Russian mercenary group Wagner’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has warned that the whole frontline is at the brink of collapsing if his soldiers are forced to retreat from Bakhmut amid “ammunition hunger”.

The mercenary group boss said that his forces fighting in eastern Ukraine’s Bakhmut are now being deprived of arms and ammunition to carry on in the battle.

"If Wagner retreats from Bakhmut now, the whole front will collapse," Yevgeny Prigozhin said over the weekend, speaking from a bunker-like space.

"The situation will not be sweet for all military formations protecting Russian interests," he warned.

This comes amid reports that Russian soldiers are likely using “shovels” in hand-to-hand combat because of depleted stock.

The British defence ministry described how in late February Russian troops were ordered to attack a Ukrainian position armed just with “firearms and shovels”.

Russian troops have been facing a severe ammunition shortage, with Prigozhin blaming Russian deaths in Ukraine on the recent shortage.

Key points

• Russian army says it hit Azov Regiment command centre in Ukraine

• Civilians flee embattled town as Ukrainian pullout looms

• New Delhi audience laughs as Sergey Lavrov says Ukraine ‘launched’ war against Russia

• Death toll from Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia rises to 11

• EU membership talks for Ukraine could begin this year

Wagner boss says war front line gains, including Bakhmut, at risking of collapsing

03:25 , Arpan Rai

Russian mercenary group Wagner’s chief has warned that his forces capturing the entire mining town of Bakhmut were being deprived of arms and ammunition, adding that if they were forced to retreat, the entire front gained in the war so far would collapse.

"If Wagner retreats from Bakhmut now, the whole front will collapse," Yevgeny Prigozhin said over the weekend, speaking from a bunker-like space.

"The situation will not be sweet for all military formations protecting Russian interests," he warned.

He added that his soldiers are worried that Moscow wanted to set them up as possible scapegoats if Russia lost the war.

"If we retreat, then we will go down in history forever as people who have taken the main step towards losing the war," the mercenary group’s boss said in a nearly four-minute video.

"This is exactly the problem with ammunition hunger."

Kyiv may be conducting ‘limited fighting withdrawal in Bakhmut’

08:43 , Emily Atkinson

Ukraine’s forces are likely conducting a “limited tactical withdrawal” in Bakhmut, although it is still too early to assess Kyiv’s intentions concerning a complete withdrawal from the city, according to a think tank.

In its latest update, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Ukrainian troops “may be withdrawing from their positions on the eastern bank of the Bakhmutka River,” citing recent geolocated footage of the destruction of the railway bridge over the river on Friday.

“Russian war correspondents and milbloggers claimed that Russian forces captured eastern, northern, and southern parts of Bakhmut on 5 March and claimed to be reporting from positions in eastern Bakhmut, but ISW cannot independently verify these claims at this time,” the ISW update states.

It adds: “Geolocated footage showed that Wagner Group forces continued to make advances in northeastern Bakhmut and advanced near the Stupky railway station on 5 March.”

“A Ukrainian serviceman told a Ukrainian outlet that Russian forces have yet to cross the Bakhmutka River into central Bakhmut as of 4 March, and Russian milbloggers claimed that the Wagner Group pushed Ukrainian positions back to central Bakhmut.

“It is unclear if Ukrainian forces are planning to hold positions on the western bank of the Bakhmutka River.”

Russia works to ease visa regime for India and other countries

08:22 , Emily Atkinson

Russia is working on easing visa procedures for six countries, including India, Syria and Indonesia, the state TASS news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Evgeny Ivanov as saying on Sunday.

“In addition to India (procedures simplification) ... is being worked out with Angola, Vietnam, Indonesia, Syria and Philippines,” Ivanov said.

Earlier, Ivanov said that Russia is also preparing intergovernmental agreements on visa-free trips with 11 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Barbados, Haiti, Zambia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico and Trinidad, TASS reported.

In pictures: Collapsed buildings in Lyman after Russian withdrawal

08:03 , Emily Atkinson

Russian defence minister visits Mariupol

07:42 , Emily Atkinson

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has visited Mariupol, the defence ministry said on Monday, the city in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region captured by Russian forces last year after a months-long siege.

Mr Shoigu is on a rare visit to his forces in Ukraine, having awarded medals and meeting commanders on the weekend.

Russia's air defence downs three missiles in Belgorod region

07:20 , Emily Atkinson

At least one person was wounded in the southern Russian region of Belgorod on Monday after Russian forces shot down three missiles, the governor of the region bordering Ukraine said.

The falling debris had also brought down some power lines near the town of Novy Oskol but the full scope of the damage was not immediately known, the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on the Telegram messaging app.

“It’s known about one wounded, a man with shrapnel wounds to his hand,” Gladkov said.

He did not say who he thought had fired the missiles but in the past he has accused Ukrainian forces on the other side of the nearby border of similar attacks.

Belgorod borders Ukraine‘s Kharkiv region and has repeatedly come under fire since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago.

Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia and on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

Ukraine could ‘pull out’ from Bakhmut

07:00 , Lucy Skoulding

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, assessed last week that Kyiv’s actions may point to a looming pullout from parts of the city of Bakhmut.

It said Ukrainian troops may “conduct a limited and controlled withdrawal from particularly difficult sections of eastern Bakhmut,” while seeking to inhibit Russian movement there and limit exit routes to the west.

Capturing Bakhmut would not only give Russian fighters a rare battlefield gain after months of setbacks but might rupture Ukraine’s supply lines and allow the Kremlin’s forces to press on toward other Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk province.

Russia deploying 60-year-old battle tanks to compensate battlefield losses – MoD

06:56 , Arpan Rai

The Russian military has continued to respond to heavy armoured vehicle losses by deploying 60-year-old T-62 main battle tanks (MBT), according to the intelligence by the British defence ministry.

“There is a realistic possibility that even units of the 1st Guards Tank Army (1 GTA), supposedly Russia’s premier tank force, will be re-equipped with T-62s to make up for previous losses,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.

It added that 1 GTA had previously been due to receive the next-generation T-14 Armata MBT from 2021.

“In recent days, Russian BTR-50 armoured personnel carriers, first fielded in 1954, have also been identified [as] deployed in Ukraine for the first time,” the MoD said.

“Since summer 2022, approximately 800 T-62s have been taken from storage and some have received upgraded sighting systems which will highly likely improve their effectiveness at night,” the ministry said.

However, it added that, both these vintage vehicle types will present many vulnerabilities on the modern battlefield, including the absence of modern explosive reactive armour.

Russian brigade in Donetsk refuse to obey orders, says Ukraine

06:35 , Arpan Rai

Senior officers of Russia’s 155th Brigade, which Kyiv says suffered heavy recent losses, were refusing to obey orders to attack near Vuhledar, southwest of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk, according to the Ukrainian military officials.

“The leaders of the brigade and senior officers are refusing to proceed with a new senseless attack as demanded by their unskilled commanders - to storm well-defended Ukrainian positions with little protection or preparation,” Ukraine‘s military said in a statement.

Military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said two “Cossack” Russian units known as Steppe and Tiger had expressed frustration with their commanders and refused to take part in any new offensive on the hilltop town.

British pilots to conduct joint air policing missions in Estonia

06:00 , Lucy Skoulding

British pilots are set to conduct joint air policing missions in Estonia alongside the German air force for the first time.

It comes as the UK prepares take over from Germany to lead the Nato mission in Estonia, which borders Russia.

Royal Air Force and German Air Force Typhoon jets will take part in the first of their kind “integrated” missions, as the Defence Secretary praised the demonstration of Nato “unity”.

The Ministry of Defence said that around 300 RAF personnel will soon arrive in Estonia, with the UK set to lead the Nato air policing mission for four months from April.

Read the full story by reporter Dominic McGrath.

Ukraine ‘holding’ defence in Bakhmut in tough battle, says military

05:50 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Nazarenko, a commander of Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut, said that there had been no order to retreat and “the defence is holding” in grim conditions.

“The situation in Bakhmut and around it is very much hell-like, as it is on the entire eastern front,” the top commander said in a video posted on Telegram.

Ukrainian forces have repelled 95 Russian attacks in the Bakhmut area in the past 24 hours, the war-torn nation’s military said earlier today.

“The situation in Bakhmut can be described as critical,” Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said in a video commentary.

In a grinding battle for territorial gain, a Russian victory in Bakhmut, with a pre-war population of about 70,000, would give it the first major prize in a costly winter offensive.

Russia says it would be a stepping stone to completing the capture of the Donbas industrial region, one of its most important objectives, even when the town has little strategic value.

‘Russian murderers’ in Ukraine war will be punished, says Zelensky

05:08 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his administration is working on punishing all Russian officials and forces for sustaining the war against Ukraine after he held a conference with lawyers from Kyiv, Europe and other nations.

“All Russian murderers, every organiser of this aggression, everyone who in any way sustains the war against our country and terror against our people must be punished. And this is not just a dream of justice. This is work that is already underway,” he said in his nightly address.

The war-time president added that his administration is already reaching these agreements.

“These are agreements that we are already reaching. These are institutions that are already working and will work even harder to restore justice, to punish those responsible for aggression,” he said.

Russian military source says Bakhmut fighting is ‘close to the end'

05:00 , Lucy Skoulding

Ukraine has vowed to defend its “fortress” Bakhmut as intense fighting against Russian soldiers continued in the streets this weekend.

But Russian military source has claimed the battle is “close to its end”.

Ukrainian military officials said attempts were continuing by Vladimir Putin’s troops to encircle the city.

Two civilians were killed over the past day in Bakhmut, governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was enduring a “painful and difficult” battle in the eastern Donbas region, which includes Bakhmut.

Read the full story.

Death toll up to 13 after Thursday’s rocket

04:00 , Lucy Skoulding

The death toll of an attack on a high rise building on Thursday has now risen to 13 as another person has died.

A rocket hit a five-floor residential block in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on Thursday.

Anatoliy Kurtiev, secretary of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Council, said on Sunday: “Unfortunately, the number of people who died as a result of the rocket attack on March 2 has already increased to 13. Among them is a very small child.”

Ukrainian authorities said a pregnant woman was among those rescued from the building on Thursday.

Olaf Scholz threatens ‘consequences’ if China sends arms to Russia

03:50 , Arpan Rai

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has said there would be “consequences” if China decides to aid Russia with weapons for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, but added that he is fairly optimistic that Beijing will refrain from doing so.

“I think it would have consequences, but we are now in a stage where we are making clear that this should not happen, and I’m relatively optimistic that we will be successful with our request in this case, but we will have to look at (it) and we have to be very, very cautious,” the German chancellor said on being asked by CNN if he could imagine sanctioning China if it did aid Russia.

In the last few weeks, US officials have warned recently that China could step off the sidelines and begin providing arms and ammunition to Moscow.

Mr Scholz has already urged Beijing to refrain from sending weapons and instead use its influence to press Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

Read the full story here:

Scholz: 'consequences' if China sends arms to Russia

Ukraine vows to defend Bakhmut as Russia claims battle is ‘close to end’

03:40 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine has vowed to defend its “fortress” Bakhmut as intense fighting against Russian soldiers continued in the streets this weekend.

Fighting intensified in the fiercely contested city yesterday with a Russian military source claiming the battle was “close to its end”.

Ukrainian military officials said attempts were continuing by Vladimir Putin’s troops to encircle the city.

Read the full story here:

Ukraine vows to defend ‘fortress’ Bakhmut as Russia claims battle is ‘close to end’

Russia unhappy with Black Sea grain deal

03:00 , Lucy Skoulding

Russia has said it’s not happy with some aspects of the Black Sea grain deal as Turkey announced it’s “working hard” to extend the initiative.

“If this agreement is equal, then we have always fulfilled our part and are going to fulfill it in all the agreements,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

Ms Zakharova added that Russia would be opposing “goading and mechanisms”.

Formed between Turkey and the UN last year, the Black Sea Grain Initiative allowed there to be exports of grain from three ports in Ukraine.

Putin’s troops ‘left to fight with shovels’

02:30 , Katy Clifton

Russian troops are likely using shovels for "hand-to-hand" combat in Ukraine because of an ammunition shortage, UK intelligence has said.

In its update on the war on Sunday, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said Vladimir Putin’s troops were ordered to attack a Ukrainian position armed just with “firearms and shovels” late last month.

It said the shovel was an MPL-50 - a tool that was designed in 1869 and has not changed much since. The MoD said it “highlights the brutal and low-tech fighting” that has characterised much of the war.

Read more below:

Putin’s troops ‘left to fight with shovels’ as Russia suffers ammunition shortage

ICYMI

01:30 , Katy Clifton

A woman and two children were killed in Russian mortar shelling of a village in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, the head of Ukraine‘s presidential office said on Sunday.

“Mortar shelling of Poniativka village in Kherson region. A private house was hit,” Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“Russian terrorists continue to kill civilians,” he said, providing no additional details of the attack.

Kherson was occupied by Russian troops from the early days of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine until its recapture by Kyiv’s forces in November.

Since its liberation, the city has regularly been shelled from Russian positions across the Dnipro river.

UK and Germany to fly joint Nato missions in Estonia for first time

00:30 , Katy Clifton

British pilots are set to conduct joint air policing missions in Estonia alongside the German air force for the first time.

It comes as the UK prepares take over from Germany to lead the Nato mission in Estonia, which borders Russia.

Royal Air Force and German Air Force Typhoon jets will take part in the first of their kind “integrated” missions, as the Defence Secretary praised the demonstration of Nato “unity”.

The Ministry of Defence said that around 300 RAF personnel will soon arrive in Estonia, with the UK set to lead the Nato air policing mission for four months from April.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has reignited concerns in border states, including Estonia, about Vladmir Putin’s ambitions and his next steps.

Germany warns of ‘consequences’ if China arms Russia

Sunday 5 March 2023 23:30 , Katy Clifton

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has said there would be “consequences” if China sent weapons to Russia for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, but said he is fairly optimistic that Beijing will refrain from doing so.Mr Scholz’s comments came in an interview with CNN that aired Sunday, two days after he met US president Joe Biden in Washington.US officials have warned recently that China could step off the sidelines and begin providing arms and ammunition to Moscow.

Ahead of his trip, Mr Scholz had urged Beijing to refrain from sending weapons and instead use its influence to press Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Asked by CNN if he could imagine sanctioning China if it did aid Russia, Mr Scholz replied: “I think it would have consequences, but we are now in a stage where we are making clear that this should not happen, and I’m relatively optimistic that we will be successful with our request in this case, but we will have to look at (it) and we have to be very, very cautious.”

Watch: The Body in the Woods trailer

Sunday 5 March 2023 22:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Independent’s first feature-length documentary The Body in the Woods, about Ukraine’s unprecedented search for its missing and dead, premiered at Kyiv railway station on Saturday.

Audience members who included some of the families featured in the film, described it as a harrowing account of Russian atrocities in the war-ravaged country and the first in depth investigation into the scale of the difficulties Ukrainians face trying to find and identify their dead.

His brother was kidnapped and murdered by the Russians, his mother left to die. Now he wants answers

Sunday 5 March 2023 21:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

“My brother Andryi was kidnapped, tortured and murdered here, did you play a part in this? Do you know what they did with the body, where they buried him?” Major Aleksandr Osadchy is questioning two neighbours in the shattered community of Kamianka, eastern Ukraine.

Quietly, trying hard to stay calm, he tells of how his 85-year-old mother, Maria, died of starvation: ill, frightened and alone after his brother – who had been looking after her – was taken away by Russian troops. Her emaciated body, curled up in an effort to stay warm, was found six months later.

Kim Sengupta witnesses a Ukrainian commander confront the neighbours he suspects betrayed his family in their village.

His brother was kidnapped and murdered by the Russians. Now he wants answers

Woman and two children killed in Russian shelling in southern Ukraine

Sunday 5 March 2023 20:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A woman and two children were killed in Russian mortar shelling of a village in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, the head of Ukraine‘s presidential office said on Sunday.

“Mortar shelling of Poniativka village in Kherson region. A private house was hit,” Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“Russian terrorists continue to kill civilians,” he said, providing no additional details of the attack.

Kherson was occupied by Russian troops from the early days of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine until its recapture by Kyiv’s forces in November.

Since its liberation, the city has regularly been shelled from Russian positions across the Dnipro river.

Ukrainians struggling to bring family to UK because of government rules

Sunday 5 March 2023 19:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In case you missed it...

Ukrainians who have fled the war are struggling to bring loved ones to live with them in the UK because government schemes gave them fewer rights than other refugees.

A university lecturer’s mother and sister had to settle in Germany after he had to “give up” trying to bring them to Britain, while a working couple’s elderly parents ended up in Ireland after they were told they could not act as sponsors.

These are among numerous Ukrainian families separated by stringent rules stemming from a decision by ministers to give those fleeing the conflict temporary three-year visas rather than full refugee status.

Emmeline Skinner Cassidy, who runs the Families Together coalition, told The Independent that “at first glance” Ukrainians appeared to have an advantage over people fleeing other countries, with bespoke routes set up under intense public pressure at the start of the war.

Ukrainians struggling to bring family to UK because of government rules

Ukraine: Mourners commemorate 8 men killed in Bucha

Sunday 5 March 2023 18:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Clutching flowers and wiping away tears, relatives, neighbors and friends of eight men executed by Russian forces during the occupation of the Ukrainian town of Bucha gathered Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the deaths.

The eight had set up a roadblock in an attempt to prevent Russian troops from advancing as they swept toward Kyiv, Ukrane’s capital, at the start of their invasion. But the men were captured, Ukrainian authorities say, and executed.

Their bodies lay outside a building on Yablunska Street for a month, with relatives only able to collect them in April after Russian troops pulled out of Bucha.

Ukraine: Mourners commemorate 8 men killed in Bucha

Russian soldiers using ‘shovels’ in combat

Sunday 5 March 2023 17:51 , Lucy Skoulding

Russian troops are likely using “shovels” in combat because of a shortage in ammunition.

Speaking in its latest intelligence update, the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) said that in late February troops were ordered to attack a Ukrainian position armed just with “firearms and shovels”.

It said the shovel was an MPL-50 a tool that was designed in 1869, and hasn’t changed very much since, adding that it “highlights the brutal and low-tech fighting” that has characterised a lot of the war.

It comes as Russian troops have been facining a severe ammunition shortage.

Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has blamed Russian deaths in Ukraine on the recent shortage.

Civilians flee Bakhmut as Russian and Ukrainian troops battle in streets of besieged city

Sunday 5 March 2023 17:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In case you missed it...

Civilians continued to flee Bakhmut on Saturday as Russian and Ukrainian troops battled in the streets of the besieged city.

A woman was killed and two men badly wounded after trying to cross a makeshift bridge out of the city, according to Ukranian soldiers trying to help them leave.

Oleksandr Marchenko, the city’s deputy mayor, said 4,000 civilians are still living in shelters and have no access to electricity, water or gas.

He told the BBC the area is “almost destroyed” but that Russian forces do not have control of the conurbation.

Civilians flee Bakhmut as Russian and Ukrainian troops battle in streets of city

The latest from the frontline

Sunday 5 March 2023 16:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Here is the latest update from the Ukraine-Russia fronline:

* Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut face increasingly strong pressure from Russian forces, British military intelligence said on Saturday, with intense fighting taking place in and around the eastern city.

* A woman and two children were killed in Russian mortar shelling of a village in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, the head of Ukraine‘s presidential office said on Sunday.

* The Russian army hit a command centre of the Ukrainian forces’ Azov Regiment in southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday. The ministry did not elaborate on the attack. Reuters could not independently verify the account.

* The death toll from a Russian missile strike that hit an apartment block in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia rose to 11 on Saturday after a woman’s body was found in the debris, the state emergency service said.

* Top commanders of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine have briefed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on the current situation and action plans, his ministry said on Sunday.

Ukraine and economy top agenda as polls open in Estonian general election

Sunday 5 March 2023 15:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Polling stations have opened in Estonia for a general election that the centre-right Reform Party of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is favourite to win.

Ms Kallas, one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, faces a challenge from the populist opposition EKRE party that is seeking to limit the Baltic nation’s exposure to the Ukraine crisis and is blaming the government for people’s economic misery.

More than 900,000 people are eligible to cast ballots to pick representatives to Estonia’s 101-seat parliament from a range of nine political parties.

Nearly half of the eligible voters have already voted in advance. Many Estonians prefer to vote electronically, casting votes from their computers.

National security in the wake of neighbouring Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine and social-economic issues, particularly the rising cost of living, have been the main themes of the election.

Ms Kallas, 45, has emerged in the past year of war as one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine.

Holding the country’s top post since 2021, she is seeking a second term, with her standing enhanced by her international appeals to impose sanctions on Moscow.

Five parties are currently represented at the parliament.

Ms Kallas’ Reform Party heads the current three-party coalition government with the small conservative Fatherland party and the Social Democrats.

A Baltic nation of 1.3 million people that borders Russia to the east, Estonia broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991 and has taken a clear western course, joining Nato and the European Union.

Polls indicate Ms Kallas’ centre-right liberal Reform Party is likely to win more votes than any other party.

What is the latest on weapons and sanctions?

Sunday 5 March 2023 14:32 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Here is the latest update on weapons and sanctions in the Ukraine-Russia conflict:

* Two Ukrainian pilots are in Arizona to fly flight simulators and be evaluated by the U.S. military, two U.S. officials said on Saturday, as Washington remains mute on whether it will send fighter jets or sophisticated remotely piloted drones to Kyiv.

* German defence contractor Rheinmetall is in negotiations about building a tank factory in Ukraine, the newspaper Rheinische Post reported on Saturday, citing an interview with CEO Armin Papperger.

* In addition to Leopard 2 tanks, Rheinmetall wants to buy 96 Leopard 1 tanks from Swiss defence firm Ruag to send to Ukraine, the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported on Saturday.

* Germany is making slow progress in enforcing sanctions against Russian oligarchs and institutions, according to government numbers seen by Reuters

Cuba's president meets CEO of Russia's Rosneft amid fuel shortage

Sunday 5 March 2023 14:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian oil firm Rosneft’s CEO Igor Sechin met with Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel late on Saturday, the island’s leader said, amid an acute fuel shortage that has service stations temporarily shuttered and hours-long gasoline queues.

Sechin told Diaz-Canel that, when it comes to issues related to Cuba, “Putin supervises them directly and personally”, Diaz-Canel’s office said in a statement released via Twitter.

Several tweets on Cuba’s Presidency account emphasised the good relations between the two countries, but did not specify the reason for the visit by the state-run oil firm’s boss.

Sechin is set to travel to Venezuela for the tenth anniversary of the death of the South American country’s former president Hugo Chavez, a close ally of both Cuba and Russia.

Cuba’s former leader Raul Castro has also flown to Caracas for the occasion, Cuban state-run media said.

Communist-run Cuba is battling through its worst economic crisis in decades, its output decimated by the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. sanctions and an inefficient centrally planned economy that has struggled to respond to the challenges.

Hours-long lines for food, fuel and medicine have ravaged the island and contributed to a mass exodus of Cubans in the past year, many headed north to the United States.

Russia in February gave Cuba an “emergency” donation of 25,000 tons of wheat to combat shortages on the island, the second such gift in a year and a sign of deepening ties between the two long-time allies.

Russia, hit by Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, is looking to strengthen political and economic ties with other countries opposed to what it calls U.S. hegemony.

Cuba has been under a U.S. economic embargo since 1962 after a Communist revolution led by former leader Fidel Castro.

Russia’s Sergey Lavrov provokes laughter from audience as he claims Ukraine started war

Sunday 5 March 2023 13:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov provoked laughter from an audience at a conference in India when he claimed his country is the victim of the war in Ukraine.

He was speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, an event in New Delhi that debates the major challenges facing the world.

It is one of the few global events that still invites Russian politicians.

“The war, which we are trying to stop, which was launched against us using Ukrainian people, of course, influenced the policy of Russia,” Mr Lavrov said, sparking laughter and groans from the audience.

Russia’s Sergey Lavrov sparks laughter from audience as he claims Ukraine started war

The harrowing discovery in Ukraine at the centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Sunday 5 March 2023 13:04 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

International correspondent Bel Trew recalls the moment which led to the making of her new documentary, The Body in the Woods, released on 1 March.

There were bodies scattered everywhere. I remember a charred human spine and skull lying on the ground of an upturned burned-out car. Another decapitated body splayed on the ground next to an eviscerated street.

The curve of an arm, and a foot, in a kind of yin and yang shape, appearing through the soil of a mass grave. And everywhere around this was a frozen tableau of horror.

The harrowing discovery in Ukraine at the centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Russian army says it hit Azov Regiment command centre in Ukraine

Sunday 5 March 2023 12:43 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Russian army hit a command centre of the Ukrainian forces’ Azov Regiment in southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry did not elaborate on the attack, in its daily update on what Moscow terms the “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Reuters could not independently verify the account.

The Azov Regiment, which had far-right and ultra-nationalist origins and is now a unit of Ukraine‘s national guard, garnered international attention for its resistance to the Russian siege of Mariupol’s vast steelworks last year.

The Russian ministry did not mention in Sunday’s bulletin the battle around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which Russian forces are trying to capture.

Woman and two children killed in Russian shelling in southern Ukraine

Sunday 5 March 2023 12:22 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A woman and two children were killed in Russian mortar shelling of a village in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, the head of Ukraine‘s presidential office said on Sunday.

“Mortar shelling of Poniativka village in Kherson region. A private house was hit,” Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“Russian terrorists continue to kill civilians,” he said, providing no additional details of the attack.

Kherson was occupied by Russian troops from the early days of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine until its recapture by Kyiv’s forces in November.

Since its liberation, the city has regularly been shelled from Russian positions across the Dnipro river.

Audience in Delhi openly laughs as Lavrov says Ukraine war ‘launched against’ Russia

Sunday 5 March 2023 11:41 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia’s long-standing foreign minister Sergei Lavrov provoked open laughter from the audience at an international conference in India after he falsely claimed that his home country was a victim of Ukrainian aggression.

Mr Lavrov was responding to a question from the audience at the Raisina Dialogue 2023 series in New Delhi when the 72-year-old made the statement.

“How has the war affected Russia’s strategy on energy, and will it mark a privilege toward Asia? And if it does, how is India going to feature in it?” asked a member of the audience.

“You know, the war, which we are trying to stop, which was launched against us, using the...” Mr Lavrov began, before loud laughter cut through his claim.

Audience openly laughs as Lavrov says Ukraine war ‘launched against’ Russia

Russia's top military brass brief defence minister on current situation

Sunday 5 March 2023 10:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Top commanders of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine have briefed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on the current situation and action plans, his ministry said on Sunday.

Shoigu paid a rare visit to Russia‘s forces deployed in Ukraine, awarding medals to military personnel and meeting senior commanders during the trip, according to a statement and videos issued by the Defence Ministry on Saturday.

The minister held a meeting with commanders of the operation, the ministry said in a statement in its Telegram social media app on Sunday. It did not specify if the meeting took place during the trip.

“Sergei Shoigu paid special attention to the set-up of all the necessary conditions for the safe deployment of personnel in the field, the organization of comprehensive support for the troops, especially the work of medical and rear units.”

Russia‘s top military chiefs have visited the front lines in Ukraine only occasionally since Moscow sent tens of thousands of Russian troops into the neighbouring country just over a year ago.

The latest from the frontline

Sunday 5 March 2023 09:59 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Here are the latest updates from the frontline:

* Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut face increasingly strong pressure from Russian forces, British military intelligence said on Saturday, with intense fighting taking place in and around the eastern city.

* The death toll from a Russian missile strike that hit an apartment block in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia rose to 11 on Saturday after a woman’s body was found in the debris, the state emergency service said.

* Top commanders of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine have briefed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on the current situation and action plans, his ministry said on Sunday.

* Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, published a video on Saturday showing what he said were coffins containing bodies of Ukrainian soldiers being repatriated to territory held by Kyiv.

His brother was kidnapped and murdered by the Russians, his mother left to die. Now he wants answers

Sunday 5 March 2023 09:18 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Kim Sengupta witnesses a Ukrainian commander confront the neighbours he suspects betrayed his family in their village.

“My brother Andryi was kidnapped, tortured and murdered here, did you play a part in this? Do you know what they did with the body, where they buried him?” Major Aleksandr Osadchy is questioning two neighbours in the shattered community of Kamianka, eastern Ukraine.

Quietly, trying hard to stay calm, he tells of how his 85-year-old mother, Maria, died of starvation: ill, frightened and alone after his brother – who had been looking after her – was taken away by Russian troops. Her emaciated body, curled up in an effort to stay warm, was found six months later.

His brother was kidnapped and murdered by the Russians. Now he wants answers

Turkey says working to renew Black Sea grain deal

Sunday 5 March 2023 08:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday that Ankara is working hard to extend a U.N.-backed initiative that has enabled Ukraine to export grain from ports blockaded by Russia following its invasion.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports. The agreement was extended in November and will expire on March 18 unless an extension is agreed.

“We are working hard for the smooth implementation and further extension of the Black Sea grain deal,” Cavusoglu said in a speech at the United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries being held in Doha, Qatar.

Cavusoglu also said he discussed the extension efforts with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

On Wednesday, Russia said it would only agree to extend the Black Sea grain deal if the interests of its own agricultural producers are taken into account.

Russia’s top military brass brief defence minister on current situation

Sunday 5 March 2023 08:02 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Top commanders of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine have briefed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on the current situation and action plans, his ministry said on Sunday.

Shoigu paid a rare visit to Russia‘s forces deployed in Ukraine, awarding medals to military personnel and meeting senior commanders during the trip, according to a statement and videos issued by the Defence Ministry on Saturday.

The minister held a meeting with commanders of the operation, the ministry said in a statement in its Telegram social media app on Sunday. It did not specify if the meeting took place during the trip.

“Sergei Shoigu paid special attention to the set-up of all the necessary conditions for the safe deployment of personnel in the field, the organization of comprehensive support for the troops, especially the work of medical and rear units.”

Russia‘s top military chiefs have visited the front lines in Ukraine only occasionally since Moscow sent tens of thousands of Russian troops into the neighbouring country just over a year ago.

Estonia goes to polls in a test for pro-Kyiv government

Sunday 5 March 2023 07:21 , Namita Singh

Estonians go to the polls today as one of Europe’s most staunchly pro-Kyiv governments faces a challenge from a far-right party seeking to capitalise on anger at rising living costs and which would shut out further Ukrainian refugees.

If, as opinion polls predict, prime minister Kaja Kallas’ liberal Reform party wins the election and successfully crafts a coalition it would cement the Baltic nation’s pro-European direction. Estonia would also stay on course to adopt more green energy and continue to accept refugees from Ukraine.

The polls close at 8pm local time, with most electoral districts expected to report their tallies by midnight.

Reform won an election in 2019 but was then kept from power as three smaller parties formed a government. That coalition collapsed in 2021, allowing Kallas to create a coalition and take charge.

The far-right Ekre party may end up in second place, according to opinion polls, as their promises to slash energy bills by opposing the transition to green energy are proving popular in some parts of the country, as is the pledge to not admit further Ukrainian refugees.

“I hope to stay prime minister, but it’s up to the voters to decide”, Ms Kallas said, adding voters must choose between what she called “two totally different ways for Estonia”.

“We are supporting the open, friendly, European-minded, smart country, I would say, and Ekre is looking more into itself, that we should stick to our own interest, not to help Ukraine,” she said.

ICYMI: Delhi audience openly laughs as Lavrov says Ukraine war ‘launched against’ Russia

Sunday 5 March 2023 06:01 , Namita Singh

Russia’s long-standing foreign minister Sergei Lavrov provoked open laughter from the audience at an international conference in India after he falsely claimed that his home country was a victim of Ukrainian aggression.

Mr Lavrov was responding to a question from the audience at the Raisina Dialogue 2023 series in New Delhi when the 72-year-old made the statement.

Read the full details here:

Audience openly laughs as Lavrov says Ukraine war ‘launched against’ Russia

Mourners commemorate 8 men killed in Bucha

Sunday 5 March 2023 05:10 , Namita Singh

Clutching flowers and wiping away tears, relatives, neighbours and friends of eight men executed by Russian forces during the occupation of the Ukrainian town of Bucha gathered on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the deaths.

The eight had set up a roadblock in an attempt to prevent Russian troops from advancing as they swept toward Kyiv, Ukrane’s capital, at the start of their invasion. But the men were captured, Ukrainian authorities say, and executed.

Their bodies lay outside a building on Yablunska Street for a month, with relatives only able to collect them in April after Russian troops pulled out of Bucha.

More in this report:

Ukraine: Mourners commemorate 8 men killed in Bucha

Death toll in strike on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia rises to 11

Sunday 5 March 2023 04:50 , Namita Singh

The death toll from a Russian missile strike that hit an apartment block in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia rose to 11 on Saturday after a woman’s body was found in the debris, the state emergency service said.

One child was among those killed in Thursday’s early-morning strike on the five-storey residential building, the service said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Officials from the regional administration said in another post that a Russian S-300 missile had hit the building.

In a post on Telegram shortly after the strike, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky promised to hold Russia accountable.

Volodymyr Zelensky

Biden expected to tighten rules on US investment in China

Sunday 5 March 2023 04:30 , Namita Singh

The Biden administration is close to tightening rules on some overseas investments by US companies in an effort to limit China’s ability to acquire technologies that could improve its military prowess, according to a US official familiar with the deliberations.

The soon-to-be-issued executive order from president Joe Biden will limit American investment in advanced technologies that have national security applications — such as next-generation military capabilities that could help China improve the speed and accuracy of military decision making, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Report:

Biden expected to tighten rules on US investment in China

ICYMI: Lavrov says Russia will turn to Asia for energy trade and ‘no longer rely’ on West

Sunday 5 March 2023 04:10 , Namita Singh

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says his country will “no longer rely” on the West for energy trade.

He made the remark during the foreign ministers’ G20 meeting in New Delhi on Friday, 3 March.

Mr Lavrov was asked how the war in Ukraine has impacted the country’s energy strategy at the Raisina Dialogue, a multilateral conference,

“We would not anymore rely on any partners in the west. We would not allow them to blow the pipelines again,” he said.

Lavrov says Russia will turn to Asia for energy trade and ‘no longer rely’ on West

Britain says Ukraine forces defending Bakhmut under increasingly severe pressure

Sunday 5 March 2023 03:50 , Namita Singh

Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut are facing increasingly strong pressure from Russian forces, British military intelligence said on Saturday, with intense fighting taking place in and around the eastern city.

Ukraine is reinforcing the area with elite units, while regular Russian army and forces of the private military Wagner group have made further advances into Bakhmut’s northern suburbs, the British Defence Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin.

The Ukraine armed forces’ general staff said in a Facebook post late on Saturday that Russian troops were trying but failing to surround Bakhmut, adding defenders had repelled numerous attacks in and around the city.

The battle has raged for seven months. A Russian victory in the city, which had a pre-war population of about 70,000 and has been blasted to ruins in the onslaught, would give Moscow the first major prize in a costly winter offensive.

Oleh Zhdanov, a prominent Ukrainian analyst of military affairs, said late on Saturday that he could not detect any immediate signs Kyiv was going to order a retreat from the city.

“At the moment the situation is more or less stabilized. In terms of the advancement of Russian troops, we practically stopped (it),” he said in a YouTube interview.

The British defence ministry said two key bridges in Bakhmut have been destroyed within the last 36 hours, adding that Ukrainian-held resupply routes out of the city are increasingly limited.

Civilians flee embattled town as Ukrainian pullout looms

Sunday 5 March 2023 03:30 , Namita Singh

Pressure from Russian forces mounted Saturday on Ukrainians hunkered down in Bakhmut, as residents attempted to flee with help from troops who Western analysts say may be preparing to withdraw from the key eastern stronghold.

A woman was killed and two men were badly wounded by shelling while trying to cross a makeshift bridge out of the city in Donetsk province, according to Ukrainian troops who were assisting them.

A Ukrainian army representative who asked not to be named for operational reasons told The Associated Press that it was now too dangerous for civilians to leave Bakhmut by vehicle and that people had to flee on foot instead.

More in this report:

Civilians flee embattled town as Ukrainian pullout looms

Ukrainian pilot pair in Arizona to fly military simulators: US official

Sunday 5 March 2023 03:16 , Namita Singh

In a first, two Ukrainian pilots are in Arizona to fly flight simulators and be evaluated by the US military, an American defence official said on Saturday, as Washington remains mute on whether it will send fighter jets or sophisticated remotely piloted drones to Kyiv.

The US and allies have been flooding Ukraine with weapons from Javelin missiles to Himars rocket launchers, but sophisticated jets and the largest armed drones have not been pledged to Ukraine by Western allies.

“This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities,” the defence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Arizona “familiarization event” will facilitate dialogue between Ukrainian and US personnel and provide an opportunity to observe how the US Air Force operates, the defense official said.

While it is the first event of its kind, there is an ongoing robust military-to-military dialogue with Ukraine. Other allies have also conducted similar events in the past, the official said.

Ukraine ally Kallas fights for reelection in Estonia vote

Sunday 5 March 2023 01:30 , Joe Middleton

Estonia, which is providing Ukraine with more weapons than any other country relative to its economic might, is holding a general election Sunday that will determine whether it can sustain that high level of support.

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, 45, has emerged in the past year of war as one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine. She’s seeking a second term, with her standing enhanced by her international appeals to impose sanctions on Moscow.

A Baltic nation of 1.3 million people that borders Russia to the east, Estonia broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991 and has taken a clear Western course, joining NATO and the European Union.

Ukraine ally Kallas fights for reelection in Estonia vote