Watch Ukraine Russia war latest news: Wagner chief says Putin has ‘cut him off’ over arms call – Latest News

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has accused Russian president and his boss Vladimir Putin of cutting him off over repeated requests for replenishing his forces fighting in eastern Ukraine.

“To get me to stop asking for ammunition, all the hotlines to offices, to departments etc have been cut off from me. But the real humdinger is that they’ve also blocked agencies from making decisions [related to Wagner],” the private Russian military’s leader said on Telegram.

Wildlife groups are calling for Britain to ban the transportation of eels to Russian conservation projects because of fears they are being sold on to China for food.

The alarm was sounded after a consignment of half a million eels were moved to Kaliningrad. Charities have said that the profits Russia has made from these sales could be funding the Ukraine war.

Multi-member organisation Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL), which represents the RSPCA, CPRE and the Marine Conservation Society, has called for action from Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs).

Conservation has been required with the European eel population falling by 90 per cent in the past four decades despite hundreds of millions of baby, or glass, eels arriving each year.

Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.

Battle tanks from the US, Britain and Germany are now being supplied for the first time and Mr Zelensky toured London, Paris and Brussels in early February 2023 to request fighter jets be sent as well in order to counter the Russian aerial threat, a step the allies appear to have reservations about making, although Joe Biden has since visited Kyiv in a gesture of solidarity.

Much of the fighting has been concentrated around the key eastern city of Bakhmut of late, with bombardments and heavy artillery fire taking place as Russian forces ramp up a major new offensive with the one-year anniversary of the war looming.

Thomas Kingsley and Joe Sommerlad report:

In the year since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has been the figurehead of what he initially termed a “special military operation”. Russia’s president might have prepared the political ground with a show of collective responsibility – few will forget how he solicited the support of key ministers live on TV just hours before ordering the invasion – but he has fronted the invasion ever since, often alone, and it is he who will answer to history.

From the start, Russia’s military action tended to be seen as an old-fashioned war launched by an old-fashioned autocrat. As such, it was as surprising as it was shocking to all those who believed such wars to be over, at least in Europe. The scenes that have dominated our television screens ever since have been tragically reminiscent of black-and-white newsreel showing battles for the very same cities during the Second World War.

But the supposedly old-fashioned autocrat who gave the orders for this war is a more complicated figure than many think.

Russia has launched a huge wave of missile strikes across Ukraine, killing a number of civilians and forcing Europe’s largest nuclear power plant off the electrical grid for hours.

It is the first search mass attack in weeks, with the strikes including the use of hypersonic cruise missiles – one of Moscow’s most valuable weapons which travel at such speed they can evade air defences.

“The occupiers can only terrorise civilians. That’s all they can do. But it won’t help them,” said Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. They won’t avoid responsibility for everything they have done.”

In all Russia was said to have fired 81 missiles, with Ukraine’s military saying that 34 cruise missiles were successfully shot down, as well as four of the eight Iranian-made Shahed drones that were sent. Eight guided missiles did not reach their target. Ukraine said six hypersonic missiles had been fired, with Russia’s Defence Ministry confirming their use.

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Ukrainian officials ordered a Russian-aligned wing of the Orthodox Church to leave a monastery in Kyiv, Reuters reports.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) accepted the authority of the patriarch of Moscow until Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Moscow patriarch, Kirill, has supported the invasion.

The Ukrainian culture ministry reported that it had been ordered to leave the 980-year-old Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, noting in a statement that it had “violated the terms of the agreement regarding the use of state property.”

The UOC has until 29 March to vacate the premises, though noted in a Facebook post that the action was “obviously biased and grossly violate[s] legal norms.”

A 35-year-old man has died after Russian forces fired artillery in Kherson, Sky News reports.

The man died at the scene, the regional military administration confirmed.

Shelling in Kherson killed three people yesterday, including two civilians who had been waiting at a bus stop.

US President Biden and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen have issued a joint statement on Ukraine, reiterating a joint commitment towards Russian sanctions.

“The United States and the European Union have taken a strong and united stand against Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war against Ukraine. We, along with a broad coalition of partners, have imposed swift and sweeping sanctions that are reducing Russia’s revenue to fund its war and its military-industrial base.

“Putin thought that he would divide us, and yet we are more united than ever. We stand together in our unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes”, the statement read.

The pair also underlined the commitment of both the US and the EU towards ensuring economic and humanitarian support for Ukraine.

“We have worked together to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the military equipment and training it needs to defend itself from Russian aggression”, the statement added.

“We, together with Ukraine, are co-chairing the Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform, and, in line with its European path, are helping advance Ukraine’s reform agenda, laying the foundation for sustainable growth and reconstruction, and ensuring assistance is delivered in a coherent, transparent, and accountable manner.”

After Russia invaded Ukraine, guerillas from Belarus began carrying out acts of sabotage on their country’s railways, including blowing up track equipment to paralyze the rails that Russian forces used to get troops and weapons into Ukraine.

In the most recent sabotage to make international headlines, they attacked a Russian warplane parked just outside the Belarusian capital.

“Belarusians will not allow the Russians to freely use our territory for the war with Ukraine, and we want to force them to leave,” Anton, a retired Belarusian serviceman who joined a group of saboteurs, told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

“The Russians must understand on whose side the Belarusians are actually fighting,” he said, speaking on the condition that his last name be withheld for security reasons.

More than a year after Russia used the territory of its neighbour and ally to invade Ukraine, Belarus continues to host Russian troops, as well as warplanes, missiles and other weapons. The Belarusian opposition condemns the cooperation, and a guerilla movement sprang up to disrupt the Kremlin’s operations, both on the ground and online. Meanwhile, Belarus’ authoritarian government is trying to crack down on saboteurs with threats of the death penalty and long prison terms.

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The new Duke of Edinburgh told Ukrainian refugees he hoped they could make Scotland their home for as long as they felt they needed as he attended a reception marking one year since the Scottish capital welcomed the first Ukrainians to the city.

In his first official engagement in the role after the King appointed him, Edward addressed refugees at a reception in Edinburgh’s City Chambers on the Royal Mile on Friday.

He said: “I hope you can all try to make Scotland and Britain your home for as long you feel that you need to stay here and we will try to make it as welcoming and as safe as possible for you.

“I wish you all the very best in the future and we’re thinking of you.

The duke, who had the title conferred upon him on Friday by the King, marking his 59th birthday, said he and his wife Sophie were “slightly overwhelmed” by the appointment.

He said: “Thank you for welcoming us to Edinburgh today on, indeed, a very special and very overwhelming day for now my wife and duchess,” he joked, while looking at his wife.

He added: “I also want to express my thanks to everybody who has worked so hard to make our Ukrainian friends so welcome.”