Ukraine war latest: Russia will be beaten, Ukrainians say as Zelensky warns ‘terror’ will never be forgotten

Advisor to the Ukrainian president, Myhailo Podolyak, has claimed that a sixth Russian general has been killed.

In a post on social media, he said: “High mortality of RF senior officers is striking. Already 6 generals killed: Maj Gens Tushayev, Gerasimov, Kolesnikov, Sukhovestsky, Mityaev & Lt Gen Mordvichev.

“Dozens of colonels and other officers. RF army is fully unprepared and fights only with numbers and cruise missiles.”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has said that 10 million people have now fled their homes in Ukraine.

Writing on Twitter, Mr Grandi said: “Among the responsibilities of those who wage war, everywhere in the world, is the suffering inflicted on civilians who are forced to flee their homes.

“The war in Ukraine is so devastating that 10 million have fled – either displaced inside the country, or as refugees abroad.”

Pope Francis has denounced Russia’s “repugnant war” against Ukraine as “cruel and sacrilegious inhumanity.”

His comments appear to be his strongest condemnation of Russia’s invasion since it was launched on 24 February – but, as typical of pontiffs, he stopped short of naming Russia as the aggressor.

In Vatican City, he told thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square that every day brings more atrocities in what is a “senseless massacre.”

He said: “There is no justification for this … Again this week, missiles, bombs, rained down on the elderly, children and pregnant mothers.”

The pope said: “I feel great pain for those who don’t even have the chance to escape.”

He added, before leading a moment of silent prayer: “Above all, defenseless life should get respected and protected, not eliminated.”

Dozens of people attended a pro-Russia rally in Lebanon today holding Russian and Syrian flags.

Some of the attendees wore t-shirts or held banners with Vladimir Putin’s face printed on them.

Lebanese, Syrians and Russians gathered outside the United Nations’ offices in Beirut to show support for Putin amid his brutal invasion of Ukraine.

In 2015, Russian troops had joined Syria’s civil war and helped tip the balance of power in Syrian president Bashar Assad’s favour.

A massive 93 per cent of Ukrainians believe Ukraine will defeat Russia, according to a new poll.

This level of faith expressed by Ukraine’s civilians is the highest relating to this question so far, the survey suggests.

There are almost no people who do not believe in a Ukrainian victory, the polling group known as ‘Rating’ said.

Just 17 per cent were unable to answer the question, it added.

Nearly half of respondents said they hope a victory will be won over the next few weeks.

Almost a quarter believe that the war will last several months. Only 12 per cent said they expect it to last more than six months.

A Ukrainian former minister is calling for stricter sanctions against Russia, and cited a poll that suggests the vast majority of Russians support the idea of attacking European Union countries.

A huge 86.6 per cent of Russians polled have said they would support Vladimir Putin if he decided to invade Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and others – according to the survey results released earlier this week.

More than 75 per cent of Russians would approve of invading Poland, the results also suggest.

Volodymyr Ogrysko, former foreign affairs minister for Ukraine, said the West should impose harsher sanctions against Russian individuals and sanctions.

He tweeted: “Dear Europeans, according to some pools 86,6% of Russists (Russia + faschists) support the possible military attack against some EU countries (former ‘socialist’ countries).

“Their barbarism should not be forgiven, their crazy plans should be stopped. Sanctions MUST be strengthened!”

Demonstrations against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine have continued this weekend across the globe.

The protests have taken place in countries including South Korea, the US, and European nations.

In Los Angeles, California, rolls of toilet paper – with Vladimir Putin’s mugshot printed on the sheets – were brought to a rally.

China defended its decision – and those of other countries including Algeria – to abstain from voting on a United Nations motion earlier this momth that opposed the invasion of Ukraine.

Foreign ministers Wang Yi and Ramtane Lamamra met at a press conference today where a journalist asked them about the invasion by Russia, a strong ally to China and Algeria.

The Chinese official said, according to a report by China’s embassy in the UK: “China, Algeria and quite a number of countries abstained in the voting.

“Abstention is also an attitude. It is to give peace a chance and shows disapproval of using war and sanctions to address disputes, and it is a responsible attitude.

“At the same time, we are of the view that the Ukraine issue has not come to this point by accident. It is the result of the confluence of various factors and an eruption of the tensions that have built up over the years.

“What lies at the heart is the issue of European security, and Nato’s move of expanding eastward without limit merits reflection.”

Approximately 14,700 Russian troops have been killed since the start of the invasion as of today, Ukraine’s army said.

Russia also lost 476 tanks, 1,487 armored combat vehicles, 230 artillery systems, 74 multiple launch rocket systems, and 44 air defense systems.

Ninety-six aircraft, 118 helicopters, 947 vehicles, 3 ships/boats, 60 tanks with fuel and lubricants, 21 unmanned aerial vehicles of the operational-tactical level and 12 units of special equipment have also been destroyed by defence forces, Ukraine said.

This was announced by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on social media.

It added: “The data is being specified. The calculation is complicated by the high intensity of hostilities.”

Russian troops are using terrorist methods and are creating desperate conditions for Ukrainians to get them to comply with the invasion, Ukraine’s military said.

Vladimir Putin’s army is creating humanitarian crises in temporarily-occupied territories “to impose a brutal administrative and police regime”, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

The AFU wrote on social media today: “So, last night to the Kherson area from the city of Apostolove of Dnipropetrovsk region 14 trucks with foodstuff and medicines of the first necessity had been moved.

“The Russian occupiers did not give access to humanitarian convoy for moving without reason. In this way occupiers try to force the local population to collaborate.”

The trucks contained food, medicine and hygiene products – Ukraine’s parliament tweeted.