Ukraine war: One of the fiercest battles of the conflict is intensifying as volunteers work to evacuate civilians
The Ukrainian soldiers fired an American round from a French mortar at a common enemy.
They said the target was a storage site for Russian munitions close to the city of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, where one of the fiercest battles of the war is intensifying.
“Fire!” yelled one of the troops.
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A soldier, kneeling down, pulled a metal cord that triggered the MO-120 rifled towed mortar – a Cold War-era weapon with a new purpose.
It blasted the round into the cloudy sky and over snow-covered fields.
A third soldier stepped forward holding a second M1101 mortar round – shaped like a mini green rocket.
He dropped it down the barrel so the weapon could be fired again.
They launched three rounds in total before quickly moving to a more sheltered position – all too aware of the risk of Russian forces firing back.
An officer from the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, said his troops would win despite being pitched against much larger numbers of mercenaries as well as Russian soldiers along this frontline.
Artillery and mortar positions near Bakhmut
Situation ‘looks like the First or the Second World War’
Senior Lieutenant Yaroslav described how waves of Wagner mercenaries would be ordered to advance despite running directly into Ukrainian fire.
“When our fighters saw this, they were super surprised,” he said. “What is happening near Bakhmut looks like the First or the Second World War, with people [mercenaries] running forward, straight upright [rather than ducking low]… They have nothing to lose.”
At an artillery position a 15-minute drive from the mortar site, Sky News met troops keeping warm from the freezing temperatures in a makeshift bunker accessed via a short trench.
The men, seated on a line of wooden planks that framed the cramped, underground chamber, wore white-coloured waterproof tops and trousers over their combat gear to make them harder for the Russians to spot when they were outside in the snow.
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‘I’m feeling fury and I want to win in this war’
Two of them described how they only joined the military after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion almost exactly a year ago.
“I’m feeling fury and I want to win in this war,” said one of the servicemen, called Bohdan, who spoke in broken English.
Asked if he felt scared, he said: “No, I’m in my country. I save my country.”
A second soldier, Artem, said: “I joined this war in March. Then, I had energy and motivation, and the same now. Nothing’s changed.”
As for what the toughest part was about living in trenches, he joked: “Digging. It’s the hardest thing. You have to dig constantly. Dig and dig.”
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Russian forces inching slowly forwards
Despite Ukraine focusing significant firepower on fending off attempts to seize Bakhmut, Russian forces do seem to be inching slowly forward after months of bloody clashes.
One sign of this advance can be felt in the nearby town of Chasiv Yar – which would be next in Moscow’s path should Bakhmut fall.
It has started to come under Russian shelling, prompting many residents to flee.
More than 10 people have been killed, according to the local mayor, Serhiy Chaus, who described the situation as “hard but stable”.
Asked if he was worried the Russians might capture the town, he said: “Who isn’t worried? Of course, we are worried, but as they say, ‘We believe in the Armed Forces of Ukraine’.”
Evacuations in the town of Chasiv Yar
Teams working to evacuate civilians from risk areas
The growing risk means evacuation teams are driving in and out every day to rescue those unable to leave by themselves because of age, poor health or a lack of transport.
We met one group of civilian volunteers – four young men who said they wanted to be useful despite the danger – about 10 miles further back in the city of Kostiantynivka, which has become a staging post for those seeking to push forward.
Donning body armour, helmets and tourniquets, they climbed into two minibuses – one purple, the other yellow – and set off with aid parcels and the names of prospective evacuees.
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‘We must ensure victory this year’
‘I am trying to be brave’
One of the men, 31-year-old Oleksiy Zabrodin, who used to run a small business selling briquettes before the war, said he felt a little bit scared “but I am trying to be brave”.
Speaking in English, he added: “I understand it is important for our people. It’s our country.”
The volunteers pulled up outside a culture centre in Chasiv Yar, which had been turned into a distribution point for aid.
A small line of residents stood outside the front door, waiting to pick up basic supplies, such as pasta and bags of oats.
The team unloaded cardboard boxes of food and medicine before heading to the first evacuation address, taking just one of the minibuses.
Nina, 73, said her home had been shelled four times and she was scared for her life
‘We abandoned everything’
Wrapped in a bright red coat and orange headscarf, Nina, 73, was waiting at her bungalow on a narrow residential lane covered in snow.
She said her home had been shelled four times and she was scared for her life.
One of the volunteers took her by the hand and gently guided her into the vehicle, while others collected up some items she wanted to bring in a few bags.
Her daughter, Svitlana, sat with her mother to offer support as the minibus drove off.
Both women were crying.
“Don’t you know how people feel when they abandon everything that they worked hard towards for years?” the daughter sobbed.
Nina said: “We abandoned everything… The house is smashed.”
The volunteers worked as quickly as possible because of the risk of more shells landing.
A simple act of affection
They stopped at a second, tiny, single-storey house, where 83-year-old Maria and her husband lived.
She could not walk and seemed very confused.
The volunteers carefully carried her out on a stretcher, while her husband followed on foot – a few of their belongings also packaged up in bags.
Once in the minibus, the elderly man offered his wife a hand to clasp as she lay on the backseat – a simple act of affection to ease the disorientation.
Svitlana and her seven-year-old daughter Maria
Forced to leave
The final stop, before heading out of Chasiv Yar to relative safety, was back at the culture centre to pick up a few more residents wanting to flee.
Among those climbing on board the minibus was another woman called Svitlana, with her seven-year-old daughter, Maria, wearing a large, silver puffer jacket to fend off the cold.
“Life and the situation forced us to leave,” the mother said.
Asked how she was feeling, the young girl said: “Bad.”
As for what she wished for, she just said: “Peace.”
Canadians “weren’t impressed” by the decision of the UK government to offer Donald Trump an unprecedented second state visit to the UK, the country’s prime minister has told Sky News.
Sir Keir Starmer handed the invitation to the US president during a visit to the Oval Office.
The newly elected Liberal leader Mark Carney said that the invitation “cut across clear messages” that the Canadian government was trying to send to the White House in response to their threats against Canada’s sovereignty.
“I think, to be frank, they [Canadians] weren’t impressed by that gesture… given the circumstance. It was at a time when we were being quite clear about the issues around sovereignty.”
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Mark Carney speaking to Sky News’ Sam Washington
It comes as the Canadian prime minister has invited the King, who is Canada’s head of state, to open its parliament later this month in a “clear message of sovereignty”.
It is the first time the sovereign has carried out this function in nearly 50 years and Mr Carney says it’s “not coincidental”.
“All issues around Canada’s sovereignty have been accentuated by the president. So no, it’s not coincidental, but it is also a reaffirming moment for Canadians.”
The former Bank of England governor was re-elected after a campaign fought on the promise of standing up to American threats to Canadian statehood. He had refused to speak to Mr Trump until Canadian sovereignty was respected.
It followed Mr Trump threatening to make Canada the 51st state of the US.
Mr Carney justified making his first trip after winning re-election to the White House by stating Mr Trump had changed his intentions to annex Canada from an “expectation to a desire”.
“He was expressing a desire. He’d shifted from the expectation to a desire. He was also coming from a place where he recognised that that wasn’t going to happen.
“Does he still muse about it? Perhaps. Is it ever going to happen? No. Never.”
The high-stakes meeting in the Oval Office was not confrontational, with Mr Carney praising the president’s approach as “very on top of the essence of a wide range of issues” and “able to identify the points of maximum leverage, both in a specific situation but also in a geopolitical situation”.
A King’s tension between allies
Fractured geopolitical relations have produced an interesting phenomenon: two Commonwealth nations both deploying their head of state, King Charles, to manage the vagaries of Donald Trump.
For Canada, and its new prime minister, Mark Carney, the King is being unveiled at the opening of Parliament in Ottawa later this month as an unequivocal spectacle and symbol of sovereignty.
For the UK, Sir Keir Starmer is positioning the monarch as a bridge and has proffered a personal invitation from King Charles to the president for an unprecedented second state visit in order to facilitate negotiations over trade and tariffs.
This instrumentalisation of the crown, which ordinarily transcends politics, has created tension between the historically close allies.
Canadians view the UK’s red carpet treatment of a leader who is openly threatening their sovereignty as a violation of Commonwealth solidarity, while the British seem to have no compunction in engaging in high-level realpolitik.
The episode is emblematic of how pervasive disruptive American influence is and how extreme measures taken to combat it can aggravate even the most enduring alliances.
Since the meeting, tensions between the two countries have abated.
Further negotiations on trade and security are expected soon.
Given the deep economic integration of the two nations, neither side expects a deal imminently, but both sides concur that constructive talks have led to progress on an agreement.
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With greater goodwill between the two North American neighbours, Mr Carney also expressed optimism about Mr Trump’s efforts to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia.
The prime minister confirmed his view that the president was an “honest broker” and that his counterpart had been “helpful” in bringing momentum to a 30-day ceasefire between the warring nations.
Despite a reset in relations between the United States and Canada, Mr Carney remained circumspect.
His motto is: “Always plan for the worst.”
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And to that end, nothing is being taken for granted: “We do plan for having no deal, we do plan for trouble in the security relationship. We do plan for the global trading system not being reassembled: that’s the way to approach this president.”
World
‘Sixteen killed’ in strike on Gaza hospital as Israel says it hit ‘Hamas command centre below’
At least 16 people have been killed and 70 others were injured at a hospital in Gaza following an Israeli strike, according to the health ministry.
Nine missiles hit the European Hospital and its courtyard in the south of the Palestinian territory, officials said.
Israel said it had hit a “Hamas command centre” beneath the hospital in Khan Younis.
Hamas denies exploiting hospitals and civilian properties for military purposes.
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The scene after the European Hospital was partially damaged following Israeli airstrikes. Pic: Reuters
Earlier, a well-known Palestinian photojournalist died following a separate attack on the Nasser Hospital, also in Khan Younis, said the ministry.
Hassan Aslih had been accused by Israel of working with Hamas and was recovering from an earlier airstrike.
Aslih, who has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, was said by the Israelis to have recorded and uploaded footage of “looting, arson and murder” during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack into Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Aslih was one of two patients who died in Tuesday’s strike on Nasser Hospital, said the health ministry. Several others were wounded.
Mourners carry the body of Palestinian journalist Hassan Aslih. Pic: Reuters
Dozens of people were being treated on the third floor of the hospital building, where the missiles struck, Reuters said, quoting Ahmed Siyyam, a member of Gaza’s emergency services.
The Israeli military said it “eliminated significant Hamas terrorists” in Nasser Hospital, among them Aslih, who it said had “operated under the guise of a journalist”.
Footage showed heavy damage to one of the hospital buildings, including to medical equipment and beds inside.
At least 160 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the International Federation of Journalists.
Gazan officials accuse Israel of deliberately targeting journalists. Israel denies this and says it tries to avoid harm to civilians.
Aslih, who headed the Alam24 news outlet and had previously worked with Western news outlets, was recovering after being wounded last month in a deadly strike on a tent in the Nasser Hospital compound.
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Meanwhile, President Trump has spoken on the phone to Edan Alexander after he was released by Hamas on Monday, as part of ongoing efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire with Israel.
The 21-year-old was believed to be the last living American hostage in Gaza.
Some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the 7 October attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s response has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and destroyed much of the coastal territory. Gaza’s health ministry records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
An aid blockade since March has left the population at critical risk of famine, according to the World Health Organisation, which warned on Tuesday that hunger and malnutrition could have a lasting impact on “an entire generation”.
Donald Trump has said the US will lift long-standing sanctions on Syria and signed a $600bn (£450bn) deal with Saudi Arabia as he visited the nation as part of a tour of the Middle East.
The US president revealed the US plans to lift sanctions on Syria following talks with Saudi Arabia‘s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mr Trump was speaking at the US-Saudi investment conference during a four-day trip to the region.
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The comments follow Air Force One being escorted by Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s as it approached the kingdom’s capital, with Mr Trump welcomed by the crown prince, Saudi’s de facto ruler, as he stepped off the plane.
President Trump said the relationship between the were nations were “stronger and more powerful than ever before”, adding it would “remain that way”.
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How Trump’s Saudi visit unfolded
‘Largest defence cooperation agreement’
Mr Trump and Prince Mohammed signed several agreements aimed at increasing cooperation between their governments, including a commitment to $600bn in new Saudi investment in the US – though Mr Trump said a trillion dollars (£750bn) would be even better.
The US also agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142bn (£107bn), which the White House called “the largest defence cooperation agreement” Washington has ever done.
Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provide an honorary escort for Air Force One. Pic: AP
In his speech, President Trump also urged Iran to take a “new and a much better path” and make a new nuclear deal with the US.
Speaking at the conference, Mr Trump said he wants to avoid a conflict with Iran but warned of “maximum pressure” if his olive branch was rejected.
Pic: AP
“As I have shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world, even if our differences may be profound,” he said.
“If Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch… we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero.”
He added: “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. But with that said, Iran can have a much brighter future, but we’ll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack. The choice is theirs to make.”
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Pic: Reuters
Normalising relations with Syria
Mr Trump said he would ease US sanctions on Syria and move to normalise relations with its new government ahead of a meeting with its new leader Ahmad al Sharaa on Wednesday.
The Syrian president was formerly an insurgent who led the overthrow of former leader Bashar al Assad last year.
Mr Trump said he wants to give the country “a chance at peace” and added: “There is a new government that will hopefully succeed. I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”
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The US leader also said he hoped Saudi Arabia would soon join the Abraham Accords and recognise Israel “in your own time”.
Saudi Arabia has argued its recognition of Israel would be tied to the establishment of a Palestinian state along the lines of Israel’s 1967 borders.
Mr Trump will travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over the next three days.
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