Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
Terminators have been seen on the battlefield in Ukraine as the Russian military attempts to gain territory in the Donbas region.
The distinctive tank support vehicle, or armoured fighting vehicle (AFV), is designed to fight in tight urban spaces and reduce the risk to both tanks and infantry.
The British military believes Russia has probably sent its only operational company of BMP-T Terminators to help the assault on Severodonetsk.
The tank support vehicles, nicknamed Terminator by the manufacturer, are heavily armoured and carry four anti-tank missile launchers.
The AFV, designed and manufactured by the Russian company Uralvagonzavod, also has two 30mm autocannons, two grenade launchers and a machinegun.
They were developed by Russia to provide protection to battle tanks in the Afghan and Chechen wars.
-
Service members of pro-Russian troops drive a tank past a destroyed residential building in the town of Popasna in the Luhansk region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk during shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
Russian soldiers Alexander Alexeevich Ivanov and Alexander Vladimirovich Bobykin, left, attend their trial hearing in Kotelva, northeastern Ukraine. AP Photo -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, meets with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
A man drives a GAZ-21 Volga car past a damaged building in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on the 92nd day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Public transit workers sweep up shrapnel in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Pro-Russian troops inspect an AT4 anti-tank launcher outside the town of Svitlodarsk in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters -
People inspect destroyed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles in Irpin, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A local resident pets a cat next to a destroyed house in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv, Ukraine. AFP -
The remains of a school in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv. AFP -
Widow and daughter of Andriy Vertiev, a Ukrainian serviceman, killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, attend his funeral at Lychakiv cemetery, Lviv, Ukraine. AFP -
Russian serviceman Vadim Shishimarin, centre, leaves a court hearing in Kyiv. EPA -
Kateryna Shelikhova, widow of Oleksandr Shelipov, 62, who was shot dead by a Russian soldier. Reuters -
A child plays against a backdrop of buildings ruined by shelling in Borodyanka, Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian woman in the basement of a building used as bomb shelter in Soledar, Donetsk region. AP -
Residents live in a subway station used as temporary shelter in Kharkiv. AP -
Men with salvageable material from damaged buildings after Russian bombing in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. AP -
A cuddly toy adorns a destroyed Russian battle tank near damaged homes in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A mortar explodes next to a road leading to the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
A Ukrainian army vehicle moves towards the front line at a checkpoint near Lysychansk. AFP -
A boy looks at flags honouring soldiers killed while fighting Russian troops, in Kyiv city centre. AP -
A mannequin with a fake gun is placed as bait on a roadside in the Nord Saltivka district of Kharkiv. EPA -
A man looks at a destroyed Russian tank placed as a symbol of war, in central Kyiv. AP -
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a screen at the opening ceremony for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Reuters -
Smoke billows from an oil refinery after an attack outside the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
A woman walks by a destroyed apartment building in Bakhmut, Donbas region. AFP -
An elderly woman stands inside her heavily damaged house after it was hit by a missile in Bakhmut. AFP -
A mother with her daughter sit inside a bus as they leave Bakhmut. AFP -
A Ukrainian soldier prepares coffee as he takes a break near an artillery position in the breakaway enclave of Donetsk, in the Donbas region. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier exercises near Donetsk. Reuters -
A woman displaced by incessant Russian shelling leaves a metro station where people had been living underground for months in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty -
A heavily damaged home spa near Ruski Tyshky village in Ukraine. Getty -
The wreckage of a Ukrainian military helicopter is transported in Kharkiv. Getty -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Kyiv. EPA -
Two Ukrainian national guard soldiers pay their respects at a cemetery in Kharkiv. AP -
A man pushes a wheelbarrow past a heavily damaged apartment building near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters -
The burnt out shells of cars in a residential area near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters -
Pro-Russian troops drive a tank in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Reuters -
A Russian soldier takes a break during an operation to demine the territory of Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters -
Relatives and friends attend the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier killed in action, in the Odessa region city of Rozdilna. EPA -
Ukrainians wearing traditional clothing listen to their national anthem as they take part in the celebration of 'Vyshyvanka Day', an annual celebration of Ukrainian folk traditions, in Athens. AFP
In Grozny, the Chechen capital, defending forces armed with cheap anti-tank weapons were able to fire on the tank without it being able to shoot back, because it cannot fire at a steep, upward angle into surrounding buildings.
Traditionally, infantry offers such support to tanks and the Terminator is an attempt to protect both tank and soldier.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence said the vehicles were likely posted to Severodonetsk by Russia’s Central Grouping of Forces.
The city “remains one of Russia’s immediate tactical priorities” but “with a maximum of 10 Terminators deployed they are unlikely to have a significant impact on the campaign”, the MoD said.
Severodonetsk is part of the eastern Luhansk breakaway enclave where Russia is trying to capture territory from Ukraine after repositioning forces from Kyiv towards Donbas last month.
Regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said on Monday the city remained “completely under the Ukrainian flag”.
But Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Liudmyla Denisova said Russian attacks were turning the city into a “new Mariupol”, the southern port left in ruins by a weeks-long siege.
Settlements are being shelled with artillery and volley fire, and Russia has “thrown all its forces to storm Severodonetsk”, she said.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday, taking his message to the gathering of political and business leaders three months after Russia’s invasion.
“This is really the moment when it is decided whether brute force will rule the world,” Mr Zelenskyy said. “If so, the force is not interested in our thoughts, and there is no need for further meetings in Davos.”
