Ukraine's latest war: Moscow says warship attacked by Ukrainian speedboat with drones. Russia must impose 'martial law', Wagner boss insists in angry riot (2023)

Crimea's Russian-appointed governor said six drones were shot down in the region overnight.

said Sergey Aksionov on TelegrampostalThere were no victims.

It claimed that six drones were deployed and shot down by air defense forces.

Crimea was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, but is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.

Attacks on Russian targets have increased over the past two weeks, especially in Crimea.

Ukraine has not confirmed any role in the attacks, but said the destruction of infrastructure was preparation for planned ground attacks.

A group claiming to be behind the recent attack in the Belgorod region on the border with Russia has said it will carry out more raids in the future.

The commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps announced an armed attack in the Belgorod region on Monday, saying: "I think you will see us there again."

Denis Kapustin, also known as Denis Nikitin, claimed that his anti-Putin fighters occupied "about 42 square kilometers" of Russian territory "for a long time".

For more information on this, read the story below.

Welcome to live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Before we bring you all the latest updates, here's a reminder of the important events that happened yesterday:

• Russia has been accused of "surfacing" images that appear to be of abandoned US-made vehicles used in the Belgorod invasion.
  
• Moscow warned it would respond "extremely hard" to further attacks on its soil.
• Wagner Group chairman Yevgeny Prigozhin warns Russia's elites that they must take war seriously or Moscow may face a revolution.
• Moscow says warship attacked by Ukrainian drone in Black Sea - Sky News could not independently verify video
  
• According to the British Ministry of Defence, the Russian military is "working hard to impose discipline" in its ranks.

Thick smoke rose, buildings collapsed and the city was destroyed.

Here, satellite photos from the city of Bakhmut reveal war damage.

The photos were taken at the same location in the city in May 2022 and May 2023, respectively.

Bakhmut, a small town in eastern Ukraine, has become the scene of some of the fiercest fighting since the invasion last February.

After months of fighting, Wagner's Russian mercenary group, which has been involved in most of the fighting, claimed control of the city last week.

But Ukraine, which says it fiercely defended the city to suck Russian troops into a so-called meat grinder, has yet to admit defeat and says the battle is not over.

“They destroyed Bahamut. They didn't take him," said the Ukrainian commander.

The founder of the mercenary group Wagner said that Russia "trept its pants and walked out" of Kiev at the start of the war.

Speaking to pro-Kremlin general Konstantin Dolgov on Telegram, Yevgeny Prigozhin said: “We are approaching Kiev, then, as we speak Russian, screw your pants and retreat. Kherson, then Igyum, Krasniliman ... somehow everything did not work out."

Despite describing the invasion as a "special military operation" in the Donbass and Luhansk regions, Russian forces attacked Kiev from Belarus when the invasion began in February 2022.

But Russia withdrew after meeting stubborn Ukrainian resistance and then launched a counterattack, threatening to encircle its forces.

Russian troops also withdrew from Izyum in September - leading to the discovery of mass graves - and from Kherson in November.

Prigozhin hailed the Ukrainian army as "one of the most powerful," adding: "Their level of organization, the level of education, the level of intelligence is very high, they have all kinds of weapons.

“They've worked with every system — the Soviet Union, NATO, whatever — and they've had the same success. And they were absolutely philosophical about the losses they suffered.

"Everything is about achieving the highest goals, as we did during the Great Patriotic War. But it's more about technology and good governance."

He also spoke about the recent invasion of Belgorod, which he accused of "sabotage".

"Our defenses are absolutely unwilling to interfere with them in any way..."

Norway will support efforts to teach Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighters.

The announcement was made by Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram.

However, he said the Norwegian government has not yet decided whether to supply its own F-16s.

Earlier, the United States agreed to allow Western countries to send US fighter jets to Ukraine.

Watch our guide below to learn how the F-16 is helping Ukraine fend off Russian invasion...

The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video of a drone attack at sea in the Black Sea.

Sky News was unable to independently verify the video which shows a small boat sailing through the water under fire.

One of the shells hit the ship, causing a huge explosion.

Russia claims the attack on the ship, named Ivan Hurs, was carried out by an unmanned speedboat near the Bosphorus.

The Ministry of Defense said in a statement published on Telegram that the warship was protecting the TurkStream and Blue Stream gas pipelines at the time.

The pipelines carry natural gas from Russia to Turkey, partly through the Black Sea.

"All enemy ships have been destroyed," the ministry added.

Here are some highlights from the video...

According to the White House, US officials will investigate allegations that US vehicles were used to invade Russia's Belgorod region.

Washington provided Kiev with billions of dollars in military aid, but tried to spend it on defending Ukrainian territory.

Russia's defense ministry has released photos of abandoned Western military vehicles it claims are being used by Ukraine - including a Humvee identified by Sky News as being made in the US.

However, some critics have claimed that parts of the painting may have been choreographed – pointing to details in the painting that suggest the scene may have been choreographed.

Moscow said yesterday it had repelled the attack after two days of fighting with the attackers who launched a cross-border attack.

Russia aimed to "sabotage" Ukraine, but Kiev distanced itself from the attack.

Two Russian separatist groups claimed responsibility for the attack.

As previously reported, Russia claimed today that Ukraine used a naval drone to target one of its warships in the Black Sea.

Video purported to show the attack - which Sky News is working to verify - shows a small black boat being hit and destroyed.

Maritime drones - known in Russia as unmanned speedboats - are believed to have been used in the Black Sea before.

The 18-foot radio-controlled craft can reach a top speed of 50 mph.

They are believed to have been used to attack the Russian flagship Admiral Makarov last October.

Russia said 16 naval drones were involved in the attack.

In January, Volodymyr Zelensky's United24 initiative began seeking a fleet of 100 maritime drones - each for around $250,000 (£205,000).

US Army Lt. Col. Paul Lushchenko, an expert on drone warfare, had told Sky News that naval drones were just "another axis of approach" to attack Russian assets.

“Today, there are only a limited number of targeting systems, even on these large ships.

"So how do you prioritize goals when you have so many options?"

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace was in Kiev today to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov.

He is the latest in a string of British politicians to visit Ukraine since the start of the war - and who else has?

Boris Johnson

The former prime minister has visited Ukraine several times and was the first Western leader to visit Kiev after the Russian invasion.

He visited the country in April 2022 and then again in August before resigning as prime minister in September, two months after Vladimir Putin ordered troops across the border.

Johnson, who considers himself one of Ukraine's biggest supporters, has visited Ukraine since his resignation and made a surprise visit in January where he was reunited with Volodymyr Zelensky. ).

Rich Sunak

The Prime Minister attended Mr Johnson's brief visit to Ukraine shortly after entering No10.

He met with Zelensky and pledged Britain's continued support, writing on Twitter: "We're with you all the way."

Sunak's arrival comes as the announcement of a £50m defense aid package includes anti-aircraft weapons and equipment to help Ukraine counter drones supplied by Iran.

Sir Keira Starmera

During a visit to Ukraine in February, the Labor leader declared his party's "unwavering support" for Ukraine.

He met with Zelensky more than a week after the Ukrainian president visited London to meet with Sunak and the king.

Sir Keir said: "I can tell him that if there is a change of government when we have a general election here, support for Ukraine will remain the same."