Early on the morning of February 24th, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on state television that Russia will carry out a 'special military operation' in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow claims the 'operation' is aimed at 'denazification and demilitarization' of Ukrainian territory at the request of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk 'people's republics', and is based on the right to self-defence. Russia also says that it does not attack the civilian population.
But, the fact is, Russian armed forces have killed innocent people, including children and the elderly. Russia deliberately targets civilian infrastructure and falsely claims that it is Ukraine's army that puts people's lives at risk.
Suspilne, the largest independent news media outlet in Ukraine, and a number of English-speaking volunteers launch this live updates page to let the world know what is really happening on the ground. Tune in for hourly news bulletins from all Ukrainian regions.
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Read the previous online here - Russia invades Ukraine — live updates from Suspilne
Our news at 21:03
The Russian army shot down several of its own planes in the first days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Because of this, Russia lacked pilots with combat experience, reports the Financial Times, citing its own sources.
The G7 increased aid to Ukraine to $39 billion for 2023 and called on the IMF to launch a program for the country by the end of March.
In occupied Mariupol, explosions have been heard for several days in a row. The Mariupol City Council announced that Russian occupiers had hit warehouses and bases. The occupation administration of the city announces the work of the Air Defense Forces.
Tanks. The first tanks from Germany and Spain will arrive in Ukraine in March, said Anka Feldhusen, the German ambassador to Ukraine. Also, Sweden is ready to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, the country's Defense Minister Pal Johnson said. Finland also announced that it will send three Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Great Britain may offer Ukraine more of its main tanks in addition to the 14 already promised, and the first Challenger 2s may arrive in Ukraine in the spring.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi believes that it would be desirable for Ukraine to meet with China and noted that at the level of diplomats such a signal was conveyed to the Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The Ukrainian Parliament approved sanctions against Russian banks and financial companies for 50 years.
Suspilne suspends the English version online. Thank you for being with us this year. You can read the news following the link in Ukrainian.
Our news at 22:31
There will be decisive battles in the war in Ukraine from the middle to the end of spring, the stockpile of artillery shells in Russia has decreased to 30%, the remaining missiles are almost exhausted, and the maximum of Russian production is about 40 cruise missiles per month, said the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov.
Russia conducted an unsuccessful test of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile when US President Joe Biden visited Ukraine on February 20. This was reported by CNN with reference to two high-ranking US officials.
Spain will hand over six updated Leopard 2 A4 tanks to Ukraine, confirmed the Minister of Defense of Spain, Margarita Robles.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi plans to attend the NATO summit in Vilnius, Ukrainian Ambassador to Lithuania Petro Beshta said. For this, he must receive an invitation to the summit, because Ukraine is not a member of the Alliance.
Ukraine will boycott the World Boxing Championships due to the admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus, the Boxing Federation of Ukraine reported.
Ukraine wants to extend the annual grain agreement with new ports, writes Reuters with reference to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine. The department believes that the agreement should be extended for a year, not for 120 days, and to expand it to the Mykolaiv port.
Russian Ombudsman Tetyana Moskalkova and employees of her office may be involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children, said Dmytro Lubinets, the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for the Protection of Human Rights. In particular, it is about the removal of two Ukrainian children from the territory of Austria to Moscow.
There are 4.6 million Ukrainians in Europe, Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyridenko said. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the departure of citizens abroad, the population of Ukraine could decrease to 33.5 million people.
Every tenth hospital in Ukraine has been damaged due to attacks by the Russian Federation, according to research by the organizations eyeWitness to Atrocities, Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights, the Media Initiative for Human Rights, and the Ukrainian Center for Health Care.
Our news at 21:05
Putin addressed the Russian Federal Assembly for the first time since April 2021, accused the West of "tearing Ukraine from Russia", denied that Russia is at war with the people of Ukraine and stated that the Russian Federation is suspending its participation in the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty. This is the only agreement that regulates the world's two largest nuclear arsenals of Washington and Moscow.
US President Joe Biden delivered a speech in Poland. He addressed the people of Russia, denied Putin's claims about the West's alleged plans to attack the Russian Federation, and he noted that the United States had assembled a coalition of more than 50 countries to obtain weapons and deliver them to Ukrainian fighters on the front lines.
Russian troops shelled a public transport stop in Kherson. 16 people were injured. Five more died.
Russia is launching a new offensive, mobilizing more troops and reaching out to North Korea and Iran. NATO is also concerned that China may be planning to provide military support to Russia, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said
In Ukraine, the activities of the "Party of Regions", whose leader was ex-president Viktor Yanukovych, were banned. The property of the political forces will be transferred to state ownership.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the UN has recorded 18,955 civilian casualties. This is connected with the indiscriminate use of artillery and other weapons systems by the Russian Federation, according to the British intelligence report.
Prime Minister Dorin Rechan confirmed the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi that the Russian Federation plans to seize the airport in Chisinau in order to transfer troops to Moldova. However, he assured, the Moldovan authorities are ready to cope with these challenges.
Sociological group "Rating" conducted a study "How the war changed me and the country. Results of the year." Belief in Ukraine's victory is 95% of respondents.
Our news at 23:40
US President Joe Biden came to Kyiv. He met with Volodymyr Zelenskyi and announced a new aid of 500 million dollars. It will include artillery ammunition for HIMARS and howitzers, more Javelin and armored systems, surveillance radars. Shortly before Biden's visit, "basic communication with the Russians to ensure the avoidance of conflict" took place, AR writes about this with reference to the White House.
The administration of US President Biden calls on Ukraine to prepare a counteroffensive against the backdrop of a possible re-offensive by Russia, Politico writes. It is noted that the White House insists on this, in particular, because the level of support currently shown by Ukraine's partners may decrease after some time, and the flow of Western weapons to Ukraine may be limited.
Japan will allocate $5.5 billion in aid to Ukraine. The money will be used to restore infrastructure, said Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida.
Italy is ready to supply Ukraine with five Tornado and AMX combat aircraft, but does not want to do so first for reasons of political expediency, writes the Italian publication La Republica, citing its own sources.
The King of Great Britain, Charles III, visited the training base in the south-west of England, where the Ukrainian military is trained. The king, accompanied by the Chief of the General Staff, General Patrick Sanders, observed how Ukrainian soldiers learn to attack enemy positions.
As of the morning of February 20, more than 1,387 children were injured in Ukraine as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation. 461 children died and at least 926 were injured in varying degrees of severity. Data — Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
Our news at 09:00
The threat of Russian missile strikes remains very high throughout the territory of Ukraine, the main efforts of the Russian army are concentrating on the Donbas — on the offensive in the Kupyansk, Lymansk, Bakhmutsk, Avdiivsk and Shakhtarsk directions and are suffering significant losses, the Ukrainian General Staff reports.
The Netherlands, together with Germany and Denmark, will provide Ukraine with 100 Leopard tanks, said the head of the Dutch government, Mark Rutte.
The Czech Republic will manufacture air defense systems for Ukraine. The Netherlands will pay for the assembly of hundreds of modified Toyota all-terrain vehicles equipped with two rapid-fire machine guns capable of hitting drones, among others. Other necessary ammunition will be purchased by Czech companies.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi spoke at the Munich Security Conference and compared Russia's war against Ukraine to the story of David and Goliath and thanked the partners who provide Ukraine with weapons and financial support, comparing it to "David's sling".
Russian Auchan probably supplied goods to the Russian military in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories in the form of "humanitarian aid" for free. This is reported in the investigative The Insider, Le Monde and Bellingcat. Ukrainian Auchan demands clarification from the French office.
Latvia will hand over cars confiscated from drunk drivers to the Armed Forces. The Seimas of the country introduced amendments to the law on support of the civilian population of Ukraine.
Law enforcement officers are investigating 67,000 war crimes committed by the Russian Federation, and there are already 25 verdicts against Russian war criminals, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, said.
