Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kyiv tanks break through gap in Putin’s final line of defence near Verbove

We bring the news this morning that Ukrainian tanks have reportedly cut through Putin’s final line of defence in western Zaporizhia Oblast signalling a big breakthrough.

The Institute of Study of War claims it is the first time Kyiv tanks have broken through Russia’s strong defensive layer of anti-tank ditches and obstacles.

The ISW cannot confirm the Ukrainian troops have fully broken through Russia’s defensive layer, but the report this morning indicates progress in the counteroffensive.

We’ll bring more as we get it on the Ukrainian offensive in the south of the country.

The Ukrainian president reached Canada late on Thursday for an unannounced visit shortly after he left Washington and concluded meetings with US president Joe Biden and lawmakers in Washington.

Mr Zelensky was received by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on the tarmac of the Ottawa airport, marking his first visit to the country since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.

Visuals showed the Ukrainian leader and the country’s first lady Olena Zelenska being warmly greeted by Mr Trudeau as the three shook hands.

Mr Zelensky will address the Canadian parliament on Friday as part of his campaign. The war-time president will be joined by Mr Trudeau, who will also deliver a speech.

Read more about Zelensky’s surprise Canadian trip here

A Russian shells kill a man in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.

The governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on the Telegram messaging app that a 25-year-old man had been killed and another person wounded when Russia targeted residential areas close to the front line. The shelling caused fires in a house and a garage, he said.

The Russians have been targeting Kherson from the eastern bank of the Dnipro river since December, 2022. Schools, hospitals and the city’s railway station have been hit by the bombing, according to reports.

Kherson is one of a number of cities close to Russian positions which have become vulnerable to attacks.

Zaporizhia Oblast, commonly known as Zaporizhia, is a southern region of Ukraine.

The apparent counteroffensive breakthrough is significant as the region has been under Russian military occupation since 2022. About 70 per cent of the area is under Russian control, according to a Ukrainian travel guide.

The region was key for Ukraine’s agriculture industry.

The Russian front line in the region – a 81-mile trench system – is known as the Surovikin line. It passes near the city of Verbove and features a series of obstacles that include landmines.

A Russian attack on a town west of Donetsk near Ukraine’s eastern front has injured 13 people, including one pulled out from under rubble, an official from the area was quoted as saying early on Friday.

There were two strikes on the town, sparking a fire, according to Roman Padun, administrative head of the town of Kurakhove, speaking to public broadcaster Suspilne.

He gave no details on what weapons had been used. Photos posted on social media showed several buildings ablaze. Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports.

Kurakhove is near Maryinka, a town near the front line still held by Ukraine but under Russian attack for many months.

The Ukrainian president got a $325m aid package from the Biden administration as he wrapped up his second visit, said to be more muted compared to the hype that surrounded his earlier one.

However, senate majority leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday summed up an impassioned plea made by the wartime president to American lawmakers even as Republicans debate flow of financial aid to Ukraine for more than 20 months now.

“There was a single sentence that summed it all up, and I’m quoting him verbatim. Mr Zelensky said: ‘If we don’t get the aid we will lose the war’,” Mr Schumer told reporters.

Read the full report here

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday makes his first visit to close ally Canada, where he is guaranteed a warmer welcome than he received from the U.S.

Some politicians in the U.S. were skeptical about providing more military aid during his visit to Washington yesterday.

Canada is one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters in the war against Russia and is set to announce during the visit that it is sending more weapons to Ukraine, according to a government official.

“Canada will continue to support Ukraine as long as it takes and we will always stand firm to defend the rule of law and the international rules based order,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in New York on Thursday.

Zelenskiy is due to address parliament in Ottawa and then hold a news conference with Trudeau. He spoke to legislators virtually in March 2022.

Ihor Michalchyshyn, executive director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress lobby group, said Canada was influential given its membership of both the Group of Seven countries and NATO and noted all Canadian political parties support Ukraine.

“So I think it’s appropriate for the president to be expecting and asking more from his Canadian partners,” he said in an interview. “If friends of Ukraine want Ukraine to win the war, then the only way that happens is with renewed and more military support.”

There are 1.4 million people of Ukrainian descent in Canada.

ICYMI: The UN is incapable of preventing aggressors like Vladimir Putin from invading other countries, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed, as he made an impassioned call for reform of the General Assembly and Security Council to end Russia’s war on his country:

Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, won a standing ovation after speaking at Georgetown University:

Pentagon has announced “everything is on schedule” after being asked about the timing of the top-tier Abram tanks in the war zone for Ukraine.

“For security reasons, I’m not going to be able to go into specifics in terms of when the tanks will arrive, other than to say that we expect them to arrive in Ukraine in the coming days and weeks,” Pentagon spokesperson brigadier general Patrick Ryder said in his briefing with reporters.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said he believes tanks are crucial to replenish his nation’s military hardware ahead of what he says will be increased Russian offences in the spring, with intense fighting already seen in eastern Ukraine for weeks.

Kyiv also wants them to boost its bid to recapture territory taken by Moscow’s forces earlier in the conflict.

Read what are Abrams tanks and why is the US sending them to Ukraine here: