Ukraine-Russia war – live: Moscow warns of full-scale war in Europe as Sweden finally joins Nato

Pat Nibin Maxwell moved from India to Israel at the height of the Gaza conflict in December last year, leaving behind a pregnant wife and a four-year-old daughter. The decision to relocate to another country in search of work was not an easy one, particularly to such a restive region.

It was a choice driven by “financial reasons”, his cousin Jose Dennis tells The Independent. Maxwell was among hundreds of Indian youths taking up blue-collar jobs in dangerous locations, including Russia’s frontline with Ukraine, driven by what an economist describes as “extreme desperation” due to the lack of well-paid employment in India.

On 4 March, Maxwell’s family were told on a call that the 31-year-old was grievously injured in an anti-tank missile strike on a poultry farm in northern Israel. “He was hospitalised along with two other Indians,” Dennis says. “Later, we learnt that he has died.”

President Joe Biden in his State of Union address called on Congress to “stand up” to Russian president Vladimir Putin as he criticised his Republican rival for allegedly “bowing down” to Russia.

Mr Biden on Thursday warned freedom and democracy were “under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time”.

“If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not,” Mr Biden said.

Without naming Donald Trump, Mr Biden said: “Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, ‘Do whatever you want’.“I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable.”

Russia’s second-largest steel plant in Cherepovets has suffered damages in a drone attack, said Vologda Oblast, the acting regional governor Georgy Filimonov.

“This morning there was an incident at Severstal in the area of the blast furnace — it was hit by an unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV] of unknown origin,” the governor announced on Telegram.

No casualties were reported from the incident and the furnace’s operation “was not disrupted”, he added.

The attack comes a day after two Ukrainian drones struck fuel facilities at one of Russia’s largest iron ore plants on Wednesday.

At least two people were killed in a Russian aerial attack on the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk on Thursday.

The attack damaged several homes and vehicles, Kharkiv Oblast governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Kupiansk was previously occupied by Russian forces shortly following Vladimir Putin’s invasion in February 2022 and recently has come under heavy attack.

Mr Syniehubov said all residents from 57 settlements of Kupiansk would be evacuated to “protect families with children from Russian terror of civilians in the Kharkiv region”.

Britain will increase its spending on drones for Ukraine by 125 million pounds ($160 million), raising the total number of drones supplied to more than 10,000, the government said on Thursday as Defence Secretary Grant Shapps visited Kyiv.

Britain’s support comes at a crucial time for Ukraine in the two-year war. Vital U.S. military aid has stalled, while Russia’s offensive looks more assertive after it took the city of Avdiivka last month, its biggest gain since May 2023.

Drones, which are cheap to produce and can conduct surveillance or target enemies with great accuracy, have emerged as a key weapon in the conflict, with both Ukraine and Russia striving for the upper hand in technology.

“I am ramping up our commitment to arm Ukraine with cutting-edge new drones coming directly from the UK’s world-leading defence industries – straight from the factory floor to the frontline. I encourage international partners to join the UK in this effort,” Shapps said, as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Britain said it would expand its drone package to 325 million pounds from the 200 million pounds announced in January.

The package includes thousands of first-person view drones, 1,000 one-way attack drones researched and developed in Britain as well as surveillance and maritime drones.

Furious with Germany, Moscow leveled threats in response.

“If nothing is done, and the German people do not stop this, then there will be dire consequences first and foremost for Germany itself,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Monday.

In her retort, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, “If Russia had not brutally attacked this country, Ukraine would not have to defend itself,” according to the dpa news agency.

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Volodymyr Zelensky’s motorcade was nearly hit by a Russian missile on Wednesday as the Ukrainian President visited the Black Sea port of Odessa.

Zelensky was with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis when the missile hit infrastructure close enough for the leaders to see the strike, with sources estimating the attack happened a mere 500 to 800 metre distance from the delegations.

“You see who we’re dealing with, they don’t care where to hit,” Zelensky told reporters in the wake of the incident, which killed five people, according to a Ukrainian navy spokesperson.

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Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken presided at a ceremony in which Sweden’s “instrument of accession” to the alliance was officially deposited at the State Department.

“This is a historic moment for Sweden. It’s historic for alliance. It’s history for the transatlantic relationship,” Mr Blinken said as he welcomed the 32nd country into the group. “Our Nato alliance is now stronger, larger than it’s ever been.”

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Pat Nibin Maxwell moved from India to Israel at the height of the Gaza conflict in December last year, leaving behind a pregnant wife and a four-year-old daughter. The decision to relocate to another country in search of work was not an easy one, particularly to such a restive region.

It was a choice driven by “financial reasons”, his cousin Jose Dennis tells The Independent. Maxwell was among hundreds of Indian youths taking up blue-collar jobs in dangerous locations, including Russia’s frontline with Ukraine, driven by what an economist describes as “extreme desperation” due to the lack of well-paid employment in India.

Read the full story here…