Car bomb kills pro-Russian official in occupied Ukraine

A car bomb in Russian-occupied Luhansk has killed a pro-Kremlin official, local authorities reported.

The deputy head of a state-run administrative agency was killed when “an unidentified device detonated in a car” on Monday afternoon, the local branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said.

The investigators posted a photo of a light-coloured SUV with its windows and doors blown out and wreckage strewn across the street in the town of Starobilsk, adding that an investigation into a “terrorist act” had been opened. “The circumstances of the incident and the people involved in the commission of the crime are being established,” it said.

Vladimir Chernev, a municipal head, named the victim as Valery Chaika, an official in Luhansk. “Our comrade is dead,” he wrote in a post on Telegram, calling on residents to be attentive and report any suspicious activity to the authorities.

Several Moscow-installed officials in eastern Ukraine have been killed in attacks orchestrated by pro-Kyiv forces since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

05:17 PM BST

That’s all for today

Thank you for tuning in to today’s live blog. We’ll be back tomorrow to bring you all the latest from the war in Ukraine.

Key moments from today:

• A massive fire has broken out at one of Russia’s largest heavy machinery factories in Yekaterinburg.

• A group of anti-Kremlin hackers stole a database containing information on hundreds of thousands of Russian prisoners to avenge the death of Alexei Navalny, CNN reported

• Recent Russian attacks have caused significant damage to the Ukrainian power system, but a total collapse is unlikely, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukraine’s national grid company Ukrenergo, said on Monday.

• Russia lost at least 20 armoured vehicles in a single failed attack in Ukraine’s western Donetsk region, Ukrainian troops have claimed.

• More than 50 per cent of Russians believe that Ukraine is responsible for last month’s massacre at a concert venue outside Moscow that left at least 144 people dead, the Financial Times (FT) reported.

• Border guards fended off an attack by Russian saboteurs in Sumy, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service reported.

• Moscow has destroyed “almost all” of Kharkiv’s critical energy infrastucture after it bombarded the city’s power grid last week, the Mayor reported.

• A railway line Russia is building through occupied Ukraine is almost complete and could pose a “serious problem” for Kyiv, Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, has warned.

• Iran tipped off Russia about the possibility of a major “terrorist operation” on its soil ahead of the concert hall massacre near Moscow last month that killed at least 144 people, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

• US Congress is to vote on a long-delayed bill to provide around $60 billion in aid to Ukraine after the House returns from Easter recess on April 9.

• Ukraine could soon be forced to retreat “ step by step” if US military aid continues to remain stalled, Volodymyr Zelensky told the Washington Post, as he urged the West to provide long-range missiles.

05:09 PM BST

Massive fire engulfs major Russian factory

A massive fire has broken out at one of Russia’s largest heavy machinery factories in Yekaterinburg.

Images and footage of the incident posted on social media shows a large cloud of black smoke rising from the Uralmash facility.

Uralmash produces equipment for mining, metal works, the cement industry and energy facilities including nuclear power plants.

The cause of the blaze remains unclear, but eyewitness accounts described hearing a loud explosion at the plant, sparking a fire covering an area of 4,500sqm, Russian media reported.

The fire caused the roof to collapse of a 300sqm workshop, which contained 24 cylinders of flammable oxygen and propane gas, Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations posted on Telegram. Workers from the site were evacuated, and a team of 64 firefighters brought the blaze under control within an hour, the ministry said.

05:09 PM BST

Hackers stole Russian prisoner database to avenge death of Navalny

A group of anti-Kremlin hackers stole a database containing information on hundreds of thousands of Russian prisoners to avenge the death of Alexei Navalny, CNN reported.

Gaining access to a computer network linked to Russia’s prison system, the hackers reportedly posted a photo of Mr Navalny and his wife, Yulia, on the prison contractor’s website, along with a message that read: “Long live Alexey Navalny!”

In a remarkable security breach, the hackers stole data including phone numbers and email addresses of prisoners, and the relatives of those, detained in the Arctic penal colony where the Russian opposition leader died on February 16.

The hackers hope that the leak will mean “somebody can contact them and help understand what happened to Navalny,” one of those claiming to be involved in the breach told CNN.

In an additional twist, the hackers reportedly used their access to the Russian prison system’s online commissary, where family members buy food for inmates, to change the prices of comestibles such noodles and canned beef to one ruble, which is roughly $0.01.

05:04 PM BST

Ukrainian orphan abducted by Russia tells of how he escaped Putin’s grasp

Had he been older or less vulnerable, says Ukrainian teenager Bohdan Yermokhin, he “would have set the Kremlin on fire”.

Originally from the coastal city of Mariupol, he was forced to live in Moscow for almost one and a half years after he and 30 other Ukrainian orphans were rounded up by Russian forces and deported against their will.

Nicknamed the Mariupol 31, he and his friends had already lived through months of brutal siege, witnessing widespread death and destruction as Vladimir Putin’s forces turned their home city to rubble.

When the last pocket of the city’s resistance fell in May 2022, the traumatised orphans were sent first to Donetsk and then on to Moscow.

Read Lizz’s full report here. 

04:54 PM BST

Russia extends detention of US-Russian journalist Kurmasheva

A Russian court has extended the pre-trial detention of Alsu Kurmasheva, a US-Russian journalist who faces 15 years in prison on charges of spreading “false information,” according to her employer.

A journalist at the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Ms Kurmasheva today had her detention period extended until June 5, having been arrested last October for failing to register as a “foreign agent”.

Ms Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague with her husband and two children, had her US and Russian passports confiscated last June after travelling to Russia for a family emergency. She was then arrested for failing to register as a “foreign agent” in October while awaiting the return of her passports.

RFE/RL called her imprisonment “outrageous” and said she had been locked up “simply because she holds an American passport.”

“The charges against Alsu are baseless. It’s not a legal process, it’s a political ploy, and Alsu and her family are unjustifiably paying a terrible price,” Stephen Capus, the RFE/RL chief, said, adding: “Russia must end this sham and immediately release Alsu without condition.”

04:18 PM BST

Another Russian factory is on fire

A large has broken out at a factory outside Moscow, local media reported

Footage of the incident posted on social media shows black smoke billowing into the air as flames engulf the Elektroizolit plant, reports suggest.

The plant, located northwest of Moscow, reportedly produces electrical insulating material. The causes of the fire remain unknown.

It comes after a fire earlier in the day engulfed a Russian military plant in Yekaterinburg.

04:05 PM BST

Pictured: Zelensky pays his respects to the people of Bucha

03:32 PM BST

Ukraine’s energy system far from collapse despite weeks of Russian strikes

Recent Russian attacks have caused significant damage to the Ukrainian power system, but a total collapse is unlikely, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukraine’s national grid company Ukrenergo, said on Monday.

“We are definitely not one step away from collapse. A collapse is an uncontrolled shutdown of most or the entire power system. This has not happened and will not happen, this scenario we consider as unlikely,” he said. “Their [the Russians’] goal is to impose blackouts in some major Ukrainian cities, and our goal is to prevent it.”

Since March 22, Russian forces have been attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure on an almost daily basis, leading to blackouts in many regions of the country.

The county’s largest private energy company, DTEK, has said the attacks damaged five of its six power plants, which lost 80 per cent of their capacity.

“The biggest concern now is the state of electricity production, the part of it that balances the system - hydro and thermal generation. The scale of damage DTEK refers to is obviously a global [large-scale] level of damage,” Mr Kudrytskyi said.

03:07 PM BST

Ukraine repels one of Russia’s biggest tank charges since the start of the war

Russia lost at least 20 armoured vehicles in a single failed attack in Ukraine’s western Donetsk region, Ukrainian troops have claimed.

Kyiv’s forces fended off a force of 36 tanks and 12 BPM infantry fighting vehicles as part of a large mechanised assault northwest of Avdiivka on March 30, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said, citing a Ukrainian serviceman.

The massive tank charge is believed to be one of Moscow’s biggest mechanised assaults since the start of the war.

Geolocated images of the site show a large number of damaged Russian vehicles along a road northwest of Tonenke, eight miles west of Avdiivka, with the anonymous serviceman reporting that 12 Russian tanks and eight armoured vehicles were destroyed during the assault.

The extent of the attack, carried out by Russia’s sixth Tank Regiment, indicates Russian command “may be prioritising” the Avdiivka region as the site of a spring offensive, the ISW said.

02:10 PM BST

‘More than half of Russians blame Ukraine’ for Moscow terror attack

More than 50 per cent of Russians believe that Ukraine is responsible for last month’s massacre at a concert venue outside Moscow that left at least 144 people dead, the Financial Times (FT) reported.

Polling carried out shortly after the attack found  the majority of Russians blame Ukraine’s leadership, while only around 27 per cent pointed the finger at Islamic State, who claimed responsibility for the attack.

A further six per cent blamed the “collective west”, namely the US, UK, and Nato, according to the polling data collected by OpenMinds.

The survey, which questioned a total of 652 Russians, found more than three quarters of respondents considered Putin to be the most reliable or a completely reliable source of information about the attack.

Younger people aged 18 to 30  were more likely to blame ISIS for the attack, with those who oppose the war considerably more likely to do so. Meanwhile, those aged 31-50 were the group most likely to believe the theory that Kyiv was involved in the shooting, with 50 per cent agreeing, according to the poll.

Moscow has repeatedly blamed the attack - Russia’s worst in 20 years - on Kyiv, despite Western intelligence suggesting the militant group Islamic State was responsible.

01:40 PM BST

Ukrainian forces repel Russian saboteurs near border in Sumy

Border guards fended off an attack by Russian saboteurs in Sumy, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service reported.

The border force posted on Telegram that a Russian reconnaissance group tried to break into Sumy territory and was detected by border guards, who immediately opened fire. A shooting battle ensured, including artillery fire, forcing the Russian unit to retreat.

The report comes as Russia targeted Sumy with 39 strikes yesterday, bombarding 11 communities in the region with artillery, mortar, grenade, drones, mines and missiles.

Russian attacks against the region, which borders Kursk and Belgorod, have become increasingly destructive in recent weeks, killing and injuring civilians.

01:09 PM BST

Watch: Russian battle tank enters service, but won’t be deployed in Ukraine

12:43 PM BST

Pictured: Ukraine destroys Russian tanks

12:14 PM BST

Russia destroys ‘almost all’ of Kharkiv’s power grid

Moscow has destroyed “almost all” of Kharkiv’s critical energy infrastucture after it bombarded the city’s power grid last week, the Mayor reported.

“Almost all of the critical energy infrastructure has been destroyed, and private infrastructure has also been destroyed,” Ihor Terekhov told Liga.net, the Ukrainian independent news site, adding that “more than 150,000 Kharkiv residents are left homeless”.

Mr Terekhov said the cost of the damage was estimated to be in the region of “10 billion dollars”.

Ukrainian energy company Centrenergo announced this weekend that the Zmiiv Thermal Power Plant, one of the largest in the northeastern Kharkiv region, was completely destroyed following Russian shelling last week.

Power outage schedules have remained in place for around 120,000 people in the region, where 700,000 had lost electricity after the plant was hit on March 22.

11:54 AM BST

Putin’s railway through occupied Ukraine ‘almost complete’, says Kyiv’s spy chief

A railway line Russia is building through occupied Ukraine is almost complete and could pose a “serious problem” for Kyiv, Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, has warned.

“Russia has actually been building a railway for over a year now to connect with our temporarily occupied southern territories. This process is almost complete, and it could pose a serious problem for us,” Mr Budanov told Ukrainian national television.

Moscow’s railroad connects Russia’s port city Rostov-on-Don and Crimea - its key logistical hub in southern Ukraine - as an alternative to the Crimean Bridge, running via key occupied territories such as Donetsk, Mariupol and Berdyansk. Vladimir Putin announced at a rally after his sham election victory last month that construction of the railroad segment between Rostov-on-Don and Berdiansk was complete.

Andrii Yusov, a Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman, said last month that Moscow is “trying to strengthen the railroad connection” due to frequent Ukrainian attacks on the Crimean bridge, adding that it is Kyiv’s “mission” to prevent Russia from completing the railway’s construction.

Read the full report here.

10:49 AM BST

Iran ‘alerted Russia’ to security threat before Moscow attack

Iran tipped off Russia about the possibility of a major “terrorist operation” on its soil ahead of the concert hall massacre near Moscow last month that killed at least 144 people, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

“Days before the attack in Russia, Tehran shared information with Moscow about a possible big terrorist attack inside Russia that was acquired during interrogations of those arrested in connection with deadly bombings in Iran,” said one source.

A second source, who also requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the information Tehran provided to Moscow about an impending attack had lacked specific details regarding timing and the exact target.

“They (the members of ISIS-K) were instructed to prepare for a significant operation in Russia... One of the terrorists (arrested in Iran) said some members of the group had already travelled to Russia,” the second source said.

A third source, a senior security official, said: “As Iran has been a victim of terror attacks for years, Iranian authorities fulfilled their obligation to alert Moscow based on information acquired from those arrested terrorists.”

It comes after Tehran arrested 35 people linked to a bombing in January that killed nearly 100 people in the city of Kerman. According to Iranian intelligence, one of those detained was a commanded for ISIS-K, the same group who has claimed responsibility for Moscow’s biggest terrorist attack in 20 years.

Read the full report here.

10:31 AM BST

US Congress to vote on Ukraine aid bill after April 9

US Congress is to vote on a long-delayed bill to provide around $60 billion in aid to Ukraine after the House returns from Easter recess on April 9.

“The speaker has made very clear statements that when we get back, it’s the next top agenda,” Mike Turner, the chairman of the intelligence select committee of the House of Representatives, told ABC News.

Mr Turner added that Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House, has made it clear to President Zelensky that he supports Ukraine.

His comments come after Mr Johnson yesterday announced that a US aid package will include “some important innovations”, including the possibility of extending a US loan.

The idea of a loan last month gained traction with US lawmakers as a way to back Ukraine in a way that might assuage conservative concerns about providing more aid.

Kyiv has suffered from acute shell hunger in recent months as it attempts to repel Moscow’s advances amid delays in US support.

10:03 AM BST

Ukrainian retreat looms without US long-range missiles, warns Zelensky

Ukraine could soon be forced to retreat “ step by step” if US military aid continues to remain stalled, Volodymyr Zelensky told the Washington Post, as he urged the West to provide long-range missiles.

“If there is no U.S. support, it means that we have no air defense...It means we will go back, retreat, step by step, in small steps,” he said.

The Ukrainian president added that delays in aid have allowed Moscow to get on the front foot. “If you are not taking steps forward to prepare another counteroffensive, Russia will take them,” he said. “That’s what we learned in this war: If you don’t do it, Russia will do it.

“We are trying to find some way not to retreat,” he said, adding that after the fall of Avdiivka, “we have stabilized the situation because of smart steps by our military.”

Mr Zelensky said “the answer” is ATACMS - long-range tactical missile systems, of which the US delivered a small number last year, with a limited range of 165km. Newer variations of ATACMS have a maximum range of around 300km and have so far not been provided to Ukraine.

“When Russia knows we can destroy these jets, they will not attack from Crimea,” Zelensky said.

09:47 AM BST

Inside the ‘bodies corridor’ – where Russia and Ukraine meet to swap their dead

The convoy snaked through Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region on a bitter February morning.

A police car led the way, followed by a unit of forensic officials and a refrigerated van containing the corpses of dozens of Russian soldiers.

The delegation was travelling into Russian territory for one of the only functioning levels of diplomacy between Kyiv and Moscow: the exchange of dead bodies from either side.

As the cars moved through the villages approaching the border, traffic stopped to make way.

A young boy stood in the road and waved. This same route is used to collect Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russian territory, and locals line the streets to greet their returning fighters.

Read Isobel’s full report here. 

09:45 AM BST

Prepare for Putin pivot to invade us, say Baltic states

Nato must be ready for Russia launching an “existential” war against the Baltic states “masked by a blizzard of disinformation”, ambassadors from the three countries have warned,  writes Will Hazell

Writing exclusively for The Sunday Telegraph, the top diplomats to the UK from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said that Russia could “pivot quickly” from Ukraine to invade the Baltic.

And they said that Vladimir Putin’s brutalisation of Ukraine is evoking the three countries’ “darkest memories” of occupation under Stalin.

The Estonian ambassador Viljar Lubi, the Latvian ambassador Ivita Burmistre, and Lithuania’s charge d’affaire Lina Zigmantaite, wrote the joint article to mark Friday’s 20 year anniversary of their countries acceding to Nato.

Read the full report here.