Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin suffers loss of 261 troops in 24 hours as Kyiv offensive gains momentum

Ukraine has made gains in the south, one of the country’s top generals has said.

General Oleksander Tarnavskyi said in a Telegram post that Ukraine forces had advanced in the Tavria sector.

Tarnavskyi, head of the southern group of forces, said his troops had conducted 1,198 assignments in the past 24 hours and that Russian forces had sustained losses of 261 men and a further 10 being taken prisoner.

The Defence Secretary has been urged to intervene in strikes taking place at a Scottish munitions depot after it was suggested missiles held there could help Ukraine win the war.

In a letter to Grant Shapps, the SNP called for him to resolve an ongoing dispute at DM Beith, North Ayrshire, which has led to a series of ongoing strikes.

It comes as another two-week walkout begins in the row over pay.

Ukraine’s parliament and its speaker have taunted billionaire Elon Musk after he posted a meme on his social media platform mocking President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s pleas for assistance from the West against Vladimir Putin’s forces.

Musk owns SpaceX, which provides Starlink satellite communication services that are vital for Ukraine’s defence effort, but his statements have sometimes angered Kyiv since the full-scale invasion launched by Russia in February last year.

The European Union (EU) promised Ukraine £4.3bn in military aid as its continuous support in the war against Russia.

Drunk recruits. Insubordinate soldiers. Convicts.

They’re among hundreds of military and civilian offenders who’ve been pressed into Russian penal units known as “Storm-Z” squads and sent to the frontlines in Ukraine this year, according to 13 people with knowledge of the matter, including five fighters in the units.

Few live to tell their tale, the people said.

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Burger King remains open across Russia more than a year after the fast food chain’s owner promised to leave.

Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which owns 15 per cent of the fast-food’s franchise business in Russia, told the BBC it had “no new updates to share at this time” on its exit.

The company said in March 2022 that it had started the process of leaving Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

McDonald’s, Burger King’s biggest rival, has already left Russia.

Western countries are running out of ammunition to give to Ukraine, Nato and the UK have warned.

Admiral Rob Bauer, Nato’s most senior military official, called on governments and their defence manufacturers to “ramp up” production to help Kyiv’s war effort.

“We need large volumes,” the BBC quoted him as saying. “The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things – but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing.”

United States President Joe Biden assured leaders of G7 and European states of Washington’s continued support for Ukraine during a video conference, the Polish president said on Tuesday.

“He assured us that support for aid given to Ukraine continues, especially military aid.

He said he would secure this support in Congress,” Andrzej Duda told a news conference.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak told G7 and NATO leaders on Tuesday that Britain was prepared to support Ukraine with military, humanitarian and economic assistance “for as long as it take,” his office said in a readout of a call.

“He ( Sunak) outlined the UK’s ongoing military, humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine and stressed that this support will continue for as long as it takes,” a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement.

US President Joe Biden convened the call amid concerns that support for Kyiv’s war effort against Russia was fading, especially in the United States where Congress excluded aid to Ukraine from an emergency bill to prevent a partial government shutdown.

A UK government defence minister has hailed Ukraine’s “functional defeat” of Russia in the Black Sea over the past few weeks.

James Heappey, speaking at a security event in Warsaw, said the Russian navy had been forced to disperse to ports from which “it cannot have an effect on Ukraine”.

He added that, despite the disappointment among Ukraine’s Western allies about the pace of Kyiv’s land offensive, the naval success was “every bit as important” as the land breakthrough in Kharkiv Oblast region.