Russia Ukraine war live updates: Shock footage as Russian tanks blasted away

Footage has been captured of Ukrainian forces blowing up Russian army tanks approaching Kyiv. SEE THE VIDEO. WARNING: GRAPHIC

A Russian armoured column advancing on Kyiv was forced into retreat after a successful artillery strike by Ukrainian forces, which was spectacularly captured on camera.

Ukraine hit back at Russian forces with a successful artillery strike destroying three enemy tanks and armoured vehicles in an ambush on the eastern side of the city.

A Ukrainian military drone captured the moment the column of Russian mostly T-72 tanks and armoured vehicles was caught by Ukrainian artillery fire, with some forced to turn around and retreat.

Several tanks and other armoured vehicles are seen exploding in the attack by Ukrainian defenders using artillery shells or mines.

Soldiers can be seen running from the street to get back into the relative safety of the column.

Footage has captured Russian tanks being blown up by Ukrainian forces. Picture: Supplied

Intercepted radio transmissions appeared to reveal the regimental commander of the column was killed in the strike.

The line of tanks was stationery and clustered together between a wide row of houses in what military analysts have described as a gross tactical error.

According to Ukraine’s defence ministry, a top commander, Colonel Andrei Zakharov, was killed in the onslaught. Three Russian generals have previously been killed over the course of the invasion.

Analysts said the ambushed convoy included a vehicle carrying a thermobaric rocket launcher.

On Wednesday, the UK Ministry of Defense claimed that Russia has admitted using the “vacuum bombs” in Ukraine.

The British agency said Russia confirmed it has used a mobile rocket-launching system typically equipped with thermobaric warheads, which suck up the air around targets and can rupture people’s lungs.

US officials had earlier confirmed the presence of thermobaric-capable launchers in Ukraine but couldn’t say whether they’d been used.

This Maxar satellite image shows a destroyed and burning warehouse in Stoyanka, Ukraine.

ZELENSKYY: RUSSIA GUILTY OF ‘OUTRIGHT TERROR’

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said around 100,000 people had evacuated the country’s cities in two days, but accused Russian forces of targeting a humanitarian corridor in the city of Mariupol.

Zelenskyy said he decided to send a convoy of trucks into the besieged port city with food, water and medicine.

But “the occupiers launched a tank attack exactly where this corridor was supposed to be”, he said in a video statement, describing it as “outright terror”.

The Ukrainian leader said that, of the around 100,000 people who had been able to leave other Ukrainian cities via humanitarian corridors over the past two days, some 40,000 had fled on Thursday alone.

Ukraine has accused Russia of carrying out an air strike on Wednesday on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, a strategic port on the Azov Sea, killing three people, including a young girl.

Moscow Thursday promised to open humanitarian corridors every day to allow Ukrainians to flee onto its soil, but Kyiv has previously rejected evacuation routes leading into Russia.

A Ukrainian soldier helps an elderly woman to cross a destroyed bridge as she evacuates the city of Irpin. Picture: AFP

SURPRISE MOVE BY FACEBOOK

In an unprecedented move, Facebook and Instagram will allow its users to call for violence against Russian troops and the country’s president in some instances.

Facebook’s parent company Meta confirmed the temporary change to its terms of service in an internal memo sent to content moderators and seen by Reuters on Friday.

“As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders,’” a company spokesperson said.

“We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.”

The change will temporarily allow violent posts in countries including Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, and some nearby nations, according to the memo, including calls for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Posts will not be allowed if they contain detail such as a method or location of death, however.

Facebook’s changes are the latest in a long list made by and to social networks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is now banned from use in Russia following its decision to remove access to Russian media companies.

Russia also banned the use of Twitter in the country but the social network has struck back, launching a private version of its platform to get around the censorship.

The new version of Twitter can be accessed through a Tor browser in Russia, which is typically used to access the Dark Web.

UK’S ‘CONCERNS’ OVER CHEMICAL WEAPONS

The United Kingdom is “very concerned” about the potential of Russia using chemical weapons in Ukraine, according to top officials.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated Western officials’ fears that Vladimir Putin could use chemical weapons in Ukraine after Moscow accused Kyiv of planning to deploy them in the battlefield.

“The stuff that you’re hearing about chemical weapons is straight out of their playbook,” he said.

“They start saying that there are chemical weapons that have been stored by their opponents or by the Americans.”

Residents of Irpin and Bucha are helped by members of the Ukrainian military as they evacuate via a destroyed bridge in Irpin, Ukraine. Picture: Getty Images

In an interview with CNN on Thursday local time, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that it would be a “grave mistake on the part of Russia, adding to the grave mistakes that have already been made by Putin”.

Her comments came one day after the White House warned on Wednesday that Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine or manufacture a “false flag” operation that uses them.

“We’ve seen Russia use these weapons before in fields of conflict,” Truss continued.

The United States on Wednesday rejected Russian claims that it supports a bioweapons program in Ukraine, saying the allegations were a sign that Moscow could soon use the weapons themselves.

An elderly women says goodbye to Volentini, a volunteer at the elderly hospice before being evacuated from Irpin. Picture: Getty Images

“The Kremlin is intentionally spreading outright lies that the United States and Ukraine are conducting chemical and biological weapons activities in Ukraine,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

“Russia is inventing false pretexts in an attempt to justify its own horrific actions in Ukraine.” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the claims were “preposterous” and noted that “we’ve also seen Chinese officials echo these conspiracy theories.”

We took note of Russia’s false claims about alleged U.S. biological weapons labs and chemical weapons development in Ukraine. We’ve also seen Chinese officials echo these conspiracy theories.

— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 9, 2022

"They have a sort of maskirovka - a fake story - ready to go"

Boris Johnson tells @BethRigby he fears Vladimir Putin is planning to use chemical weapons in Ukraine, saying it would be "straight out of Russia's playbook"https://t.co/ZVdgSHgbbJ

— Tom Rayner (@RaynerSkyNews) March 10, 2022

“Now that Russia has made these false claims... we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them,” she said on Twitter.

On March 6, Moscow’s foreign ministry tweeted that Russian forces found evidence that Kyiv was erasing traces of the military-biological program in Ukraine, allegedly financed by the United States.

Price said “this Russian disinformation is total nonsense” and added that Russia had “a track record of accusing the West of the very crimes that Russia itself is perpetrating.” The United States said Tuesday however it was working with Ukraine to prevent invading Russian forces from seizing biological research material in the country.

A member of the Ukrainian military holds the burnt remains of Russian passports. Picture: Getty Images

UKRAINE AND RUSSIA TALKS LEAD NOWHERE

Russia and Ukraine failed to make a breakthrough Thursday in their first top-level talks since Moscow’s invasion two weeks ago, as Russian advances sparked fears the Ukrainian capital Kyiv could soon be encircled.

After talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Turkey, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said there had been “no progress”, even on a 24-hour ceasefire, although Lavrov said Moscow would keep talking.

Russian forces were encircling at least four major cities in Ukraine on Thursday, with armoured vehicles rolling up to the northeastern edge of the capital Kyiv.

Talks between Russia and Ukraine have led nowhere. Picture: AFP

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said half the population had fled, adding that the city “has been transformed into a fortress. Every street, every building, every checkpoint has been fortified.” The besieged southern port city of Mariupol meanwhile came under fresh attack, the day after the bombing of a children’s hospital that local officials said killed three people, including a young girl.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was a Russian “war crime”, a position backed by top European Union officials.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the “intensifying” targeting of civilians could see Washington and its European allies step up already unprecedented sanctions on Moscow.

The Russian army however claimed the hospital bombing was a “staged provocation” by Ukraine.

A doctor takes care of a boy, who was injured by the shelling in a hospital in Ukraine's second-biggest city of Kharkiv. Picture: AFP

At least 35,000 civilians were evacuated from the cities of Sumy, Enerhodar and areas around Kyiv on Wednesday, Zelensky said.

Around 2,000 more people left the eastern city of Izyum on Thursday, the deputy head of Zelensky’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, wrote on Telegram.

The situation in Mariupol is particularly dire, with ten days of constant attacks having left more than 1,200 civilians dead, according to the mayor.

The UN estimates more than 2.3 million refugees have left Ukraine since Russia shocked the world by invading its pro-Western neighbour on February 24.

RUSSIA SLAMS ‘FAKE NEWS’

The Russian army claims an attack on a children’s hospital in the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol - which killed three including a child - was a “staged provocation” by Ukraine.

Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov blamed Kyiv for the attack, hours after

Russia’s foreign ministry earlier had accused Ukrainian “nationalist battalions” of moving out staff and patients out of the hospital and converting it to a base to fire from.

“The Russian aviation carried out absolutely no missions to hit targets on the ground in the Mariupol area,” Mr Konashenkov said.

“The air strike that allegedly took place is a completely staged provocation to maintain anti-Russian hype for a Western audience.”

Asked if Russia was planning to attack other nations, Mr Lavrov said “we don’t plan to attack other countries” and claimed “we did not attack Ukraine”.

NEW WARNING FOR PUTIN

Antony Blinken believes Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is doomed to fail despite Russia’s military power.

Speaking to the press, the US Secretary of State said Russia had already was “not going to be able to hold Ukraine in the long term”.

“I’m absolutely convinced that Putin will fail, and Russia will suffer a strategic defeat no matter what short-term tactical gains it may make in Ukraine,” Mr Blinken said.

“You can win a battle, but that doesn’t mean you win the war. On the contrary, you can take a city but you can’t take the hearts and minds of its people and Ukrainians are demonstrating that every single day.”

He said the Ukrainian people would never accept a Russian regime.

“I think it’s pretty evident that they will never accept that,” he said.

It come amid fears Russia will launch an “utterly horrific” attack on the capital of Kyiv.

“I think we’ve got good reason to be concerned about possible use of non-conventional weapons, partly because of what we’ve seen has happened in other theatres,” an official told the UK Telegraph.

“As I’ve mentioned before, for example, what we’ve seen in Syria, partly because we’ve seen a bit of setting the scene for that in the false flag claims that are coming out, and other indications as well.”

UKRAINE’S AUSSIE DEMAND

Ukraine’s top diplomat in Canberra has declared the Russian Ambassador should be “expelled” from Australia.

The Ukrainian Charge d’Affaires Volodymyr Shalkivskyi says he would like the Morrison government to take a diplomatic stand against Aleksey Pavlovsky to deliver a message to Vladimir Putin.

Fifteen days have passed since the Russian President began a broad attack on his country’s smaller neighbour, which has been met with fierce resistance from Ukrainians.

Mr Shalkivskyi spoke of the conflict in an address to the National Press Club on Thursday afternoon before he took questions from Australian journalists.

He said he was not in a position to be “diplomatically polite” while his parents were spending their nights in a bomb shelter in Kyiv.

“I’m a diplomat. I have to play along my diplomatic narratives. I do what I can in order to play it,” he said.

“But when you have more than 50 children killed in your country due to the shelling, yes, I’d like Russian ambassador to be expelled.”

Volodymyr Shalkivskyi spoke to Australian journalists on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Shalkivskyi declared his home country would not surrender, saying there was high morale on the ground even though people were preparing for a long term war.

“Putin truly believed people would greet (Russians) with flowers. Instead, they were met with Molotov cocktails,” he said.

“You cannot win a war against a free people determined to fight for their freedom. There is no way we will give up.”

In a rare media appearance in January, the Kremlin’s envoy to Canberra told Australian journalists the amassing of Russian military forces on the Ukrainian border was not a threat of invasion.

“Our troops are not a threat … They are a warning to Ukraine not to take any reckless military adventures,” Dr Pavlovsky claimed at the time.

Dr Pavlovsky has held the Russian ambassadorship to Australia since May 2019.

Vladimir Putin has received international condemnation for his actions in Ukraine. Picture: Russian Presidential Press Office / AFP

Mr Shalkivskyi, who has been in his diplomatic post since last year, called on the federal government to do more to support Ukraine.

“I‘d like to have a boycott of all the Russian supplied goods and services in Australia, I’d like to stop any shipping companies to enter Australia’s territorial waters,” he said on Thursday.

“We have to use all means that we have in our power, in our disposal, in order to fight back including in the diplomatic field.”

However, he stopped short of criticising the Morrison government and said it was its decision to make regarding Dr Pavlovsky’s position.

The federal government has committed to $70m in military aid and $35m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the wake of the conflict, and indicated additional financial support is possible.

NCA NewsWire has contacted Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and the Russian Embassy in Australia for comment.

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RUSSIA, UKRAINE DIPLOMATS HOLD TALKS IN TURKEY

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday began talks in Turkey in the first such high-level contact since Moscow invaded its neighbour.

The ministers began talks on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in the southern Turkish resort of Antalya, joined by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, a Turkish official told AFP in comments confirmed by the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministries.

Turkey has for weeks pushed to play a mediation role in the conflict. But analysts fear there are only the lowest chances of a breakthrough at the meeting.

Images of the meeting showed the Russian, Turkish and Ukrainian delegations sitting on each side of an ‘n’ shaped table, with each minister accompanied by just two other officials.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R), Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kubela (2L) and their delegations before meeting Russia's Foreign Minister in Antalya. Picture: Fatih AKTAS / TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP

RESCUES CONTINUE AT BOMBED MATERNITY HOSPITAL

Ukrainian emergency services by hand and under torchlight were on Thursday still combing the rubble of a maternity hospital at the seaside port of Mariupol after it was hit by a Russian barrage of bombs.

In an act described as one of the most blatant atrocities of the war, the air strike saw several bombs dropped in a courtyard between the maternity ward and a children’s wing of the hospital.

Dramatic footage released shows the moment the bombs were dropped and the immediate aftermath as bloodied victims are being helped.

Seventeen people including women in labour were injured but hospital staff and child patients were believed to be trapped under rubble still.

Most civilians were underground at the time of the strike so the extent of the casualty toll remained unknown.

“A lot of dead and wounded women. We don’t know about children and newborns yet,” Ukrainian MP Dmitry Gurin said.

A pregnant woman is carried on a stretcher bed as she is evacuated from a children hospital in Mariupol, southeastern Ukraine. Picture: AFP

Aftermath of Russia army bombardment of the children’s hospital in Mariupol. Picture: AFP

The hospital suffered major damage. Picture: AFP

RUSSIA USING UNGUIDED BOMBS

Mariupol’s City Council questioned how it was in modern warfare bombs could fall on a hospital; the US military offered it was suspected Russia was using “dumb” unguided bombs.

“The destruction is colossal,” the council said.

The strike came during a supposed ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians ahead of a suspected levelling of the city by Russian artillery.

An estimated 400,000 population is believed to still be in the city. The urgency around the hospital search came after a harrowing report earlier in the week about a six-year-old girl whose mother died in a previous air strike, leaving the toddler alone trapped under rubble and dying from dehydration days later.

The attack prompted Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s wife Olena Zelenska to go public and asked for Russian mothers to see the photographs of Ukraine’s dead children as she then released the images online.

“How many more children must die to convince Russian troops to stop firing and allow humanitarian corridors?” she wrote on Instagram.

In the city of Sumy, 5000 civilians escaped on 60 buses and 600 cars during a ceasefire but when Russian air strikes continued, 22 people including three children were killed.

Mr Zelenskyy said the killings meant NATO and specifically the United States and Poland had to both close the skies and give Ukraine jet fighters.

Poland had pledged to provide its ageing Mig-29 fleet to Ukraine but wants to hand it over to the United States and its base in Germany to make the delivery.

That’s after Russia warned that any country that delivered fighters to Ukraine would be seen as entering the war as enemy combatants. NATO does not want that escalation.

The bombing of the children’s hospital has shocked the world. Picture: AFP

The aftermath of the Russia army bombardment. Picture: AFP

Injured people are helped from the bombed hospital.

NEW CHERNOBYL THREAT

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed Belarusian specialists to ensure power supply to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the BelTA news agency reported on Thursday, Reuters reports.

Ukrainian authorities warned on Wednesday the Chernobyl nuclear power plant could leak radiation within 48 hours unless power is restored by the Russian military that controls the site.

Russian forces were ordered by the Kremlin to shut down power to the site that while it has been defunct since its infamous 1986 meltdown still needs power to ensure its spent fuel rods remain cool. The move was aimed at cutting the line to other parts of Ukraine more than attempting to sabotage the plant.

The UN nuclear watchdog said it saw no critical impact on safety because there could be “effective heat removal without need for electrical supply”.

The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi said none-the-less the issue would be raised with Ukraine and Russian foreign ministers meeting in Turkey tomorrow.

Originally published as Russia Ukraine war live updates: Shock footage as Russian tanks blasted away