Ukraine Russia war – latest news: Frontline ‘very tough’ as Putin’s attacks ‘constant’, Zelensky says

President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned of “constant Russian attacks” across frontline regions in his daily address.

In a markedly sombre tone, Zelensky said: “The situation is very tough. Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other areas in the Donetsk region are under constant Russian attacks.

“There are constant attempts to break through our defense.”

Zelensky repeated reports from his previous address on Saturday of fierce fighting in the Donetsk region, amid reports of Ukrainian forces struggling to hold Bakhmut, at the epicentre of fighting in the region.

President Zelensky continued: “We are doing everything to ensure that our pressure outweighs the occupiers’ assault capabilities.

“Russia hopes to drag out the war, to exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our weapon.

“We must speed up the events, speed up the supply and opening of new necessary weaponry options for Ukraine.”

President Zelensky also paid tribute to those killed in shelling in Kherson, where three people died on Sunday.

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg urged South Korea today to increase military support to Ukraine, citing other countries that have changed their policy of not providing weapons to countries in conflict after Russia’s invasion.

Mr Stoltenberg is in Seoul, the first stop on a trip that will include Japan and is aimed at strengthening ties with US allies in the face of the war in Ukraine and rising competition with China.

In meetings with senior South Korean officials, the Nato chief argued that events in Europe and North America are interconnected with other regions, and that the alliance wants to help manage global threats by increasing partnerships in Asia.

Speaking at the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul, he thanked South Korea for its non-lethal aid to Ukraine, but urged it to do more, adding there is an “urgent need” for ammunition.

South Korea has signed major deals providing hundreds of tanks, aircraft and other weapons to Nato member Poland since the war began, but South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has said that his country’s law against providing arms to countries in conflicts makes providing weapons to Ukraine difficult.

Mr Stoltenberg noted that countries such as Germany, Sweden, and Norway had similar policies but have changed them.

Defence secretary Ben Wallace spoke to the Putin vs The West programme, set to air this evening, about his journey to Moscow in February as he sought to reach a breakthrough and prevent a war.

He recalls speaking to Russia’s minister of defence Sergei Shoigu, as well as chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov.

“And I remember saying to minister Shoigu ‘they will fight’ and he said, ‘My mother is Ukrainian, they won’t!’ He also said he had no intention of invading,” Mr Wallace said.

Mr Wallace said it was a Russian “demonstration of bullying or strength: ‘I’m going to lie to you. You know I’m lying. I know you know I’m lying and I’m still going to lie to you.’ He knew I knew and I knew he knew. But I think it was about saying: ‘I’m powerful.’”

Ukrainian poet, literary critic and politician Dmytro Pavlychko has died aged 93.

Active in Soviet Ukraine, Pavlychko was one of the founders of the Soviet-controlled nation’s first major independent political party, Rukh (People’s Movement of Ukraine).

In 1990, he co-authored the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine, a law which overruled the authority from the Soviet parliament.

He later served as ambassador in post-Soviet Ukraine to neighbouring countries Slovakia, and later to Poland, before being awarded the nation’s highest honour, Hero of Ukraine, in 2004.

In a post on Telegram, president Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to Pavlychko in his political and literary achievements, calling him “an outstanding poet.”

Boris Johnson has claimed that Russian president Vladimir Putin threatened to kill him in a missile attack, saying “it would only take a minute” in a call ahead of the invasion of Ukraine.

The former prime minister said the “extraordinary” conversation took place in February after he had visited Kyiv in a last-ditch attempt to show Western support for Ukraine amid growing fears of an assault.

Mr Johnson, who would emerge as a staunch backer of Volodymyr Zelensky’s government, made the claim in a new three-part series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with Mr Putin in the years leading up to the invasion.

Our political correspondent Adam Forrest has more:

Inspectors from the US government have met with Ukraine’s deputy PM to discuss proposals for a new audit mechanism to “ensure transparency in the use of partners’ aid.”

Oleksandr Kubrakov, who is also head of Ukraine’s infrastructure projects, added that any funds utilised for infrastructure repairs and reconstruction should be monitored with US assistance.

Scrutiny of how aid is being used in Ukraine has increased since a recent scandal involving the sale of food packages at inflated prices, which prompted the deputy defence minister, Vyacheslav Shapovalov, to resign.

Deputy prime minister Kubrakov said in a post on Facebook: “I am grateful to my American colleagues for their leadership role in supporting our country in the fight against the Russian aggressor.

“Today, Ukraine shows the whole world that it is a reliable and predictable partner with working anti-corruption institutions, and we continue to move in this direction.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his stance on Russian athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Games, suggesting it showed that “terror is somehow acceptable”.

He added that he had sent a letter to French president Emmanuel Macron as part of his assertive campaign.

In his latest address, Zelensky said: “Attempts by the International Olympic Committee to bring Russian athletes back into the Olympic Games are attempts to tell the whole world that terror is somehow acceptable.

“As if you could shut your eyes to what Russia is doing in Kherson, Kharkiv, Bakhmut and Avdiivka,” all of which have been the focus of intense attacks in recent days.

His latest comments were accompanied by references to the “tragedies” of the 20th century, including the hosting of the 1936 Olympic Games in Hitler’s Berlin.

Zelensky added “The Olympic movement and terrorist states definitely should not cross paths.”

Efforts within the US military high command to supply Ukrainian forces with modern F-16 fighter jets are quietly gaining pace, a defence department official has said.

Speaking with Politico, a senior official from the US department of defence said: “I don’t think we are opposed,” when asked if jets were being considered for supply.

A spokesperson for the White House declined to comment for this story, though referred reporters to previous statements made by deputy national security adviser Jon Finer.

Finer said that US officials would be discussing the prospect of fighter jets “very carefully” with Ukraine and its other western allies.

He continued: “We have not ruled in or out any specific systems.”

President Zelensky reiterated his plea for arms and military equipment in his latest daily address, where he said: “We must speed up the events, speed up the supply and opening of new necessary weaponry options for Ukraine.”

Boris Johnson has claimed that Russian president Vladimir Putin threatened to kill him in a missile attack, saying “it would only take a minute” in a call ahead of the invasion of Ukraine.

The former prime minister said the “extraordinary” conversation occurred in February following his visit to Kyiv in a last-ditch attempt to show Western support for Ukraine, amid growing fears of invasion.

The former prime minister, who would later emerge as a key supporter among western allies of Volodymyr Zelensky’s government, made the claim in a new series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with the Russian president in the years leading to the invasion.

Four people were killed and five injured in an attack by Ukrainian forces on a bridge in Melitopol, a city in southeastern Ukraine.

Reported by Russian-installed head of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, wrote on Telegram that a rocket was launched at the railway bridge from across the Molochna river.

The Zaporizhzhia region has been partially occupied by Russia since it first invaded in February last year, and contains Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

Balitsky added that the rocket was launched from a Himars missile system, which are in production in the United States.

He added: “At this time, renovation work was under way at the facility. According to preliminary data, as a result of the shelling, four people from the railway brigade were killed, five were injured, they are receiving the necessary medical care.”

Reporters from news agency Reuters were unable to verify the accuracy of Balitsky’s statement.