Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 356 of the invasion

A major new Russian offensive has begun, Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said. Speaking ahead of a two-day meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, on Monday Stoltenberg said Russia was “sending more troops, more weapons, more capabilities”. Nato planned to increase its ammunition stockpile targets and he expected possible supply of aircraft to Ukraine to be discussed. Stoltenberg said Ukraine’s use of ammunition was “many times higher than our current rate of production”.

Stoltenberg said on Tuesday it was more important that Finland and Sweden’s applications to join the alliance were ratified quickly than together. The two countries applied to join Nato following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and their membership bids have been ratified by all allies except Hungary and Turkey. Turkey is widely seen as the main hold-up. Ankara has demanded that both countries take a tougher line against the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and the European Union.

Ukraine has urgent requirements in terms of more military aid, said US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin on Tuesday, as he also reaffirmed that the United States and Nato allies in general were there to support Ukraine over the long haul. “That shared resolve will sustain Ukraine’s momentum in the weeks ahead,” said Austin at a Nato meeting in Brussels. “The Kremlin is still betting that it can wait us out.”

Russia has again criticised Nato over its stance towards the war in Ukraine. “Nato is an organisation which is hostile to us and which proves this hostility every day,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “It is trying its best to make its involvement in the conflict around Ukraine as clear as possible.”

Germany has signed contracts with Rheinmetall to restart the production of ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft guns it has delivered to Kyiv, German defence minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday.

Shipping and coastal communities around Ukraine’s major seaport hub of Odesa received a warning from military officials on Tuesday over the high risk of naval mines drifting along the coast and washing ashore. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of using mines off the Ukrainian coast, which prevents safe navigation in the region. The Soviet-made mines were anchored, but in a storm some of them could come loose and be carried by the current.

Ukrainian defenders who have held out for months are braced for new ground attacks, Ukrainian military officials have said. The eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut is facing heavy artillery fire, according to local officials. “The city, the city’s suburbs, the entire perimeter, and essentially the entire Bakhmut direction and Kostyantynivka are under crazy, chaotic shelling,” said Volodymyr Nazarenko, deputy commander of Ukraine’s Svoboda battalion, on Monday. The Ukrainian military reported 16 settlements had been bombarded near Bakhmut.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Ukrainian soldiers for “preventing the occupiers from encircling Bakhmut”. The capture of Bakhmut would give Russia a new foothold in the Donetsk region and constitute a rare victory after months of setbacks.

In the last three days, Wagner Group forces have almost certainly made further small gains around the northern outskirts of Bakhmut, including into the village of Krasna Hora, the UK Ministry of Defence said Tuesday. However, organised Ukrainian defence continues in the area and the tactical Russian advance to the south of the town has likely made little progress, the latest British intelligence report adds.

Ukraine’s allies have begun training Ukrainian troops on the Leopard 2 and other modern battle tanks. Germany started training Ukrainian soldiers on the Leopards on Monday at an army base in the northern town of Munster. Ukrainian troops are also being trained by Polish, Canadian and Norwegian instructors at a military base in Swietoszow, south-west Poland.

Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, accused Russia Monday of planning to use foreign saboteurs to overthrow her country’s government, prevent it from joining the EU and use it in the war against Ukraine. Sandu’s comments on Monday came after Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said his country had intercepted plans by Russian secret services “for the destruction of Moldova” – this was later backed up by Moldovan intelligence officials.