Ukraine-Russia war live: Putin offensive disrupted by Kyiv’s forces, says Zelensky as street battles reported in Donetsk

Russian ⁠air defence ⁠units have ​downed ⁠206 ⁠Ukrainian ​drones ⁠overnight, ‌including 43 ‌over Moscow region, ‌the ⁠Interfax news agency reported ‌this morning.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she had discussed with the United Nations the idea of freeing up transport of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz by replicating a deal that gets grain out of Ukraine during wartime.

Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, now in its third week. Iranian forces have attacked ships in the narrow channel between Iran and Oman, choking off a fifth of global oil supply in the biggest disruption ever.

Kallas said the closure of the strait was “really dangerous” for energy supplies to Asia but was also a problem for the production of fertilisers, which could lead to shortages of food.

Under the deal, Ukraine can export grain and related foodstuffs and fertilizers through the Black Sea, and merchant vessels and other civilian vessels are not attacked by Russia.

Kallas said she had spoken to UN secretary general Antonio Guterres about the idea to unblock the strait, currently choked off due to the Iran war.

“I had talks with Antonio Guterres about whether it was possible to also have the same kind of initiative like we had (with) the Black Sea Initiative,” Kallas said.

A UN spokesperson acknowledged speculation about a possible UN-led initiative around the strait, but cautioned that the “stakes are too high” and that the world body will continue to work “discreetly”.

Russian assaults on the war battlefield have had become less intense, Volodymyr Zelensky said after his meeting with Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi.

“Ukraine’s defence forces have disrupted Russia’s strategic offensive operation that the enemy had planned for March,” he said.

“Although attacks are constant and assaults continue, their intensity and the ​scale of the confrontation are not ​what Russia had planned ⁠and what its command promised to Russia’s political leadership,” he said.

Zelensky and Syrskyi have pointed in recent weeks to successes in Zaporizhzhia region, recapturing about 400sq km (154 sq miles) of ​territory and retaking eight settlements.

Russia’s top military offices have repeatedly said their forces have ​been making constant ⁠gains all along the front line.

The Ukrainian DeepState military blog, which relies on open sources to determine the position of both sides, said Russian forces were attempting a breakthrough in Kostiantynivka and had made some gains around Sloviansk.

Romania’s defence ministry said on Tuesday ⁠it was looking for drone fragments reported ⁠to ​have ⁠fallen near the ⁠village of ​Plauru ⁠across the Danube ‌river from Ukraine, after ‌a Russian ‌overnight attack on its infrastructure.

Romania ⁠scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to monitor the attack and alerted ‌residents of its southeastern county of Tulcea to take cover.

The International Monetary ​Fund has ‌raised concerns that Ukraine ​may be ​unable to tap ⁠its $8.1bn aid as ​the country’s lawmakers stall on ​measures ​needed to release the ‌financing, ⁠Bloomberg News reported today citing an IMF representative.

The move could halt as Ukraine waits on lawmakers to release the financing, the official said.

The Ukrainian parliament has until the end of March to pass a series of legislative amendments that would raise taxes on businesses and households under the latest four-year loan program approved last month, reported Bloomberg.

This is because Ukraine estimates that Vladimir Putin can only recruit somewhere between 35,000 and 37,000 troops a month, despite staggering sign-up bonuses, extravagant salaries, and a $165,000 (£124,000) compensation package provided to the families of Russian soldiers killed in action.

According to Ukrainian and Western sources, if Putin’s ministry paid for all the Russian dead the war is generating every month – also estimated at around 35,000 – the cost would be $5.775bn (£4.35bn).

Defence secretary John Healey confirmed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit would take place on Tuesday.

Mr Healey told MPs yesterday: “Over the last month, we have delivered to Ukraine 3,500 drones, 18,000 artillery rounds and three million rounds of small ammunition.

“We face two conflicts on two continents, supported by an axis of aggression with similar tactics and similar technologies.

“I say this to the Ukrainian people on behalf of the UK: we will not forget the war in Europe and our total determination to stand with Ukraine remains steadfast, and we will welcome President Zelensky to this country tomorrow,” he said.

Russian ⁠air defence ⁠units have ​downed ⁠206 ⁠Ukrainian ​drones ⁠overnight, ‌including 43 ‌over Moscow region, ‌the ⁠Interfax news agency reported ‌this morning.

The Prime Minister said he would meet the Ukrainian president to maintain focus on the war despite international attention being diverted by the Iran conflict.

The rise in energy prices caused by the Middle East turmoil has benefited Vladimir Putin’s Russia despite the sanctions imposed to stifle the flow of funds to his forces.

The US temporarily loosened sanctions preventing other countries buying Russian oil and petroleum which was already loaded on vessels at sea to try to ease the pressure on global supplies triggered by the US-Israel strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation against Gulf states.

The conflict could also constrain supplies of air defence missiles for Ukraine because of the surge in demand in the Middle East.

At a Downing Street press conference, Sir Keir said he would meet Mr Zelensky “soon” because “it’s vital that we continue to focus on supporting Ukraine”.