MEZIESBLOG

Good morning from MEZIESBLOG. As the headline suggests – welcome to our live coverage of the Ukraine war, which today enters its third year. 

Two years ago, on 24 February 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine – a military operation that some analysts predicted would be over in a matter of days. 

Hundreds of thousands have died in the following 24 months, millions more displaced and it doesn’t look it’s set to end any time soon. 

We’ll be bringing you the latest as the day goes on, but here’s what you need to know about yesterday…

Several speeches were made by key European players at the United Nations headquarters, as leaders attempted to condemn Russia for its continued aggression in Ukraine and at the same time rouse their American allies into action. 

Lord David Cameron led that charge – bluntly urging those in Washington to “stand firm” as a much-needed aid package continues to face difficulties making its way out of Congress and into US law. 

Away from New York, Alexei Navalny’s mother claimed she had refused to answer an ultimatum delivered to her by Russian authorities – either that she agreed to a secret funeral for her son without a public farewell within three hours, or her son would be buried in a colony.

Mr Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said Lyudmila Navalnaya refused to negotiate with the Investigative Committee because “they do not have the authority to decide how and where she should bury her son”.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates, battlefield reports and analysis throughout the day – and several experts will be sharing their predictions for what the conflict holds in its third year.