Ukraine war latest: Huge explosion reported in Russian city – amid escalation in fighting; Vietnam criticised over Putin visit

Big picture: What you need to know about the war this week Welcome back to our coverage of the war in Ukraine. Before we launch into live updates and analysis, here’s an overview of the major movements in the war as it stands. Peace plans Vladimir Putin put forward what he described as pre-requisites for peace negotiation – which analysts called a hollow attempt to “seduce” the West into giving up on Ukraine. In what the Institute for the Study of War called “absurd ultimatums”, the Russian leader demanded Ukraine effectively surrender almost 20% of its territory and abandon its…