Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky warns Moscow planning possible northern offensive targeting Kyiv

We’ve heard from Volodymyr Zelensky, who has warned that Russia could be planning a fresh offensive against northern Ukraine targeting the capital of Kyiv.

The possible invasion could be made possible by deeper involvement from Belarus, he warned.

“Together with our military leadership, intelligence services, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we discussed in detail the latest developments along the Belarus-Bryansk region direction,” the Ukrainian president said in his evening address.

“It is precisely from there that the Russians are considering scenarios for additional attacks against Ukraine – targeting our northern regions, our Chernihiv-Kyiv direction.”

Kyiv is already issuing orders to strengthen the region’s defence .

Relevant instructions have been issued to the military command, but separately, we are also taking preventive steps regarding both Belarus and designated parts of Russia from which the threat originates,” he added.

His government will also look persuade international partners to ramp up the diplomatic pressure on Kyiv.

Germany’s government approved a new Civil Defense ​Plan on Wednesday, shifting from Cold War bunkers to everyday sites such as underground parking garages, tunnels and subway stations.

Debate over civil defense ⁠has intensified in Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Germany has sharply increased military spending since then.

The plan is part-funded from a special fund exempt ⁠from debt rules that was ​approved ⁠last year, the Interior Ministry said.

Germany currently has 579 shelters for around 480,000 people, many ⁠of which have not been in use ​since ⁠the Cold War, according to ‌government data released with the plan.

The government plans to invest €10 billion (£8.65 billion) to boost civil defence, alongside ‌a wider military spending drive.

The money ‌will be used to buy more than 1,000 special vehicles and protective suits and to upgrade the mass alert network.

The Interior ⁠Ministry also plans to install a central control unit to coordinate work across public entities.

“This concept from the 1980s, which has never worked, must be discarded in today’s modern security environment”, said interior minister Alexander Dobrindt. He said the new plan aims to improve ‌protection in people’s homes and provide quicker access ​to safe places in public spaces.

Defence minister ‌Boris Pistorius said the ⁠plan was based on lessons from Ukraine, where ⁠an app warns civilians of attacks and urges them to seek ‌shelter. “We can ​never expect to have ‌a shelter for all 80 million ​Germans,” Pistorius said

Ukraine is finalising its ⁠first defence export contracts under ⁠drone ​deals ⁠with its allies, ⁠the country’s ​senior security ⁠official ‌said on Wednesday.

Rustem Umerov, ‌Ukraine’s defence ‌and security council chairman, ⁠said on the Telegram app that Kyiv would ease ‌the procedures ​for ‌issuing ⁠defence export ⁠licenses.