Russia’s war on Ukraine latest: Russian missiles strike Ukrainian cities

March 9 (Reuters) – Russia launched a huge wave of rocket attacks in Ukraine on Thursday while people slept, killing at least six civilians and forcing a nuclear power plant off the grid. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the strikes and said Moscow “will not shirk its responsibility”.

BATTLE

* Ukraine’s military said its forces managed to repel intense Russian attacks on the eastern mining town of Bakhmut, despite a Russian claim for control of the eastern half.

* Zelenskyi said the battle for Bakhmut and the surrounding Donbass region is “our first priority”.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports.

ECONOMY/DIPLOMACY

* Russian-installed officials in the Moscow-controlled part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region said cutting off power to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant from Ukrainian-held territory was “a provocation”.

* Western allies warned against jumping to conclusions about who was responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, with Germany suggesting the attack could also have been a “false flag” operation to blame Ukraine.

* The US has received an arrest warrant for the seizure of a Boeing plane owned by Russian oil company Rosneft (ROSN.MM) that is valued at over $25 million, the US Justice Department said.

* A concert cellist linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts without proper verification, Swiss prosecutors said while opening a trial of four bankers accused of helping him. You have denied the allegations.

* European Union countries agreed to speed up deliveries of artillery shells and buy more shells to help Ukraine, but have yet to work out how to translate these goals into reality.

STORIES ABOUT THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY SINCE THE BEGINNING OF WAR

* TIMETABLE – Major developments since the Russian invasion

* Selenskyj from Ukraine unexpectedly defied Putin

* Putin, secure in power, has created the conditions for a long war

* A year later, Ukraine and its government not only survived. You fought back

* Hardened by the scars of war, Kiev pushes on

* Charts of a war year and financial markets

* Russia’s economy is holding up, but the road back to prosperity could be long

* Moscow’s decades-long gas relationship with Europe is in tatters

* Top brands are withdrawing from Russia, but goods are easy to find

* Can US support for Ukraine last?

* External donors are pumping billions into Ukraine

* How did China face the “No Limits” partner Russia?

* Life and Death in Mariupol – a survivor’s war story

* The family mourns the victim of Bucha, which became a symbol of the war

Compiled by Reuters editors

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.