Ukraine war latest: Putin may have noticed ’emerging threat to his regime’, analysts say

Russian forces reportedly lost more than 6,000 through death or injury in just four days after attempting a renewed offensive that was resisted by Ukrainian troops.

Oleksandr Syrski, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said Russia intensified its offensive actions from 17-20 March 

“The enemy tried to break through the defensive formations of our troops in several strategic directions at once. Fierce battles unfolded along the entire line of combat contact. In total, the enemy conducted 619 assault actions during these four days,” he said.

But according to Syrski, “despite enormous pressure and the involvement of significant reserves, the Russian command was unable to fulfil its tasks”.

He said “high-intensity battles” continue in some areas, but that Russia had been forced to regroup.

“The command of the Russian troops threw tens of thousands of soldiers into the ‘meat assaults’, but the price of this attempted offensive turned out to be catastrophic for the aggressor,” Syrski said.

“Over four days of intensive assault operations, the enemy lost more than 6,090 soldiers killed and wounded.”

He said Ukraine had been prepared for intensified Russian assaults and had made “necessary” decisions on troop numbers, weapons and ammunition.

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor

Some 40% of people in the UK believe the country will be at war within five years, and more than two-thirds fear they would be unable to cope in a conflict, according to a new poll.

The survey, which also found that over half of those questioned felt Britain is poorly prepared for war, was released to coincide with today’s launch of a private initiative to try to help bolster national resilience.

Lady Olga Maitland, founder of an organisation called the Resilience Imperative, said it will be a national, non-partisan campaign.

A particular focus of the self-initiated push is to help strengthen the UK’s resilience to attacks that already happen under the threshold of conventional war – such as cyber hacks and disinformation operations.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), police and national guard in Moscow have been placed on higher alert over the threat of a Ukrainian sabotage attack, according to state media.

The RIA news agency said the FSB had received intelligence that Kyiv was planning acts of sabotage and attacks on “government officials, military personnel of ⁠the Russian defence ministry and ​law enforcement officers”.

Both Ukraine and Russia have carried out attacks away from the front lines using drones and sabotage units.

Lieutenant General ​Vladimir Alexeyev, a senior Russian military official, was shot several times by an unknown assailant in a residential building in Moscow in February. He survived the attack.

At least four people appear to have been killed by Russian overnight strikes, Ukraine’s state emergency service reports.

• Two people were reported dead in the city of Poltava in northeastern Ukraine;
• One person was killed in Zaporizhzhia;
• One body was extracted from a destroyed residential building in Kherson.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his condolences and said restoration work is ongoing.

Referring to the scale of the attack (see our post at 7:55), the Ukrainian president said the figures “clearly show that more protection against Russian attacks is needed”. 

“It is important that Europe be able to produce the necessary number of missiles for air defence to protect itself from any threats,” he added.

‌Russian strikes overnight ‌on energy infrastructure in Ukraine disconnected Moldova’s ‌key power link with Europe, President Maia Sandu said on Tuesday. 

“Alternative routes are ‌in place, but ‌the situation remains fragile,” she said in a statement on X.

“Russia alone bears responsibility.”

Moldova’s energy system is dependent on imports from Romania and the wider EU grid.

The 400 kV Isaccea–Vulcanesti–MGRES transmission line, the main high-voltage transmission route connecting Moldova to the EU, runs through southern Ukraine.

Russia fired 426 drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force.

The strikes targeted “critical infrastructure facilities”, the military said.

The majority of the projectiles used were drones (392), followed by cruise missiles (23), ballistic missiles (7) and guided air missiles (4). 

390 of the drones and missiles were shot down by the air force while impacts of drones and debris were reported at 32 locations.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned that Russia was “preparing a massive strike” in last night’s evening address, telling Ukrainians to pay attention to air-raid alerts.

Welcome back to our live coverage on day 1,489 of the war in Ukraine.

Russia has launched a massive wave of strikes against Ukraine overnight, firing 426 drones and missiles at the country.

The attacks have also disconnected Moldova’s key power link with Europe.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest.

That’s it for our live coverage today on the war in Ukraine.

Scroll down below to catch up on today’s developments.

Before we go, here’s a summary of some of the day’s main stories:

• Ukraine hit a missile components plant in Bryansk, according to Kyiv;
• The attack, said to have been carried out with British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles, prompted Moscow to condemn the UK for what it described as a “terrorist attack” that killed civilians;
• Hungary said it is sending a fact-finding mission to Ukraine to investigate problems with the Druzhba pipeline  – although Kyiv said members of the mission have no legal basis;
• Zelenskyy said Russia could send troops to Iran – a claim met with scepticism from analysts – but a Western intelligence source said Moscow is providing advanced technical guidance to Tehran on the use of drones;
• Both Ukraine and Russia claimed to have made advances on the battlefield.

Three people have been injured in Ukrainian drone strikes in Russia’s Belgorod region, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

In the village of Tserkovny, a man is in a serious condition after suffering a mine blast injury, the governor said.

He added that a man suffered multiple shrapnel wounds to his back and legs due to a drone attack on a car in the village of Golovchino in the Graivoronsky district.

And in the village of Glotovo, Gladkov said, a man was injured when a drone struck a car.

It has not been possible to verify the reports.

The Russian government is preparing a possible 10% cut to all “non-sensitive” spending in this year’s budget, sources have told Reuters.

However, the final decision will hinge on the sustainability of the oil price rise triggered by the war in Iran, the source said.

Russia is facing a double whammy of falling budget revenues from energy sales and of an economic slowdown, which affects tax income from other sectors of the economy.

The government is planning to divert more money into the budget reserve fund to prevent it from potential depletion.

The measure could be accompanied by a corresponding cut in spending.

“The finance ministry has informed agencies distributing budget funds that there is a need to cut spending. They are now sitting around thinking what to cut,” said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Reuters said two of the four sources close to the government, who are privy to the finance ministry’s communications, mentioned the 10% reduction, while the other two said the cut was being discussed without specifying the figure.

The finance ministry has not responded to a request for comment from Reuters.

In the first two months of this year, Russia’s budget energy revenues halved while overall revenues fell by 11%. Russia, which had to raise the budget deficit estimate twice last year, plans a deficit of 1.6% of gross domestic product in 2026.