Britain: Heavy losses to Russian ground forces
9.30 a.m.: British military intelligence estimates that Russia may have lost around a third of the ground forces deployed to invade Ukraine in February. “Despite small initial advances, Russia has not recorded any substantial territorial gains in recent months, while suffering continuously high losses,” the British Ministry of Defense wrote on Twitter.
Governor: Missile attack on Lviv region
7.20 a.m.: According to Ukrainian authorities, there was a rocket attack in the Lviv region on Sunday morning. As the governor there, Maxim Kosizki, announced on the messenger service Telegram, military infrastructure was hit. It is still unclear whether people were killed or injured. The extent of the destruction has yet to be determined. Lviv is located in western Ukraine not far from the Polish border.
Britain: Russian offensive in Donbass stalls
7.53 a.m.: British military intelligence sees the Russian offensive in Donbass far behind the original schedule. “Under the current conditions, it is unlikely that Russia can dramatically accelerate its advance in the next 30 days,” the British military said in its situation report on Twitter.
Foreign Minister of Ukraine: “They kill, rape and destroy”
7.01 a.m.: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has expressed skepticism about a ceasefire with Russia. “There is nothing bad about a ceasefire if it is the first step towards a solution where Ukrainian territory is liberated,” Kuleba said in an interview with Bild TV on Saturday evening. “But we will not accept that there is a partial separation of territory.” He stressed: “We are ready for diplomacy, but we will not allow diplomacy to simply prolong our suffering and simply postpone the next phase of the war.”
Kuleba called on the Germans to accept the consequences of the sanctions against Russia: “Sometimes it’s cheaper to help someone else and endure a short period of deprivation than to sit at home, watch TV and do nothing, just allow that the problem ends up knocking on your own door.” Ukraine had proposed a fair deal: “Give us everything we need and we will contain Russia and defeat it in Ukraine so they never knock on your door.”
Kuleba also condemned the Russian warfare in the strongest terms: “What surprised me was how ruthless they are, how many atrocities they commit. They can’t fight and win a fair war, that’s why they kill, rape and destroy.” Kuleba added: “In Ukraine, we don’t even call Russians animals because animals behave better than Russians.”