Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 85 of the invasion

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Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy used his nightly address to say that Russia’s alleged use of laser weapons systems “indicates the complete failure of the invasion” and that mistakes had been made at the highest level. He compared their use to propaganda efforts by Nazi Germany promoting a “wunderwaffe” or “wonder weapon”. Russia has claimed it is using a new generation of laser weapons to burn up drones.

Zelenskiy said he had signed a decree to extend martial law by 90 days in order to allow further time to expel invasion forces. The decree needs to be approved by parliament.

The World Bank will make $30bn available to help stem a food security crisis threatened by Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has cut off most grain exports from the two countries. The total will include $12bn in new projects and over $18bn funds from existing food and nutrition-related projects that have been approved but have not yet been disbursed, the bank said.

Financial markets have endured another torrid day amid concerns that the war in Ukraine, along with inflation and supply problems, was pushing the world towards recession. In the US the Dow Jones average closed down 3.57% while the broader S&P500 suffered its worst session since June 2020, plunging 4.04%.

A Russian tank commander has pleaded guilty to shooting dead a civilian on a bicycle, in Ukraine’s first trial for war crimes committed during the Russian invasion. Vadim Shysimarin, 21, has been accused of firing his AK-47 at a 62-year-old man from the window of a car in the north-eastern Sumy region in late February.

Sweden and Finland have formally submitted their applications to join the Nato military alliance. The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, accepted the Nordic neighbours’ membership applications. The United States will work with Finland and Sweden in the event of the ‘threat of aggression’ while the two countries’ Nato membership is being considered, president Joe Biden said.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, said Sweden should not expect to approve its Nato application without returning ‘terrorists’. Ankara has accused Sweden and Finland of harbouring people it says are linked to groups it considers terrorists. A spokesperson for Erdo?an later said progress on Finland and Sweden’s Nato membership bids will only be possible if concrete steps are taken to address Turkey’s national security concerns.

The European Commission has proposed an extra EUR9bn (?7.6bn) in EU loans to Ukraine to keep the country running as well as a EUR210bn plan for Europe to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Zelenskiy said the EUR9bn support package would “help Ukraine win the war, overcome the consequences of Russian forces’ aggression and accelerate the movement towards EU membership”.

Russia has expelled a total of 85 diplomatic staff from France, Spain and Italy in response to similar moves by those countries, its foreign ministry said. It said it was ordering out 34 embassy staff from France, 27 from Spain and 24 from Italy.

The US embassy in Kyiv has resumed operations, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said after nearly three months of closure. A small number of diplomats will return initially to staff the embassy, according to a spokesperson.

Russian forces occupying parts of north-eastern Ukraine early in the war subjected civilians to summary executions, torture, and other grave abuses that are apparent war crimes, Human Rights Watch said. The rights organisation documented 22 apparent summary executions, nine other unlawful killings, six possible enforced disappearances and seven cases of torture across 17 villages and small towns in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions.

At least 10 Ukrainian civilians, including two children, were killed by Russian forces Donetsk, regional governor Pavlo Kirilenko said. A further seven people had been injured, he said.