Summary
Key developments today:
Pope Francis has been criticised after saying Ukraine should have the courage of the “white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia. Some politicians and commentators in Europe reacted with anger after the pontiff appeared to stay silent on Russia’s crimes as aggressor in the invasion, which has killed tens of thousands, and placed the onus on Ukraine to make peace.
In response, Ukraine’s minister for foreign affairs, Dmytro Kuleba posted on X:“Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags.”
British foreign minister David Cameron has said he opposes sending western troops to Ukraine, even for training missions. In an interview with German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung published on Saturday, Cameron said training missions are best carried out abroad. Placing foreign soldiers in Ukraine would provide targets for Russia.
Russian shelling of towns in eastern Ukraine killed three people on Sunday while a Moscow strike on a residential building in the town of Myrnograd wounded a dozen, Kyiv said.
Ukraine also said Moscow launched missile attacks on the northeastern Kharkiv region and sent attack drones across the centre and south of the country.
Russia, meanwhile, said one woman was killed in Ukrainian shelling of a border village.
A fire broke out at an oil depot in Russia’s Kursk Oblast after a Ukrainian drone was shot down over its grounds, Roman Starovoit, the region’s governor, claimed on March 10, according to a report in the Kyiv Independent, which said it could not verify the information. Starovoit did not include any information on any casualties or damage to the oil depot.
Ukraine has “almost certainly” accelerated the construction of defensive positions on several areas of the front line, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update. This includes anti-tank dragon’s teeth and ditches, infantry trenches, minefields and fortified defensive positions. The update adds this is indicative of the “attritional character” of the conflict, and attempts to breach “will highly likely be accompanied with high losses”.
Ukrainian air defence units destroyed 35 of the 39 Shahed-type drones that Russia launched overnight, the air force said today. The drones were launched from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region, the Kyiv Independent reports.
Turkish and US officials have held comprehensive talks about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and various bilateral issues during meetings in Washington, Turkey’s foreign minister said late on Friday. Hakan Fidan said he discussed ways to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with officials including US counterpart Antony Blinken, reiterating that Ankara believed it is time to discuss paths toward an end to the war but that Turkey did not see this willingness from Kyiv and Moscow. “We need a basis for talking, for this war to stop, and a dialogue to prevent worse crises, and we call for this,” Fidan said.
UK vehicles that fall foul of London’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) rules can be donated to Ukraine rather than being scrapped from next week, PA reports. Applicants will be able to donate vehicles in return for the same grant payment available to drivers who scrap or retrofit their vehicles - up to £2,000 - Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced.
A Moscow court has sentenced a student to 10 days in jail after he renamed his wifi network with a pro-Kyiv slogan during the military offensive in Ukraine, the Ria-Novosti news agency reported on Saturday. The student at Moscow State University replaced the name of the network from his wifi router with Slava Ukraini, meaning ‘Glory to Ukraine’, the rallying cry of Ukraine forces.
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Updated
Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, Dmytro Kuleba has made clear his response to the comment by Pope Francis.
The strongest is the one who, in the battle between good and evil, stands on the side of good rather than attempting to put them on the same footing and call it “negotiations”.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 10, 2024
At the same time, when it comes to the white flag, we know this Vatican's strategy from the first half…
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