Latest news after Russian war in Ukraine and Navalny’s death, live

Russian soldiers raise their country’s flag in the ruined town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region after the Ukrainian army withdrew.

Ukraine withdrew from the city it had been defending for a decade, just months after Russia renewed its efforts to seize it and suffered devastating losses in doing so.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that for every Ukrainian soldier lost, seven Russians were killed.

Despite high casualty rates, Russia is exerting pressure on Ukrainian defenses at several other points along the 1,000-kilometre front.

The capture of Avdiivka reflects Russia’s growing military advantage in what is becoming a war of attrition.

Here are the latest developments in the field:

Navalny’s body: The family of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a Siberian prison last week, has been refused access to the morgue where his body is believed to be kept. The Kremlin said it was “not involved” in returning Navalny’s body to his family, but the circumstances of his death were under investigation.

tribute in moscow: Navalny’s death has been greeted with great sadness around the world. In Russia, where small acts of political dissent carry big risks, hundreds of people have reportedly been detained while organizing commemorations.
Security conference: News of Navalny’s death and Ukraine’s withdrawal from Avdiivka soured the mood at this year’s Munich security conference, as talks among Western leaders were dominated by the need to provide more aid to Ukraine and strengthen European security. doing.

Delay in Congress: US President Joe Biden said in a call with Zelensky that Avdeevka’s withdrawal was the result of Congress’s inability to approve more aid for Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself from Russian aggression.
Second anniversary: ​​As the anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, Russia is suffering devastating losses in both troops and equipment. Ukraine has faced increasing ammunition limitations as Western arms supplies have slowed. The next year looks uncertain, with Ukraine’s best units exhausted after two years of fighting and Oleksandr Syrsky now in charge as Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine.