Russia Ukraine war live: Drones cut power to Crimea as Germany says allies ‘not angry or upset’ over leaks

The Argentine president Javier Milei says he will visit Kyiv as part of a diplomatic tour of Europe in June this year.

The South American leader said he will also meet Volodymyr Zelensky during the visit.

Mr Milei had previously announced his plans to hold a “summit of Latin America support” for Ukraine in late 2024.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for two Russian commanders over committing war crimes by attacking Ukrainian infrastructure, marking the second round of warrants issued for Russian leaders in the invasion of Ukraine.

The top global court said there are reasonable grounds to believe that the two top commanders were responsible for “missile strikes carried out by the forces under their command against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023”.

As a result of these strikes, Ukraine’s electrical grid suffered civilian harm and damage that would have been clearly excessive to any expected military advantage, the court, at The Hague, said.

Even though Russia claims it does not deliberately target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, its troops have rained missiles on hospitals, schools, theatres-turned-shelter homes, villages, grocery stores and marketplaces far inside Ukraine during the course of its over two years of invasion.

Prosecutors in Kyiv said they were already investigating possible war crimes after the war-hit nation endured two bloodied winter campaigns under Russian attacks which hit Ukrainian energy and utilities infrastructure.

To mark ten years of conflict in Ukraine, The Independent is hosting a Virtual Event that will explore the grim underbelly of the war – getting a first-hand perspective from a former British Army soldier captured by Russian forces.

Shaun Pinner will be joining journalist Tim White, to detail how he was detained in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic after the siege of Mariupol and later freed in a prisoner swap.

He will be sharing the true story of his six months spent imprisoned in Russian-occupied Ukraine in this exclusive event.

A drone attack has sparked an explosion and fire in Russia’s Kursk at a local fuel and lubricants warehouse, with local officials describing it as an assault from Ukraine.

Local governor Roman Starovoit said that no one had been injured, and that a fuel tank was on fire.

The photos and videos of the attack on the petrol depot showed thick grey plumes of smoke emanating from the facility. The Independent has not verified the authenticity of the visuals.

A Russian city, Kursk borders Ukraine at the northeastern corner of the country.

Ukrainian officials have not commented on Russian claims.

Ukraine’s drone attacks over Russian border cities and oblasts have intensified this week as authorities in Russia’s Belgorod and Voronezh regions claimed their forces downed Ukrainian drones in separate incidents.

As part of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s ever-increasing clampdown on dissent, authorities in recent years have adopted a slew of laws restricting fundamental human rights, including freedom of speech and assembly, as well as the rights of minorities and religious groups.

These laws have taken aim at “foreign agents” allegedly seeking to exert influence on Russia, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and organizations spreading information critical of the Kremlin or contrary to official narratives, especially regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

They have helped the Kremlin to maintain tight control over the country’s political system, and as a result, Putin is expected to extend his rule virtually unchallenged in a presidential election this month.

Human rights advocates worry that more repressions are ahead.

Here’s a look at some of the restrictive laws passed in Russia:

Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has also claimed that Moscow is likely to have tapped into the call not through a spy or targeted surveillance, but by widespread monitoring.

Speaking on Tuesday morning, he said that the unnamed senior military officer had called in from Singapore where an air show with other high-ranking European military officials was taking place – and then dialled into the Webex call using either his mobile phone or the hotel’s wifi but not a secured line – as would be mandatory for such calls.

Ukraine downed at least 38 drones fired by Russia overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a morning update.

At least 42 Shahed-type attack drones were fired by Russia, it added.

Russian forces fired five S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles using the occupied parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk oblast and also fired drones from the illegally occupied Crimea, the air force said.

Several drones were also fired from the Kursk oblast and the Russian port city of Primorsko-Akhtarsk in southern Krasnodar Krai.

Ukraine’s Air Force said it activated mobile fire groups and anti-aircraft missile units over various parts of Ukraine. Several explosions were also reported overnight in the Ukrainian cities of Odesa and Khmelnytskyi.

Russia and China are considering putting a nuclear power plant on the moon from 2033-35, Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said on Tuesday, something he said could one day allow lunar settlements to be built

Borisov, a former deputy defence minister, said that Russia and China had been jointly working on a lunar programme and that Moscow was able to contribute with its expertise on “nuclear space energy”.

“Today we are seriously considering a project – somewhere at the turn of 2033-2035 – to deliver and install a power unit on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues,” Borisov said.

“Solar panels would not be able to provide enough electricity to power future lunar settlements, he said, while nuclear power could.“This is a very serious challenge…it should be done in automatic mode, without the presence of humans,” he said of the possible plan.

Borisov spoke also of Russian plans to build a nuclear-powered cargo spaceship. He said all the technical questions concerning the project had been solved apart from finding a solution on how to cool the nuclear reactor.

“We are indeed working on a space tugboat. This huge, cyclopean structure that would be able, thanks to a nuclear reactor and a high-power turbines…to transport large cargoes from one orbit to another, collect space debris and engage in many other applications,” Borisov said.

Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska has declined the White House’s invitation to attend the 7 March State of the Union address, reported The Washington Post.

A White House official said that the Ukrainian official’s decision was likely influenced by “schedule conflicts”, adding that the seating plan is typically finalised towards the end of the planning process.

The report added that the initial seating plan for the top leaders included Jill Biden alongside Olena Zelenska and Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny.

Sources aware of the development said the seating arrangement at the address was aimed to present a powerful image of both women being symbolic representation against the Russian leader Vladimir Putin.