Russia’s war on Ukraine latest: Dnipro death toll reaches 40, German defence minister resigns

Conflict, weapons

• Dnipro city official Gennadiy Korban said 30 people remained unaccounted for after the missile struck a nine-storey apartment block, with 75 people wounded including 14 children.


• Ukrainian officials acknowledged little hope of finding anyone else alive in the rubble of Saturday’s attack, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said rescue efforts in the central Ukrainian city would go on.


• Dnipro was in mourning on Monday, with tearful neighbours and local residents leaving flowers and cuddly toys at a makeshift memorial near the devastated apartment block.


• The Kremlin said Russian forces do not target residential buildings in Ukraine, and suggested Ukraine’s air defences had knocked the Russian missile off course, which Kyiv denies.


• A three-floor shopping centre in Russia-controlled Donetsk was partially destroyed by shelling, a Reuters reporter saw. At least three people were injured, a rescue worker told reporters. Russia blamed Ukraine for the attack.


• The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol in Crimea said air defences had downed 10 drones over the city in what he called a “failed Ukrainian attack”.


• Russia has produced the first set of Poseidon nuclear-capable super torpedoes being developed for deployment on the Belgorod nuclear submarine, Tass reported, citing an unidentified defence source.


• Russia is stepping up its use of S-300 and S-400 air defence systems to conduct strikes on ground targets, suggesting Russian stocks of ballistic missiles are running low, Ukraine’s Air Force spokesman said.

Politics, diplomacy, military aid

• Russia and Ukraine have been working on a large prisoner exchange deal which will include 1,000 people in total, Turkish ombudsman Seref Malkoc said.


• The German government said Chancellor Scholz accepted the resignation of Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht and would soon appoint a replacement, the culmination of growing scepticism about her ability to bring the German army into shape against the backdrop of the Ukraine war.


• Scholz is under pressure to allow the export of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.


• Britain urged ally Germany to permit the supply of Leopard tanks to Kyiv, stressing that such a move could unlock similar support from other nations and Berlin would not be acting alone.


• On Monday, Britain confirmed it would provide 14 Challenger 2 tanks and other hardware to Kyiv including hundreds more armoured vehicles and advanced air defence missiles “to accelerate Ukrainian success”.


• The Kremlin responded that Britain’s tanks “will burn” and that such support would not change the outcome of the war.


• US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin is expected in Berlin on Thursday and will attend a conference on Friday at the US military base in Ramstein to discuss further support for Ukraine.


• Turkish President Erdogan renewed his offer to help mediate an end to the conflict in Ukraine during a phone call with Putin. The two leaders also discussed the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports and ways to unblock fertiliser and food exports from Russia.


• German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for the establishment of a special international tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Belarus drills

• Belarus began air force drills with Russia that it said were defensive in nature, but the move comes as concerns grow that Moscow is pushing Minsk to join the war in Ukraine.