first lady Olena Zelenska in UAE amid Russia's war
Social Democratic party leaders declare unwavering support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia
Wednesday 8 March 2023 19:15 , Martha Mchardy
Leaders of nine Social Democratic parties across Europe have declared unwavering support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion.
Social Democrats from Germany, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden, Slovenia, Finland and Croatia met in Warsaw for a two-day conference about the war and the ways it has altered European politics.
Former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, president of the Party of European Socialists, said there was no going back to “business as usual” with Moscow. He stressed that Europe must make sure Ukraine wins the war and that any peace agreement is struck on Kyiv’s terms.
Lars Klingbeil, the co-chairman of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, recently visited Kyiv and spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He stressed that Ukrainians were fighting for European values as well as their country and should receive all available support.
Mr Klingbeil told reporters the Leopard 2 tanks that Germany has pledged would make it to the front lines in Ukraine this month.
No perpetrator has been identified for Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, says NATO secretary general
Wednesday 8 March 2023 18:45 , Martha Mchardy
No perpetrator has yet been identified for the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, the NATO secretary general has said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “We have not been able to determine who was behind [the sabotage],” he said, adding, “There are ongoing national investigations and I think it’s right to wait until those are finalized before we say anything more.”
It comes after reports that intelligence reviewed by US officials indicated that a pro-Ukrainian group was behind last year’s attacks.
The New York Times claimed intelligence suggests a group loyal to Ukraine but acting independently of the government in Kyiv were involved in the operation, which damaged two pipes and targeted a crucial source of revenue for Moscow.
Ukraine has denied any involvement.
Claim Ukraine blew up Nord Stream pipeline ‘not the predominant view of the intelligence community’,
Wednesday 8 March 2023 18:15 , Martha Mchardy
The claim Ukraine was responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline is “not the predominant view of the intelligence community,” a source familiar with the US intelligence has said.
The source told CNN that the assessment made by US intelligence that a pro-Ukrainian group was behind last year’s attacks was not made with high confidence and that the US has not yet identified a culprit for the attack.
They also claimed there is a section of the US intelligence community that believes that pro-Ukrainian actors would have had the motive to sabotage the pipelines because of how Russia was weaponizing them against Ukraine and Europe.
The intelligence community has no evidence, however, that Ukrainian leaders, including Zelensky, had any knowledge of or involvement in the pipeline sabotage, the source said.
Ukraine ‘has nothing to do’ with Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, says Zelensky’s top adviser
Wednesday 8 March 2023 17:45 , Martha Mchardy
Ukraine “has nothing to do” with the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, Zelensky’s top adviser has said.
Mykhailo Podolyak, top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote on Twitter: “Although I enjoy collecting amusing conspiracy theories about (the Ukrainian) government, I have to say: (Ukraine) has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no information about ‘pro-(Ukraine) sabotage groups’.”
It comes after reports that intelligence reviewed by US officials indicated that a pro-Ukrainian group was behind last year’s attacks.
The New York Times claimed intelligence suggests a group loyal to Ukraine but acting independently of the government in Kyiv were involved in the operation, which damaged two pipes and targeted a crucial source of revenue for Moscow.
Russian forces claim progress in Bakhmut but no end in sight
Wednesday 8 March 2023 17:15 , Martha Mchardy
The owner of Russia’s Wagner Group military contractor claimed Wednesday that his troops have extended their gains in the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut, but it remained unclear how long the grinding fight might go on.
Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose troops have spearheaded the fight in Bakhmut, said they have taken full control of all districts east of the Bakhmutka River that crosses the city. The city’s center lies west of the river.Neither Russian nor Ukrainian officials commented on Prigozhin’s claim. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank that closely monitors the fighting, said Russian forces were likely in control in the areas cited by Prigozhin following a Ukrainian withdrawal.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Kyiv for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on extending an agreement that allows Ukraine to ship grain from its Black Sea ports and permits Russia to export food and fertilizers.The battle for the city the Ukrainians have dubbed “fortress Bakhmut” has become emblematic of the way each side has tried to wear down the other. Russian forces must go through Bakhmut to push deeper into parts of the Donetsk province they do not yet control, though Western officials say that capture of the city is unlikely to change the course of the war.The battle for Bakhmut has lasted six months and reduced the city with a prewar population of more than 70,000 to a smoldering wasteland. It’s not clear which side has paid a higher price.
Ukraine denies involvement in Nord Stream pipeline sabotage
Wednesday 8 March 2023 16:42 , Martha Mchardy
Ukraine has denied any involvement in September’s attack on the Nord Stream pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany.
It comes after reports that intelligence reviewed by US officials indicated that a pro-Ukrainian group was behind last year’s attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines.
The New York Times claimed intelligence suggested a group loyal to Ukraine but acting independently of the government in Kyiv were involved in the operation.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, said Ukraine “was absolutely not involved”.
Death of nationalist Ukrainian commander ‘Da Vinci’ gives Russia propaganda win
Wednesday 8 March 2023 16:40 , Emily Atkinson
The youngest battalion commander in the Ukrainian military, famed for his bravery and a long-time prime target of the Russians, has been killed in the battle for Bakhmut, writes Kim Sengupta.
Dmytro Kotsyubaylo, a leader of a group which Moscow has accused of having neo-Nazi and fascist links, died during shelling near the Donbas city – which has been the focus of a sustained Russian offensive for months.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who presented Kotsyubaylo with the award “Order of the Golden Star” as well as the title of “Hero of Ukraine” last year, said in tribute: “He was one of the youngest heroes of Ukraine; one of those whose personal history, character and courage forever became the history, character and courage of Ukraine. He was killed in a battle near Bakhmut – a battle for Ukraine.”
Death of Ukrainian commander ‘Da Vinci’ gives Russia propaganda win
In pictures: Funeral ceremony held for four soldiers of volunteer battalion in Kyiv
Wednesday 8 March 2023 16:05 , Emily Atkinson
US spy chiefs see China continuing to cooperate with Russia
Wednesday 8 March 2023 15:35 , Emily Atkinson
China will maintain its cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States, despite international concerns about the invasion of Ukraine, US intelligence agencies have said.
“Despite global backlash over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China will maintain its diplomatic, defense, economic, and technology cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States, even as it will limit public support,” they said in a report.
The report largely focused on threats from China and Russia, assessing that China will continue using its military and other assets to intimate rivals in the South China Sea and that it will build on actions from 2022, which could include more Taiwan Strait crossings or missile overflights of Taiwan.
The report said Russia probably does not seek conflict with the United States and Nato, but the war in Ukraine carries “great risk” of that happening, and that there is “real potential” for Russia’s military failures in Ukraine to hurt Russian President Vladimir Putin’s domestic standing, raising the potential for escalation.
Ukraine and UN call for Black Sea grain deal extension
Wednesday 8 March 2023 14:55 , Emily Atkinson
Ukraine’s president and United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres have called for the extension of a deal with Moscow that has allowed Kyiv to export grain via Black Sea ports during Russia’s invasion.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said after talks with Guterres in Kyiv that the Black Sea Grain Initiative was necessary for the world, and the UN chief underlined the importance of the deal to global food security and food prices.
The 120-day deal, initially brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July and extended in November, will be renewed on 18 March if no party objects.
“I want to underscore the critical importance of rolling over the Black Sea Grain Initiative on 18 March and working to create the conditions to enable the greatest possible use of export infrastructure through the Black Sea in line with the objectives of the initiative,” Guterres told reporters.
Zelensky said he and Guterres had agreed that rolling over the deal on March 18 was “critically necessary for the world.”
Russia’s demands 'not yet met for renewal of grain deal’
Wednesday 8 March 2023 14:15 , Emily Atkinson
Russia’s demands for the extension of a deal that allows the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea have not yet been met, a Turkish diplomatic source has told Reuters, adding that Ankara is “working very hard” to ensure the deal continues.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports. It was extended in November and until March 18 and will expire unless another extension is agreed.
Russia signalled that obstacles to its own agricultural exports needed to be removed before it let the Ukraine‘s Black Sea deal continue.
“Turkey is working very hard for the extension of the Black Sea grain deal, negotiations are still going on,” a Turkish diplomatic source said.
“Russia’s concerns, or the rather the difficulties that it is facing, have not been overcome yet. But Turkey is doing its part for an agreement between all parties,” the source added.
Putin presents bouquets on International Women’s Day
Wednesday 8 March 2023 13:45 , Emily Atkinson
Vladimir Putin presented flowers to a female war correspondent and medical workers from Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine in a Kremlin ceremony to mark International Women’s Day, thanking them for their achievements at what he called a challenging time for the country.
“Nothing is impossible for you,” Putin said in a speech to a group of women who were then invited to step up and accept bouquets from him as trumpet fanfares sounded.
“You can be tender and feminine and at the same time very strong. You always strive for fairness, you do everything to ensure that life in the family, society and the country unfailingly improves,” the president said.
Putin extols Russia’s ‘reverence and respect towards motherhood’ as he sends their sons and husbands to war
Wednesday 8 March 2023 13:15 , Emily Atkinson
Russian president Vladimir Putin has extolled Russia’s women for their “reverence towards motherhood” as he continues to send their sons and husbands to war in Ukraine.
In a televised International Women’s Day address, flanked by the statue of Russian Empress Catherine II the Great in the Kremlin’s Senate’s Palacehe, he said: “Reverence and respect towards women and motherhood is an unconditional value for us, something we have been passing on from generation to generation.
Vladimir Putin congratulated women on International Women’s Day💐
You can see the statue of Catherine II in the background. The life motto of Russian Empress has been inspiring us to the present day
“As long as I live I will defend my homeland with my tongue, my pen and my sword” pic.twitter.com/MmbF8wYGbq— Irina (@heyhelloirene) March 8, 2023
Putin went on to say that in Russia, the celebration “is always filled with special warmth and meaning, with the most kind, joyful and sincere feelings.”
“Dear women, on this new spring day, I want to wish you love and mutual understanding with the people you love, and may the warmth that your hearts so generously share return to you and keep you warm too,” Putin added.
Ukraine urges EU ministers to back joint ammunition buying plan
Wednesday 8 March 2023 12:45 , Emily Atkinson
Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has urged his EU counterparts to support a plan to buy one million artillery shells to help Kyiv fight Russia’s invasion and replenish their own stocks.
Speaking to reporters just before meeting the ministers in Stockholm, Reznikov said Ukraine urgently needed the shells to defend against Russian forces and launch a counter-offensive.
Reznikov said he supported a proposal by Estonia for EU countries to club together to buy 1 million 155-millimetre shells for Ukraine this year at a cost of 4 billion euros ($4.22 billion).
He said Ukraine wanted 90,000 to 100,000 artillery rounds per month. Ukraine is burning through shells faster than its allies can make them, officials have warned, prompting a renewed search for ammunition and ways to ramp up production.
Still unclear who carried out attack on Nord Stream pipelines, Nato chief says
Wednesday 8 March 2023 12:15 , Emily Atkinson
It is still unclear who was responsible for the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, as national investigations into the sabotage need to be concluded, Nato’s chief has said.
“What we do know is that there was an attack against the Nord Stream pipelines, but we have not been able to determine who was behind it,” Jens Stoltenberg said before a meeting with EU defence ministers in Stockholm.
“There are ongoing national investigations and I think it’s right to wait until those are finalised before we say anything more about who was behind it.”
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that new intelligence reviewed by US officials had indicated that a pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines that carried natural gas from Russia to Europe.
Thousands of people in Ukraine have complex war-related injuries - WHO
Wednesday 8 March 2023 11:45 , Emily Atkinson
Thousands of people in Ukraine have sustained complex injuries linked to the war and need rehabilitation services and equipment to help them, a senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official has said.
Attacks on healthcare facilities, fewer healthcare workers due to displacement and power shortages were all making it difficult for people to get care, Dr. Satish Mishra from the WHO’s regional office for Europe, told a media briefing.
Even before the war, in 2019, about half the population in Ukraine could have benefited from rehabilitation services for non-communicable conditions such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes, Dr Cathal Morgan, another WHO official said.
Since then, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war have significantly increased the need for rehab services, he added. “Hence the need for urgency.”
EU court annuls sanctions against mother of Putin ally
Wednesday 8 March 2023 11:15 , Emily Atkinson
A top European Union court has granted a challenge to annul sanctions against the mother of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of president Vladimir Putin and the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group fighting in Ukraine.
The EU blacklisted Violetta Prigozhina saying business links with her son made her complicit in Russia’s aggression against its neighbour, a former Soviet republic that now wants to integrate with the West.
“The General Court annuls the restrictive measures applied to Ms Violetta Prigozhina, mother of Mr Yevgeniy Prigozhin, in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the bloc’s second highest court said.
Watch | The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary
Wednesday 8 March 2023 10:42 , Emily Atkinson
It was a month into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp.
His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager.
As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead.
The Body in the Woods by Bel Trew is streaming now on Independent TV and on your smart TV.
The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary
Latest images from Bakhmut
Wednesday 8 March 2023 10:16 , Emily Atkinson
Bakhmut a ‘meat grinder’ for Putin's forces as Russian losses soar
Wednesday 8 March 2023 09:31 , Emily Atkinson
Ukraine has turned Bakhmut into a meat grinder for some of Russia’s most capable personnel, military experts have said amid reports Moscow’s losses far outstrip Kyiv’s.
“It has achieved its aim as effectively being the anvil on which so many Russian lives have been broken,” Lord Richard Dannatt, the former chief of the general staff of the British armed forces, said on Sky News.
The comments came as military expert Pavlo Narozhniy told Ukrainian NV Radio that Vladimir Putin’s losses in Bakhmut are between five and eight times greater than Ukraine’s.
EU needs to prioritise existing funds for buying Ukraine shells, Borrell says
Wednesday 8 March 2023 08:58 , Emily Atkinson
Existing European funds will need to be prioritised for procuring ammunition for Ukraine before any decision on fresh funds can be expected, the European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.
“The first thing to do is to use what we have. If member states are ready to provide more, I will be happy. But today let’s be realistic and pragmatic, and discuss about the things that can be adopted today,” Borrell said before a meeting with EU defence ministers in Stockholm.
Take old people and children out of ‘seized’ Bakhmut, Wagner chief tells Zelensky
Wednesday 8 March 2023 08:22 , Emily Atkinson
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has urged president Volodymyr Zelensky to “take the old people and children” out of the razed Bakhmut after claiming full control of the eastern city.
Mr Prigozhin issued the warning in a video posted on his Telegram channel on Wednesday, in which he stood in front of a tank with explosions raging in the background.
Seoul 'approved Poland’s export of howitzers with South Korean parts to Ukraine’
Wednesday 8 March 2023 07:50 , Emily Atkinson
South Korea’s government approved export licenses for Poland last year to provide Ukraine with Krab howitzers, which are built with South Korean components, a defence acquisition official in Seoul told Reuters.
The comments are the first confirmation that South Korea officially acquiesced to at least indirectly providing weapons components to Ukraine for its war against Russia.
Seoul officials have previously declined to comment on the Krabs, fuelling speculation over whether South Korea had formally agreed or was simply looking the other way.
The Defence Acquisition Program Administration’s (DAPA) technology control bureau reviewed and approved the transfer of the howitzer’s South Korean-made chassis, said Kim Hyoung-cheol, director of the Europe-Asia division of the International Cooperation Bureau.
“We reviewed all the documentation and possible issues inside DAPA... then we made decision to give out export license to Poland,” he told Reuters in an interview at DAPA headquarters on the outskirts of Seoul.
He later stressed that the government’s stance is to not transfer weapons systems to Ukraine.
Berlin warns against hasty accusations after Nord Stream reports
Wednesday 8 March 2023 07:20 , Emily Atkinson
Berlin has warned against premature accusations after a report said intelligence reviewed by US officials indicated that a pro-Ukrainian group was behind last year’s attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines.
“It may just as well have been a false flag operation staged to blame Ukraine, an option brought up in the media reports as well,” German defence minister Boris Pistorius told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
“The likelihood for one or the other is equally high,” he added. Pistorius was speaking in Stockholm where EU defence ministers are meeting.
Ukraine denies involvement in Nord Stream pipelines sabotage
Wednesday 8 March 2023 06:42 , Maroosha Muzaffar
Ukraine has denied any involvement in the Nord Stream pipelines sabotage after US media cited new intelligence that a pro-Ukrainian group may have been behind last year’s attack targetting Russia’s gas deliveries to Europe.
“Although I enjoy collecting amusing conspiracy theories about (the Ukrainian) government, I have to say: (Ukraine) has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no information about ‘pro-(Ukraine) sabotage groups,’” Mykhailo Podolyak, top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote on Twitter.
The New York Times had reported that the new intelligence was reviewed by US officials as well and suggested that a group loyal to Ukraine but acting independently were involved in the operation.
