Ukraine-Russia war latest: Send UK troops to Kyiv warzone now, Boris Johnson urges

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky met with Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and awarded her with the Order of Princess Olga, III class, for her support for Ukraine on Saturday.

“We discussed diplomatic efforts to achieve a dignified peace, energy support, and the importance of Ukraine’s recovery,” Zelensky wrote on X.

“I awarded Anne Hidalgo the Order of Princess Olga, III class, and I am grateful to Madam Mayor for her comprehensive support of Ukrainians – including our athletes at the 2024 Olympic Games – as well as for advancing projects for Ukraine’s recovery on the global stage.”

Hidalgo has visited Ukraine during wartime and hosted Zelensky during talks in France.

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference last week where the pair discussed the nature of Ukraine’s military strategy against Russia, according to an article Mr Sunak wrote in the Times.

Mr Sunak said he was left with the conviction that the UK and Europe must catch up to Ukraine in modernising its military weaponry.

“Drones have changed the nature of war,” he wrote.

“At the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky told me that 80 per cent of the casualties Ukraine is inflicting on the Russians are from unmanned vehicles.”

He added: “A recent Nato exercise, Hedgehog 2025, where Nato forces faced off against Ukrainian drone operators, revealed just how ill-prepared western forces are for this new way of war.”

Mr Sunak concluded: “The world has changed. Defence has changed. Warfare has changed. We must adapt, and fast.”

A report by the Institute for the Study of War has concluded that Russia is continuing a campaign of “cognitive warfare” to convince Western countries that Ukraine’s loss on the battlefield is inevitable.

“Russia is seizing small, rural settlements that lie along the Russia-Ukraine international border and presenting these seizures as alleged evidence of the prowess of the Russian military to further the false narrative that Russian victory in Ukraine is inevitable,” it wrote.

It provided an example, explaining: “Russian Chief of the General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy claimed on February 20 that Russian forces have seized approximately 900 square kilometers and 42 settlements since the beginning of 2026.

“ISW has only collected evidence to assess that Russian forces have only seized 19 settlements and 572 square kilometers of total territory since the beginning of 2026 — a difference of 23 settlements and 328 square kilometers.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky provided an update on discussions with Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte on Saturday.

He shared that trilateral negotiations with the US and Russia had been discussed as well as the ongoing energy situation in Ukraine.

“We touched base on all key aspects of our diplomatic work, and I’m glad that, in many areas, our views align,” he wrote in a post on X.

“I shared updates on preparations for the next trilateral format with the United States and Russia, as well as what we know about possible shifts in the parties’ positions.

“We also discussed the energy situation and the need to continue work under the PURL initiative. I am grateful to every European country that invests in our defence through PURL. Thank you, Mark, for your support!”

Ukraine's domestically produced Flamingo missiles hit a Russian plant manufacturing ballistic missiles in Russia's remote southern region of Udmurtia overnight, the Ukrainian General Staff said Saturday.

It said in a statement that the plant was located in Votkinsk, about 1400 km (800 miles) from Ukraine, and produced intercontinental ballistic missiles and short-range ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian military also said that it hit a gas processing plant in Russia's Samara region.

The UK should sent non-combat troops to Ukraine now, former prime minister Boris Johnson has said.

Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, he said boots should be on the ground to "flip a switch" in Russian President Vladimir Putin's head.

He said: "If we can have a plan for boots on the ground after the war, after Putin has condescended to have a ceasefire, then why not do it now?"