Ukraine-Russia battle newest: Putin to reduce Victory Day parade amid army tools shortages

Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement last month that the Navy could board ships belonging to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” has had no clear impact on the number passing through British waters, according to a new Reuters analysis.

In the month after Sir Keir’s threat on 25 March, at least 98 Russian vessels subject to UK sanctions transited its waters, about the same ⁠as each of the last three months.

The UK has a total of 544 vessels ​linked to Russia’s “shadow fleet” on its sanctions list.

There ​has ⁠been no announcement of any boarding or detention of the ships, which typically have an opaque ownership structure and can transport oil, grains and ⁠arms, often in support of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

LSEG tracking data shows that 63 ​ships ⁠passed within 12 nautical miles of the ‌coastline in the English Channel, the most direct route between the Baltic Sea and southern Europe.

Another 35 travelled through Britain’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends up to ‌200 nautical miles from the coast, mainly around north ‌Scotland.

A Ukrainian drone strike sparked a “massive” fire at a Russian oil refinery in Tuapse on Tuesday, as Kyiv stepped up its efforts to target a critical generator of funding for Vladimir Putin’s war chest.

It was the third attack on the Black Sea port facility in less than two weeks as the Ukrainian military sought to disrupt the Russian oil and gas industry, which accounts for a big slice of Moscow’s federal budget.

After the Ukrainian military claimed responsibility for the latest strike, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said in remarks that were broadcast on Russian television that “drone attacks against civilian ⁠infrastructure are becoming more frequent”.

“The latest example is the strike against ​energy ⁠facilities in Tuapse,” he added, “which could potentially cause serious environmental consequences.”

The president dispatched Aleksandr Kurenkov to Tuapse where the emergency situations minister said the situation was “complicated but controllable”.

A Ukrainian drone attack caused a major fire at a Russian oil refinery in the city of Tuapse yesterday, officials said, in what president Vladimir Putin described ⁠as evidence of increased Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets.

It was the third attack on the Black Sea port in less than two weeks.

Ukraine’s military confirmed it had carried out the strike, the latest in a series designed to disrupt Russia’s oil industry and slash revenue that helps Moscow fund the war in Ukraine.

Putin, in comments broadcast on Russian television, said: “Drone strikes against civilian ⁠infrastructure are becoming more frequent.

“The latest example is the strikes against ​energy ⁠facilities in Tuapse, which could potentially cause serious environmental consequences,” he said.

Putin said regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev had reported there were no major threats.

“It seems there are no serious dangers, and people are managing to ⁠deal with the challenges they face on the ground,” he added.

Ukraine used interceptor systems to shoot down more than 33,000 Russian drones of various types in March, a record monthly figure since Moscow launched its all-out invasion more than four years ago, Ukraine’s defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov claimed.

Ukraine’s offensive capabilities have also improved, with the country’s forces have more than doubled the range of their deep-strike capabilities since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

At that time, Ukrainian forces were able to hit military targets about 630km (400 miles) away, it said. They are now striking targets as far as roughly 1,750km (1,100 miles) behind enemy lines, the ministry said in a statement.

That improvement has allowed Ukraine to hit Russian oil installations that provide crucial revenue for Moscow’s war effort. It has also targeted manufacturing plants that supply Russia’s armed forces.

Ukraine has accused Russia of cannibalising soldiers on the battlefield as basic supplies dwindle.

A Ukrainian intelligence source told The Sunday Times they had evidence of at least five instances of Russian soldiers eating their comrades, according to their fellow soldiers.

Ukrainian military intelligence provided the newspaper with photos and purported intercepts of audio transmissions between senior Russian officers that they say evidence their claims.

In one case, an infantryman was ostensibly caught after killing two soldiers and attempting to eat the leg of one of his victims while stationed near Myrnohrad, in the Donetsk region, in November 2025.

The incidents, if true, were said to be “seemingly isolated and limited in number”, occurring in the winter where supply chains were stretched.

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in London said it saw “no reason to comment” on the allegations, calling the claims “fabrications”.

First came the infantry, next the missiles, then the drones.

Now, after more than four years of a bloody and grinding war in Ukraine, remote-controlled ground robots are assuming command over the battlefield.

Last Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade had regained territory exclusively using a combination of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and drones – a mission he says was a first in the war.

“The occupiers surrendered, and the operation was carried out without infantry and without losses on our side,” he went on, referring to an operation from the northeastern Kharkiv region last year, in which Ukrainian infantry occupied a position gained using the UGVs.

Ukraine’s defence minister says the country’s forces shot down a record 33,000 Russian drones of various types in March, marking the highest monthly figure since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began over four years ago.

It comes as Ukraine’s domestically developed long-range attack drones struck a Russian oil refinery and terminal on the Black Sea for the third time in less than two weeks, prompting local evacuations as a precautionary measure.

Kyiv has developed advanced, battle-tested drone technology, which has proven crucial in resisting Russia’s larger military and has attracted international military interest. Ukrainian officials report that interceptor drones, as part of a comprehensive air defence system, are now being sought by Middle Eastern and Gulf countries for protection amid the war in Iran.

Ukrainian forces have evacuated a 77-year-old woman in the embattled Donetsk region using a ground drone, its military said.

“From battlefield tool to rescue mission. @ab3army defenders used a ground robot to pull a 77-year-old woman out of a frontline danger zone. War tech saving lives,” the defence ministry of Ukraine said, sharing a video of the evacuation operation on X.

The woman was seen walking along a road hit by drones and artillery shells in the Lyman area when the drone operators from the 60th Brigade’s unmanned ground systems unit spotted her.

Without scaring her, the drone operators placed a blanket on the platform and left a message reading, “Grandma, get on!”.

The ground robot is seen moving under incoming shells to extract the elderly woman from the frontline area.

Ukraine has accused Israel of allowing the import of grain it says Russia stole from occupied territories, prompting a sharp exchange between officials in Kyiv and Jerusalem.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a vessel carrying grain had arrived at an Israeli port and was preparing to unload, calling the trade illegal and warning of sanctions against those involved.

Israel claimed that the vessel had not entered the port and had not yet submitted its documents. The MarineTraffic.com marine tracking website showed the ship had been in Haifa for several days.

“In any normal country, purchasing stolen goods is an act that entails legal liability,” Zelensky wrote on X, adding that Ukraine’s intelligence services were preparing sanctions targeting companies and individuals profiting from the shipments.

“We will also coordinate with European partners to ensure that the relevant individuals are included in European sanctions regimes,” he said.