{"id":129184,"date":"2025-03-08T12:41:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-08T12:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-live-14-killed-in-donetsk-as-russia-steps-up-attacks-after-trump-defends-putin-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2025-03-08T12:41:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T12:41:15","slug":"ukraine-war-live-14-killed-in-donetsk-as-russia-steps-up-attacks-after-trump-defends-putin-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-live-14-killed-in-donetsk-as-russia-steps-up-attacks-after-trump-defends-putin-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war live: 14 killed in Donetsk as Russia steps up attacks after Trump defends Putin &#8211; The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Overnight strikes by Moscow\u2019s troops have killed at least 14 people in Ukraine<br \/><strong>Russian<\/strong> leader <strong>Vladimir Putin<\/strong> \u201chas no interest in peace\u201d, the <strong>European Union<\/strong>\u2019s foreign policy chief said on Saturday, after overnight strikes by <strong>Moscow<\/strong>\u2019s troops killed at least 14 people in <strong>Ukraine<\/strong>, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).<br \/><strong>Kaja Kallas<\/strong> wrote on X:<br \/><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 14\" style=\"fill:var(--block-quote-fill);\" class=\"dcr-scql1j\"><path d=\"M5.255 0h4.75c-.572 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941H0C.792 9.104 2.44 4.53 5.255 0Zm11.061 0H21c-.506 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941h-8.686c.902-4.837 2.485-9.411 5.3-13.941Z\"><\/path><\/svg>Russian missiles keep relentlessly falling on Ukraine, bringing more death and more destruction. Once again, Putin shows he has no interest in peace. We must step up our military support \u2013 otherwise, even more Ukrainian civilians will pay the highest price.\u201d<br \/>Polish prime minister Donald Tusk says there was \u201canother tragic night in Ukraine\u201d and \u201cthis is what happens when someone appeases barbarians,\u201d on a post on X.<br \/>The European Union\u2019s foreign policy chief and vice-president of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, says that Russia\u2019s strikes in the early hours of Saturday morning on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ukraine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Ukraine<\/a> show the Kremlin has \u201cno interest in peace\u201d.<br \/>The bombs killed at least 20 Ukrainians last night, according to authorities.<br \/>In a post on X, Kallas writes: \u201cRussian missiles keep relentlessly falling on Ukraine, bringing more death and more destruction.<br \/>\u201cOnce again, Putin shows he has no interest in peace.\u201d<br \/>Kallas adds: \u201cWe must step up our military support &#8211; otherwise, even more Ukrainian civilians will pay the highest price.\u201d<br \/>Kallas\u2019 sentiments echo those expressed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/volodymyr-zelenskiy\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a>, who said the attacks \u201cshow that Russia\u2019s goals are unchanged.\u201d<br \/>Trump says Putin launching massive strike on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ukraine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Ukraine<\/a> is \u2018what anybody would do\u2019 \u2013 video.<br \/><strong>Russian<\/strong> leader <strong>Vladimir Putin<\/strong> \u201chas no interest in peace\u201d, the <strong>European Union<\/strong>\u2019s foreign policy chief said on Saturday, after overnight strikes by <strong>Moscow<\/strong>\u2019s troops killed at least 14 people in <strong>Ukraine<\/strong>, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).<br \/><strong>Kaja Kallas<\/strong> wrote on X:<br \/><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 14\" style=\"fill:var(--block-quote-fill);\" class=\"dcr-scql1j\"><path d=\"M5.255 0h4.75c-.572 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941H0C.792 9.104 2.44 4.53 5.255 0Zm11.061 0H21c-.506 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941h-8.686c.902-4.837 2.485-9.411 5.3-13.941Z\"><\/path><\/svg>Russian missiles keep relentlessly falling on Ukraine, bringing more death and more destruction. Once again, Putin shows he has no interest in peace. We must step up our military support \u2013 otherwise, even more Ukrainian civilians will pay the highest price.\u201d<br \/><strong>UK<\/strong> prime minister <strong>Keir Starmer<\/strong> has welcomed <strong>Australian<\/strong> prime minister <strong>Anthony Albanese<\/strong>\u2019s \u201ccommitment to consider contributing to a coalition of the willing for Ukraine\u201d in a phone call on Saturday, <strong>Downing Street<\/strong> has said.<br \/>According to the PA news agency, the statement reads:<br \/><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 14\" style=\"fill:var(--block-quote-fill);\" class=\"dcr-scql1j\"><path d=\"M5.255 0h4.75c-.572 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941H0C.792 9.104 2.44 4.53 5.255 0Zm11.061 0H21c-.506 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941h-8.686c.902-4.837 2.485-9.411 5.3-13.941Z\"><\/path><\/svg>The prime minister spoke to the prime minister of Australia Anthony Albanese this morning.<br \/>The prime minister began by expressing his support for all Australians effected by the cyclone and paid tribute to the strength of the partnership between the two countries.<br \/>He welcomed prime minister Albanese\u2019s commitment to consider contributing to a coalition of the willing for Ukraine and looked forward to the chiefs of defence meeting in Paris on Tuesday.<br \/>The prime minister also reiterated the UK\u2019s commitment to the Aukus programme. The leaders agreed to stay in touch.\u201d<br \/><strong>Ben Wallace<\/strong>, the former <strong>UK<\/strong> defence secretary, has said <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s decision to suspend <strong>US<\/strong> intelligence sharing with <strong>Kyiv<\/strong> is \u201csuffocating\u201d <strong>Ukrainian<\/strong> hope of holding out against <strong>Russian<\/strong> aggression.<br \/>Last Friday, the US president, along with the vice-president, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/feb\/28\/jd-vance-volodymyr-zelenskyy\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">JD Vance<\/a><\/strong>, berated <strong>Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/strong> in the <strong>Oval Office<\/strong> in full view of the media, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/feb\/28\/trump-zelenskyy-meeting-transcript\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">telling the Ukrainian president<\/a> that he was \u201cgambling with world war three\u201d and to come back to the <strong>White House<\/strong> \u201cwhen he is ready for peace\u201d.<br \/>In the week since, the US stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv that had previously given advance warnings of attacks and <strong>Brussels<\/strong> agreed to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/mar\/06\/watershed-moment-eu-leaders-close-to-agreeing-800bn-defence-plan-ukraine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">huge increase<\/a> in defence spending.<br \/>On Friday, the day after intelligence sharing ceased, Russia carried out massive ballistic missile and drone strikes across Ukraine. Soon after the aerial attacks, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/mar\/07\/trump-says-it-is-easier-to-deal-with-russia-and-putin-wants-to-end-the-war\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Trump said<\/a> <strong>Vladimir Putin<\/strong> was \u201cdoing what anybody would do\u201d.<br \/>Overnight strikes in eastern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ukraine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Ukraine<\/a> on Saturday killed at least 11 people and wounded 30 others, including five children.<br \/>Wallace, who was the defence secretary when Putin launched his full-scale invasion of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ukraine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Ukraine<\/a> in 2022, said on Saturday that Trump was diminishing the hope of Ukraine with his actions.<br \/>Speaking on BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme, he said:<br \/><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 14\" style=\"fill:var(--block-quote-fill);\" class=\"dcr-scql1j\"><path d=\"M5.255 0h4.75c-.572 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941H0C.792 9.104 2.44 4.53 5.255 0Zm11.061 0H21c-.506 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941h-8.686c.902-4.837 2.485-9.411 5.3-13.941Z\"><\/path><\/svg>Hope is the most important thing in this type of conflict and, at the moment, Donald Trump is suffocating the hope that Putin can be either fought to a standstill or indeed brought to the table.\u201d<br \/>He added:<br \/><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 14\" style=\"fill:var(--block-quote-fill);\" class=\"dcr-scql1j\"><path d=\"M5.255 0h4.75c-.572 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941H0C.792 9.104 2.44 4.53 5.255 0Zm11.061 0H21c-.506 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941h-8.686c.902-4.837 2.485-9.411 5.3-13.941Z\"><\/path><\/svg>Hope is always the key for both morale and a military campaign. When this started three years ago, I remember gathering the military officials in my then department, and saying on day one, we have to give the Ukrainians hope.<br \/>If a Russian truck has a puncture, we need to let people know. If the Russians have a small defeat, we need to let the Ukrainian people know.\u201d<br \/>Higher <strong>European<\/strong> defence budgets and a ramp-up of production by military equipment industries are necessary to secure <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/europe-news\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Europe<\/a>, <strong>Nato<\/strong> secretary-general <strong>Mark Rutte<\/strong> said in a <strong>German<\/strong> newspaper interview, reports Reuters.<br \/>\u201cWe will need to spend more to keep ourselves safe,\u201d Rutte told German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag (WamS). \u201cBut we also need to quickly ramp up our defence production on both sides of the Atlantic \u2026for far too long, we have produced far too little.\u201d<br \/>The <strong>North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato)<\/strong> includes much of Europe and also the <strong>United States<\/strong> and <strong>Canada<\/strong>.<br \/>Ammunition, ships, tanks, jets, but also satellites and drones were needed, Rutte said.<br \/>European countries are hastening to boost defence spending and maintain support for <strong>Ukraine<\/strong> after US president <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> froze US military aid to <strong>Kyiv<\/strong> and raised doubts about <strong>Washington<\/strong>\u2019s commitment to European allies.<br \/>German lawmakers will debate sweeping changes to state borrowing rules to fund defence, alongside a \u20ac500bn ($541.60bn) infrastructure fund, from 13 March to get those measures passed in the outgoing parliament ahead of the formation of a new one on 25 March, sources have said, according to Reuters.<br \/>EU leaders on Thursday held meetings to back joint defence loans to member states and to allow defence spending beyond tight budgetary rules for other sectors. Rutte said he had met with many heads of defence manufacturing companies and urged them to respond to higher demand.<br \/><strong>US<\/strong> and <strong>Ukrainian<\/strong> negotiators are due to meet in <strong>Saudi Arabia<\/strong> next week with bilateral relations frayed, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).<br \/><strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> publicly berated Ukrainian president <strong>Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/strong> during a <strong>White House<\/strong> meeting and suspended US aid to <strong>Kyiv<\/strong> in a stated bid to encourage diplomacy.<br \/>\u201cI\u2019m finding it more difficult frankly to deal with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ukraine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Ukraine<\/a> and they don\u2019t have the cards,\u201d Trump said on Friday. \u201cIt may be easier dealing with Russia.\u201d<br \/>The remarks followed Trump on Friday threatening new sanctions and tariffs on <strong>Russia<\/strong> over its bombardments of Ukraine. \u201cTo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/russia\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Russia<\/a> and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late,\u201d he added.<br \/>Zelenskyy is due to land in Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks with <strong>Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman<\/strong>.<br \/>The meeting is a day before Ukrainian officials are expected to hold fresh talks with their US counterparts on Tuesday there.<br \/><strong>Ukrainian<\/strong> president <strong>Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/strong> on Saturday called for more sanctions against <strong>Russia<\/strong> as overnight strikes killed at least 14 people and injured dozens more, days ahead of talks between <strong>US<\/strong> and Ukrainian negotiators aimed at securing a truce, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).<br \/>A Russian assault hit the centre of <strong>Dobropillia<\/strong> in Ukraine\u2019s eastern <strong>Donetsk region<\/strong> late on Friday, killing 11 people and injuring 30, according to the emergency services.<br \/>Separately, three people were killed and seven others injured in a drone attack early on Saturday in the city of <strong>Bogodukhiv<\/strong>, the military head of the eastern <strong>Kharkiv region<\/strong>, <strong>Oleg Synegubov<\/strong>, said. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/russia\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Russia<\/a> fired two missiles and 145 drones at Bogodukhiv, Ukraine\u2019s air force said.<br \/>The overnight air raids came after US president <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> threatened new sanctions and tariffs on Russia but said it may be \u201ceasier\u201d to work with <strong>Moscow<\/strong> than <strong>Kyiv<\/strong> on efforts to end the three-year-long war.<br \/>\u201cSuch strikes show that Russia\u2019s goals are unchanged. Therefore, it is very important to continue to do everything to protect life, strengthen our air defence, and increase sanctions against Russia,\u201d Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram social media channel.<br \/>In Dobropillia, AFP saw charred residential buildings, flattened market stalls and evidence of cluster bomb damage.<br \/><strong>Irina Kostenko<\/strong>, 59, spent the night cowering in her hallway with her husband. When she left the apartment building on Saturday, she saw a neighbour \u201clying dead on the ground, covered with a blanket\u201d. \u201cIt was shocking, I don\u2019t have the words to describe it,\u201d Kostenko told AFP.<br \/>Zelenskyy said that Russia had struck Dobropillia, waited until rescuers arrived and then \u201cdeliberately\u201d targeted them as well. \u201cThis is a despicable and inhumane tactic of intimidation that the Russians often use,\u201d he said.<br \/>The <strong>Russian<\/strong> defence ministry has announced the recapture of <strong>Viktorovka<\/strong>, <strong>Nikolayevka<\/strong> and <strong>Staraya Sorochina<\/strong>, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Reuters.<br \/>According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the <strong>Ukrainian<\/strong> army, the Russian move followed a \u201cbreach\u201d in Ukrainian defence lines near the town of <strong>Sudzha<\/strong> which is under <strong>Kyiv<\/strong>\u2019s control.<br \/>\u201cOne of our units left its positions. After that the enemy reinforced its troops and systematically launched assault operations \u2026 and here\u2019s the result,\u201d said DeepState, which is followed by more than 800,000 subscribers on the Telegram website, reports AFP.<br \/>An army source interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda newspaper said that the Ukrainian soldiers were trying to \u201cstabilise the situation\u201d but the Russian troops had \u201ccompletely cut off the supply lines\u201d.<br \/><strong>Serhiy Sternenko<\/strong>, a prominent Ukrainian activist, wrote on Thursday:<br \/><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 14\" style=\"fill:var(--block-quote-fill);\" class=\"dcr-scql1j\"><path d=\"M5.255 0h4.75c-.572 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941H0C.792 9.104 2.44 4.53 5.255 0Zm11.061 0H21c-.506 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941h-8.686c.902-4.837 2.485-9.411 5.3-13.941Z\"><\/path><\/svg>The logistics situation in the Kursk region is rapidly deteriorating and is already critical.\u201d<br \/>\u201cLogistics routes to Sudzha are under full enemy fire control,\u201d he said in a post on X, citing information from army units in the area.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/rss\/articles\/CBMiwgFBVV95cUxQaFF2WlFaazFJVUw1dERpVkp5dXV5TnphcVhXWXB4QjZpOWNEbHJvSGNDemZmc2ZMeW5FMTV6R2lmeW04OW5hMUNaenNOMEZQWkxkYzdmOXl6TU1KSUdiSEdYZFhNT3hBeUhyUE1yR0ptX2hWdnQ2OUNIaWd4YWhSdk9sVmxkdGlXcWlLb2xHR0Q0QnZtUkxBaS1qSDVkQXRqdUVkY19YS3hKZm9EbVdldkEzVFA4R0R0eDdnZEhSTU00QQ?oc=5\">source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overnight strikes by Moscow\u2019s troops have killed at least 14 people in UkraineRussian leader Vladimir Putin \u201chas no interest in peace\u201d, the European Union\u2019s foreign policy chief said on Saturday, after overnight strikes by Moscow\u2019s troops killed at least 14 people in Ukraine, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).Kaja Kallas wrote on X:Russian missiles keep relentlessly falling [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":129185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}