Live updates | UK: Russian military 'significantly weaker'

The British military says it believes the Russian military is now “significantly weaker” after suffering losses in its war on Ukraine

LVIV, Ukraine — The British military says it believes the Russian military is now “significantly weaker” after suffering losses in its war on Ukraine.

The British Defense Ministry made the comment Tuesday in its daily statement on Twitter regarding the war.

It said: “Russia’s military is now significantly weaker, both materially and conceptually, as a result of its invasion of Ukraine. Recovery from this will be exacerbated by sanctions. This will have a lasting impact on Russia’s ability to deploy conventional military force.”

The ministry added while Russia’s defense budget has doubled from 2005 to 2018, the modernization program it undertook “has not enabled Russia to dominate Ukraine.”

“Failures both in strategic planning and operational execution have left it unable to translate numerical strength into decisive advantage," the ministry said.

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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

— US official says Russia plans to annex parts of eastern Ukraine

— Civilians rescued from Mariupol steel plant head for safety

— Push to arm Ukraine putting strain on US weapons stockpile

— UEFA removes more Russian soccer teams from its competitions

Follow all AP stories on Russia’s war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

LVIV, Ukraine — Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show nearly 50 Russian military helicopters at a base close to the Ukrainian border.

The image captured Monday by Planet Labs PBC shows the helicopters in Stary Oskol, Russia, some 175 kilometers (110 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

The helicopters are stationed on the tarmac, runway and grass of the otherwise civilian airport. Military equipment is stationed nearby to support the aircraft.

Russia has been using its military attack helicopters in its war on Ukraine, flying low to the ground to try to avoid anti-aircraft missiles.

Meanwhile, another satellite image showed a bridge repeatedly targeted by Moscow near the Black Sea port city of Odesa still standing as of around noon Monday. That strategic bridge connects Odesa to the wider countryside and would be key to defending the area.

A breakaway region of neighboring Moldova home to Russian troops nearby has seen a series of mysterious explosions in recent days, raising concerns about the conflict widening.

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ROME — Pope Francis has told an Italian newspaper that he offered to travel to Moscow to meet the Russian president about three weeks into the invasion, but that he has not received a response.

Francis was quoted Tuesday by Corriere della Sera as saying his offer to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow was made through the Vatican’s No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 20 days into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He said, “Of course, it would be necessary for the leader of the Kremlin to make available some window of opportunity. But we still have not had a response and we are still pushing, even if I fear that Putin cannot and does not want to have this meeting at this moment.”

Francis said he spoke with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, for 40 minutes by videoconference and for the first half “with paper in hand, he read all of the justifications for the war. I listened and told him: I don’t understand any of this. Brother, we are not clerics of the state, we cannot use language of politics, but that of Jesus. … For this we need to find the paths of peace, to stop the firing of arms.”

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OTTAWA — Ukraine’s ambassador-designate to Canada says Russia must be held accountable for its troops committing sex crimes, including against children.

Yulia Kovaliv told a Canadian House of Commons committee Monday that Russia is using sexual violence as a weapon of war and said rape and sexual assault must be investigated as war crimes.

She said Russia also has kidnapped Ukrainian children and taken them to Russian-occupied territories and now Russia itself. Ukraine is working with partners to find the children and bring them back.

“Russians, a few days ago, killed a young mother and taped her living child to her body and attached a mine between them,″ the ambassador said. She said the mine detonated.

All of Russian society, and not just President Vladimir Putin “and his proxies,” should bear responsibility for the war on Ukraine because more than 70% of Russians support the invasion, Kovaliv said.

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WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived Monday at the Capitol after leading a surprise delegation trip to Ukraine, vowing the U.S. Congress has “more to do” to help the country fight the Russian invasion.

Pelosi is the highest-ranking elected U.S. official to touch down in Kyiv since the start of the war and she called the congressional delegation’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “informative and it was inspiring.”

The trip with Democratic lawmakers comes as Congress is preparing a $33 billion package of military and humanitarian aid, but now some lawmakers also are discussing a “Marshall Plan”-type effort to eventually help rebuild Ukraine as the U.S. aided Europe after World War II.

Pelosi returned to the Capitol in Washington to sign and send President Joe Biden legislation passed last week by Congress that would update a World War II-era military lend-lease law and streamline the process for sending aid to Ukraine. Biden is expected to sign it into law.