Live blog: Ukraine war outcome will be decided this spring, summer —Borrell

Thursday, March 14, 2024

1816 GMT — The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said after holding meetings in Washington that the outcome of the war in Ukraine will be decided this spring and summer, with many analysts expecting a major Russian offensive this summer.

Calling for sustained support for Ukraine amid doubts over continuing US military aid to Kiev, Borrell told reporters Ukraine could not wait until the results of the US presidential election in November.

More updates 👇

1444 GMT — Ukraine calls planned presidential polls in territories under Russian control 'null and void'

Kiev said that the planned Russian presidential election in Ukrainian territories under Moscow’s control is "legally null and void", calling on foreign countries and international organisations to refrain from recognising its results.

A statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Russia's ongoing efforts to initiate an election process in territories illegally annexed by Russia in 2022 — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson — as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow occupied in 2014, show its “continued flagrant disregard for international law norms and principles.”

It said that Moscow "deliberately ignores" calls to end the organisation of the presidential election in these regions despite the international community’s condemnation and defined them as "illegal" and without "any legal consequences."

"We urge Ukrainian citizens who live in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or are forced to stay in the territory of the Russian Federation not to participate in the 'pseudo-elections' of the Russian President," the statement further said.

1334 GMT — Scholz, Zelenskyy to keep talking on support for peace

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has assured Ukraine of closer cooperation with international partners on military support in a telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a German government spokesperson said.

"The Chancellor and Ukrainian President agreed to continue their constructive dialogue, also with a view to global support for a peace solution, and to remain in close contact," said the spokesperson in a statement.

1236 GMT — Two people killed in Russia's Belgorod region by Ukrainian attacks: governor

Two people were killed and several injured in Ukrainian attacks on Russia's western Belgorod region, the region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said.

Gladkov said that several villages in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine had been attacked by Ukrainian armed forces.

1230 GMT — NATO chief says members not providing Ukraine with enough ammunition

NATO members are not providing Ukraine with enough ammunition, the chief of the military alliance has said.

Jens Stoltenberg presented NATO's annual report for 2023 at a news conference in Brussels and commented on the situation in Ukraine, where Russia launched a "special military operation" two years ago.

"NATO allies are not providing Ukraine with enough ammunition, and that has consequences on the battlefield every day. The fact that the Russians are able to outgun the Ukrainians every day, of course, is a huge challenge, it is one of the reasons why the Russians have been able to make some advances on the battlefield over the last weeks and months," Stoltenberg said.

He urged the allies "to step up and provide more ammunition to Ukraine."

"Both the US, Canada, and Europe have to do more," Stoltenberg said, stressing that NATO members have the "economies to be able to provide Ukraine with what they need." "This is a question of political will to take the decisions and to prioritise support for Ukraine. And therefore we need the decisions to invest more in defence industry," he added.

0752 GMT — Russia says Ukraine targeted Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

The Russian-controlled management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, has said that the Ukrainian army had shelled a critical infrastructure facility at the plant.

An explosive device was dropped near a fence where diesel fuel tanks are located, the plant reported.

"Such attacks are unacceptable," it said.

It was not immediately clear when the attack had taken place.

0651 GMT — Deadly drone attacks hit Russian region bordering Ukraine

One person died and three others were wounded in a Russian region bordering Ukraine, as Russia faced a third night of drone attacks on its territory, officials said.

In the border region of Belgorod, "according to preliminary information a driver was killed in a strike targeting his car," regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram, adding that two women and a man were also injured.

The strikes also damaged two houses and a medical facility, he said.

0613 GMT — Russia says shot down 14 drones over Ukraine border regions

Russia's defence ministry said that 14 Ukrainian drones were destroyed overnight over the regions of Belgorod and Kursk on the border with Ukraine.

Eleven drones were shot down over the region of Belgorod and three over the region of Kursk, the defence ministry said in a statement.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, dozens of Ukrainian drones targeted several Russian regions, including oil refineries hundreds of kilometres from the frontline, in the regions of Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Leningrad.

0553 GMT — IAEA's Grossi discussed Iran's nuclear programme with Putin

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said he had discussed Iran's nuclear programme with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported.

2300 GMT — US agency asks DoD to improve data accuracy on Ukraine arms aid

The US Government Accountability Office [GAO] has made recommendations to the Department of Defence to help ensure US-origin equipment was being tracked and used appropriately in Ukraine.

The GAO said in a report that DoD military equipment to Ukraine were sometimes taking weeks to be delivered and that the department does not have clear guidance for tracking these deliveries.

It also added the DoD's data may not be accurate.

To ensure all the equipment were being tracked and used correctly, the GAO suggested eight recommendations to the DoD, including that the department should improve the accuracy of delivery data and evaluate its end-use monitoring approach in Ukraine.

2317 GMT — Ukraine practically stopped using heavy artillery near Avdiivka — Russia installed official

Ukrainian troops have reduced to a minimum the use of heavy artillery systems near Avdiivka due to the shortage of munitions; the Russian-installed official in Donetsk, Igor Kimakovsky, has told TASS news agency.

"Our artillerymen have eliminated a large number of Ukrainian firing positions in the Avdiivka area and hit dozens of targets in recent days. They have opted to pull the surviving vehicles off the engagement line. Only a few isolated units stay in place. So, Ukrainian artillery practically is not used in this section of the front," he said.

Kimakovsky added that Ukrainian troops are mostly using FPV drones in this area.

2252 GMT — Russian forces break down rotation of Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka

Russia's Battlegroup Center has broken down the rotation of Ukrainian troops in the Avdiivka area with the use of Grad multiple launch rocket systems, the Russian Defence Ministry told TASS news agency.

"Having received the coordinates of the place of deployment of Ukrainian troops, artillerymen took an unprepared firing position. After a trial launch of 12mm projectiles, the combat vehicle commander, in cooperation with the team of a reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle, adjusted the gunsight and fired the rest of the unguided projectiles at the designated target."

"According to data recorders, rotation of Ukrainian troops was frustrated, with Ukrainian forces sustaining serious losses while retreating in the Avdiivka area," the ministry said.

For our live updates from Wednesday, March 13, click here.