Ukraine-Russia war latest: Send UK troops to Kyiv warzone now, Boris Johnson urges
The former prime minister said the move could ‘flip a switch’ in Putin’s head
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has said the UK should send non-combat troops to Ukraine now in a bid to “flip a switch” in Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s head.
Mr Johnson said the country should put boots on the ground in non-fighting zones, adding Ukraine’s allies have been “too slow” to send support to Kyiv.
Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg alongside the former head of the military, Adm Sir Tony Radakin, the former PM said: "We've always delayed needlessly,.
"We've then ended up giving the Ukrainians what they have been asking for, and actually it's always served to their advantage and to the disadvantage of Putin.
"I mean, the one person who suffers from escalation is Putin."
It comes after Hungary has said it is prepared to block a key European Union (EU) loan to Ukraine unless Kyiv allows shipments of Russian oil to resume.
The EU nation has been blocked from receiving Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline since 27 January, after Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone attack caused damage to the infrastructure.
But in a video posted on social media on Friday evening, foreign minister Peter Szijjarto accused Ukraine of "blackmailing" Hungary by failing to restart oil shipments.
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Rishi Sunak reveals details of discussion with Zelensky as he urges UK to catch up on drone production
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference last week where the pair discussed the nature of Ukraine’s military strategy against Russia, according to an article Mr Sunak wrote in the Times.
Mr Sunak said he was left with the conviction that the UK and Europe must catch up to Ukraine in modernising its military weaponry.
“Drones have changed the nature of war,” he wrote.
“At the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky told me that 80 per cent of the casualties Ukraine is inflicting on the Russians are from unmanned vehicles.”
He added: “A recent Nato exercise, Hedgehog 2025, where Nato forces faced off against Ukrainian drone operators, revealed just how ill-prepared western forces are for this new way of war.”
Mr Sunak concluded: “The world has changed. Defence has changed. Warfare has changed. We must adapt, and fast.”
Kremlin continuing 'cognitive warfare' to convince the West a Ukraine loss is inevitable, says new report
A report by the Institute for the Study of War has concluded that Russia is continuing a campaign of “cognitive warfare” to convince Western countries that Ukraine’s loss on the battlefield is inevitable.
“Russia is seizing small, rural settlements that lie along the Russia-Ukraine international border and presenting these seizures as alleged evidence of the prowess of the Russian military to further the false narrative that Russian victory in Ukraine is inevitable,” it wrote.
It provided an example, explaining: “Russian Chief of the General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy claimed on February 20 that Russian forces have seized approximately 900 square kilometers and 42 settlements since the beginning of 2026.
“ISW has only collected evidence to assess that Russian forces have only seized 19 settlements and 572 square kilometers of total territory since the beginning of 2026 — a difference of 23 settlements and 328 square kilometers.”
Zelensky provides update on Nato discussions
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky provided an update on discussions with Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte on Saturday.
He shared that trilateral negotiations with the US and Russia had been discussed as well as the ongoing energy situation in Ukraine.
“We touched base on all key aspects of our diplomatic work, and I’m glad that, in many areas, our views align,” he wrote in a post on X.
“I shared updates on preparations for the next trilateral format with the United States and Russia, as well as what we know about possible shifts in the parties’ positions.
“We also discussed the energy situation and the need to continue work under the PURL initiative. I am grateful to every European country that invests in our defence through PURL. Thank you, Mark, for your support!”
Ukraine hits Russian ballistic missiles producer in Udmurtia, Kyiv says
Ukraine's domestically produced Flamingo missiles hit a Russian plant manufacturing ballistic missiles in Russia's remote southern region of Udmurtia overnight, the Ukrainian General Staff said Saturday.
It said in a statement that the plant was located in Votkinsk, about 1400 km (800 miles) from Ukraine, and produced intercontinental ballistic missiles and short-range ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian military also said that it hit a gas processing plant in Russia's Samara region.
Editorial: President Trump is wrong. Ukraine can win this war
President Trump is wrong. Ukraine can win this war
Special report: The only place to hide from Putin’s killer drones is our underground school
‘The only place to hide from Putin’s killer drones is our underground school’
UK should send non-combat troops to Ukraine now, former PM Johnson says
The UK should sent non-combat troops to Ukraine now, former prime minister Boris Johnson has said.
Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, he said boots should be on the ground to "flip a switch" in Russian President Vladimir Putin's head.
He said: "If we can have a plan for boots on the ground after the war, after Putin has condescended to have a ceasefire, then why not do it now?"
Ukraine returns two more children from Russian occupation, authorities say
Ukrainian forces have returned two more children from the Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast, bringing the total of freed children from the region to 31 this year, authorities said
The head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, reported the children were returned under the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, which finds and returns Ukrainian children from occupied territories and Russia.
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