TOP HEADLINES

• Ukrainian officials have reported heavy shelling in Donetsk from several directions but a counter-attack has hit ammunition stores and forced a halt to the Russian offensive. "Russians are firing along the entire front line," Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai, said on Telegram. "The enemy is trying to advance from the settlements of the Luhansk region to the first villages of Donetsk region."

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Kyiv's ambassador to Germany, as well as to India, Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary in a decree but without explaining the motive. READ MORE BELOW

• A missile strike on the northeastern city of Kharkiv wounded three civilians, its governor said, though Russia's main attacks appeared focused south east of there in Luhansk and Donetsk.

• In the Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the south, Ukraine's deputy prime minister urged residents to evacuate before Ukrainian forces launch a counter-offensive. "Please leave - our army will begin retaking these areas. Our determination is rock solid," Iryna Vereshchuk was quoted as saying by Ukrainian media.

• Russia is unlikely to withdraw from a swathe of land across Ukraine's southern coast and will defeat forces in the entire eastern Donbas region, Russia's ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, said.

• Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said two Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft had been shot down in the southern Mykolaiv region, and that ammunition depots had been destroyed there, as well as in the eastern regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk.

• The first batch of up to 10,000 inexperienced Ukrainian military recruits set to train in the UK over the coming months have started drills, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. The new British-led program involves 1,050 UK service personnel training the Ukrainian volunteers at MoD sites across England for several weeks. READ MORE BELOW

• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had discussed Russian aggression in Ukraine during more than five hours of talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi which both sides called "candid."

• Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Antony Blinken that the direction of U.S.-China relations was in danger of being further led "astray" due to a problem with the United States' perception of China. "Many people believe that the United States is suffering from an increasingly serious bout of 'Sinophobia'," Wang was quoted as saying.

• Antony Blinken said of not talking to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20: "The problem is this: we see no signs whatsoever that Russia, at this moment in time, is prepared to engage in meaningful diplomacy."

• Ukraine has not used advanced U.S.-made HIMARS to strike Russian targets outside of its territory, a senior U.S. defense official said, disputing Russian accusations.

• G20 foreign ministers have called for an end to the war and grain blockade in Ukraine, as Russia's top diplomat walked out of a meeting and denounced the West for "frenzied criticism" and squandering a chance to tackle global economic problems.

IN DETAIL

Britain receives first batch of up to 10,000 inexperienced Ukrainian soldiers for training

The first batch of up to 10,000 inexperienced Ukrainian military recruits set to train in the UK over the coming months have started drills, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Saturday.

The new British-led program involves 1,050 UK service personnel training the Ukrainian volunteers, who have little to no military experience, at MoD sites across England for several weeks.

The crash course is based on Britain's basic soldier training, covering weapons handling, battlefield first aid, fieldcraft, patrol tactics and the laws around armed conflict.

It follows the UK's Operation Orbital - prompted by Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine - which gave 22,000 Ukrainians military training between 2015 and 2022.  

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"This ambitious new training program is the next phase in the UK's support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in their fight against Russian aggression," Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement, after visiting the latest recruits this week.

"Using the world-class expertise of the British Army we will help Ukraine to rebuild its forces and scale-up its resistance as they defend their country's sovereignty and their right to choose their own future."

Ukraine continues to wage fierce resistance after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the latest offensive against his western neighbor in February.

The UK has proved to be one of Ukraine's staunchest allies, providing $2.8 billion in military aid, including more than 5,000 NLAW anti-tank weapons and M270 multiple launch rocket systems.

Ukrainian president dismisses ambassador to Germany and other top foreign envoys 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Kyiv's ambassador to Germany on Saturday, as well as several other top foreign envoys, the presidential website said.

In a decree that gave no reason for the move, he announced the sacking of Ukraine's ambassadors to Germany, India, Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary.

It was not immediately clear if the envoys would be handed new jobs.

Zelenskyy has urged his diplomats to drum up international support and military aid for Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia's February 24 invasion.

Kyiv's relations with Germany, which is heavily reliant on Russian energy supplies and also Europe's biggest economy, has been a particular sensitive matter.

The two capitals are currently at odds over a German-made turbine undergoing maintenance in Canada. Germany wants Ottawa to return the turbine to Russian natural gas giant Gazprom to pump gas to Europe.

Kyiv has urged Canada to keep the turbine, saying that shipping it to Russia would be a violation of sanctions imposed on Moscow.