Russia-Ukraine war: Latest developments

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

40 countries meet on Ukraine aid

The defence ministers of 40 countries are expected at a security summit at a US airbase in Germany to discuss boosting arms supplies to Ukraine and ensuring the country’s longer-term security once the war is over.

Washington is pushing its allies to send Kyiv more heavy weapons to try to repel Russian forces in the country’s east and south, such as armoured vehicles and howitzer cannons.

After a visit to Kyiv on Sunday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Ukraine could win the war against Russia provided it had the “right equipment”.

– Germany to give nod on tanks –

Ahead of the meeting, a German government source says Berlin will authorise the deliveries of tanks to Ukraine, after coming under sustained pressure from Kyiv to provide heavy weaponry.

Until now, Germany had sent mainly defensive weapons, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Greens coalition partners had been pushing for him to go further.

Russia warns of World War III

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warns there is a “real” danger of World War III breaking out as a result of the Ukraine conflict.

“The danger is serious, it is real, you can’t underestimate it,” he tells the Interfax news agency.

Peace talks to continue

Lavrov also says peace talks with Ukraine will continue, criticising Kyiv’s approach to the negotiations and accusing President Volodymyr Zelensky of “pretending” to negotiate.

“Goodwill has its limits. But if it isn’t reciprocal, that doesn’t help the negotiation process,” he says.

Explosions in Transnistria

Two blasts rock a radio station in Transnistria, a separatist Russian-backed territory in the former Soviet republic of Moldova, which borders western Ukraine, local authorities say.

Transnistria’s interior ministry says the explosions damaged antennae that were relaying Russian radio broadcasts and shared images of them lying on the ground.

According to AFP, on Monday, offices of the region’s security ministry were hit in an apparent grenade attack.

The incidents come days after a senior Russian military official said Transnistria could be drawn into Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.

Erdogan and Putin to talk

President Vladimir Putin is due to hold talks with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, his spokesman told RIA Novosti.

Erdogan hosted Russian and Ukrainian delegations for peace talks in Istanbul a month ago.

UK drops tariffs on Ukrainian goods

Britain says it has dropped all tariffs on goods from Ukraine while slapping a ban on some technology exports to Moscow to help Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion.

UK army targeted in ‘Russian hack’

The UK defence ministry says it is investigating a reported hack by Russia of its computer systems targeting more than 100 army recruits.

The Daily Mail tabloid says the hacker is suspected of being a Russian agent attempting to recruit British agents.

ICC to join crime probe

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor will join an EU investigations team to probe possible international crimes committed in Ukraine, the EU’s judicial cooperation agency says – the first time they have taken part in a joint international investigation.

The Star