Thank you for following our rolling coverage of the war in Ukraine today.
We have now reached the 1,419th day of the conflict, which means Russia has been fighting Ukraine for longer than the Soviet Union fought Nazi Germany during the Second World War.Â
This comes as the conflict’s impact on civilians in Ukraine is increasing sharply: last year was the war’s deadliest year for civilians since the very first one, the UN’s monitoring mission revealed today.
Here’s a rundown of the most important events of the day:
- Military updates from the frontlines suggest Russia is stepping up efforts to take the small town of Chasiv Yar in the Donbas as part of its assault on Ukraine’s ‘fortress belt’.
- Norway has announced that it will provide £294m in emergency funding to Ukraine’s energy sector, coming just as the country is phasing out emergency blackouts after severe strikes against its power grid last weekend.Â
- Russian drones reportedly hit two foreign-flagged vessels in the Black Sea, including one headed to Italy, Reuters reported.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy was briefed on the state of peace deal negotiations with the US and instructed his team to finalise a “historic” document on US security guarantees.
Away from the battlefield, the UK is looking to keep support for the country going.Â
It emerged yesterday that Britain will develop deep-strike missiles, dubbed “Nightfall”, that are supposed to boost Ukraine’s firepower.Â
The chief of the UK armed forces has meanwhile told the Commons’ defence committee that UK troops can safely deploy to Ukraine as they committed to do in case of a ceasefire, amid reports of funding shortfalls.