Ukraine news – live: Russian mercenary group claims it has taken village as Zelensky hopes for fighter jets

Talks are under way among Ukraine and its allies about a request for long-range missiles that it says are needed to prevent Russia from destroying its cities, a top aide to President Zelenskiy said on Sunday.

The news comes as German arms-maker Rheinmetall is ready to greatly boost the output of tank and artillery munitions to satisfy strong demand in Ukraine and the West, and may start producing HIMARS multiple rocket launchers in Germany, CEO Armin Papperger told Reuters.

Ukraine has been promised 321 heavy tanks by several countries, its ambassador to France said.

And Poland will send an additional 60 tanks to Ukraine on top of the 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks it has pledged, the Polish prime minister said in an interview with Canadian television.

Reuters said it was not able to independently verify the report.

Ukraine has said its forces repelled an attack in the area of Blahodatne in the eastern part of the Donetsk region on Sunday, responding to claims by Russia’s Wagner private military group that it took control of the village.

“Units of Ukraine‘s Defence Forces repelled the attacks of the occupiers in the areas of ... Blahodatne ... in the Donetsk region,” the General Staff of Ukraine‘s Armed Forces said in its daily morning report, referring to fighting on Saturday.

It added that its forces repelled Russian attacks in the areas of 13 other settlements in the Donetsk region.

The Wagner Group, designated by the United States as transnational criminal organisation, said on the Telegram messaging app on Saturday that its units had taken control of Blahodatne.

News agency Reuters, who reported the message, was not able to independently verify the reports.

With fighting heating up in the Donetsk region, the exact line of contact has been unclear, especially around the town Bakhmut where some of the heaviest fighting of the war has been taking place in recent weeks. The Wagner Group has made premature success claims before.

Ukraine has said that the Russian offensive on Bakhmut has not culminated, but the situation along the front line there has been growingly difficult. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that it was acute.

Four civilians were killed, one in Bakhmut, and 17 wounded in Russian attacks on the region on Saturday, Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region said on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine has won promises of Western battle tanks and is seeking fighter jets to push back against Russian and pro-Moscow forces, which are slowly advancing along part of the front line.

On Saturday, Zelenskiy’s top aide said that expedited talks were under way between Ukraine and its allies about its requests for long-range missiles to prevent Russia from destroying Ukrainian cities

“We can produce 240,000 rounds of tank ammunition (120mm) per year, which is more than the entire world needs,” Mr Papperger said in an interview with Reuters.

He added that the capacity for the production of 155mm artillery rounds can be ramped up to 450,000 to 500,000 per year which would make Rheinmetall the biggest producer for both kinds of ammunition.

In 2022, Rheinmetall made some 60,000 to 70,000 rounds each of tank and artillery shells, according to Papperger, who said production could be boosted immediately.

The US has pledged to send 31 of its M1 Abram battle tanks, worth an estimated $400m, to Ukraine to help the resistance fight back against the Russian onslaught as the one-year anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion approaches.

Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the US, said the decision by Joe Biden’s administration amounted to “another blatant provocation” against Moscow, pledged that the tanks would be destroyed and warned the West it would come to regret the “delusion” that Ukraine could ever win the day.

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When it comes to the M1 Abram battle tanks, experts warn of the complex logistics involved in getting the high-tech vehicles to the battlefield.

Donald Trump has said he would build an “impenetrable dome” to protect the US from nuclear missile attacks as he also claimed he could end the Russian invasion of Ukraine “within 24 hours.”

The one-term president released a video saying that foreign powers were now openly “using the nuclear word all the time” because “they have no respect for our leadership.”

Mr Trump added that “it is a word you are never allowed to use” and insisted it had never been said when he was in the White House.

One-term president says America needs own version of Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ air defence system

“This is an unethical crime aimed at keeping the international situation unstable,” the official said.

The top official also derided Washington’s allegations that North Korea has provided arms to Russia as a “groundless rumor” to justify its own military aid to Ukraine.

The baseless claims of North Korea-Russia arms deals are a “grave provocation that can never be allowed” and perpetuating them will bring a “really undesirable result”, Mr Kwon added.

Ukraine’s military has said its forces repelled an attack in the area of Blahodatne in the eastern part of the Donetsk region amid claims from Russia’s Wagner private military group of taking control of the village.

“Units of Ukraine’s defence forces repelled the attacks of the occupiers in the areas of... Blahodatne... in the Donetsk region,” the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said this morning, confirming the fighting that took place on Saturday.

The Ukrainian army said its forces repelled Russian attacks in the areas of 13 other settlements in the Donetsk region.

This comes just hours after Russia’s proxy mercenary Wagner Group — termed by the United States as a transnational criminal organisation — said that its units had taken control of Blahodatne.

While the Wagner has made premature claims of capturing territory in eastern Ukraine, including Soledar recently, it is not immediately clear what part of the region remains under Ukraine’s active control.

The Russian education ministry has made basic military training mandatory in the country’s secondary school curriculum and it will be taught from September this year, the British defence ministry said today.

“In recent weeks, the Russian ministry of education has provided more detail on the rollout of the previously announced plan to include basic military training in Russia’s secondary school curriculum,” the MoD said in its latest intelligence update.

It added that the module will be included within the ‘Basics of Life Safety’ course and teach students about “training with AK series assault rifles and hand grenades, military drill and salutes, and the use of personal protective equipment.”

“The lessons will become mandatory from 01 September 2023. In addition, in December 2022, the ministry of science and higher education announced a ‘military training basics’ programme for university students,” the ministry said.

It added that the “initiatives highlight the increasingly militarised atmosphere in wartime Russia, as well as being a (likely deliberate) evocation of the Soviet Union: similar training was mandatory in schools up to 1993.”

Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine remains critical over the weekend.

“The situation at the front, and in particular in the Donetsk region – near Bakhmut and Vuhledar, remains extremely acute. The occupiers are not just storming our positions – they are deliberately and methodically destroying these towns and villages around them. Artillery, aviation, missiles,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address.

He added: “The Russian army has no shortage of means of destruction. And it can be stopped only by force. Our soldiers, who are defending the areas in Donetsk region, are real heroes.”