Ukraine – latest: US has warning for China over ‘lethal aid’ to Russia; Putin says West wants to ‘liquidate’ his country
Any decision by Beijing to provide military help to Russia would come at a “real cost”, a top White House official has said as uncertainty swirls around China’s intentions in the war. Vladimir Putin has given an explanation for why he pulled out of a key nuclear treaty with the US.
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Key points
China sending ‘lethal aid’ to Russia would come at real cost, US says
Putin gives one explanation for pulling out of nuclear treaty View post
Russia’s top UN diplomat accuses West of ‘cowboy’ methods View post
Ukraine says Russian attacks near key city have been unsuccessful View post
Stuart Ramsay: I was shot reporting in Ukraine – but some doubt my story View post
Sean Bell: What would Russian success mean for Western security? View post
Live reporting by Bhvishya Patel, with Deborah Haynes in Ukraine, Dominic Waghorn in Poland and Diana Magnay in Moscow
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9h ago
12:30
Concentrated vehicle losses in Vuhledar, MoD says
There have been concentrated vehicle losses in the mining town of Vuhledar, in the eastern Donetsk region, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) reports.
In its latest intelligence report, the ministry said the vehicles were likely elements of Russia’s 155th Naval Infantry (NI) Brigade which has been at the forefront of recent costly offensives.
The update added: “The supposedly enhanced capability of NI brigades has now almost certainly been significantly degraded because it has been backfilled with inexperienced mobilised personnel.
“This lack of experience is almost certainly exacerbating Russian officers’ tendency to micromanage, which in turn reduces operational agility.”
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9h ago
12:00
Russia holds 180 political prisoners in Crimea – reports
There are 180 political prisoners being held in Crimea, according to Ukraine’s rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.
Mr Lubinets said on Telegram: “Due to the constant fear of Ukrainian resistance, Russia does not stop harsh repression and persecution of our citizens in the temporarily occupied Crimea: illegal searches, fabricated criminal cases, fabricated sentences, in particular, against representatives of the indigenous people of the peninsula – the Crimean Tatars.”
The Ukrainian official also said the recent deaths in the Kremlin cells of two tortured political prisoners was a “flagrant violation of fundamental human rights and norms of international law by Russia”.
Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, has said his goal is to reclaim all territory seized by Russia since then.
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10h ago
11:22
Zelenskyy meets Saudi foreign minister
The Saudi foreign minister met the Ukrainian president in Kyiv today, the Saudi Gazette reports.
The meeting betwe Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud and Volodymyr Zelenskyy comes as Vladimir Putin today cast the confrontation with the West over the war as an existential battle for the survival of Russia and its people.
A year since ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Mr Putin is increasingly presenting the war as a make-or-break moment in Russian history – and saying that he believes the very future of Russia and its people is in peril.
NATO and the West dismiss such narrative, saying their objective is to help Ukraine defend itself against an unprovoked attack.
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11h ago
10:42
In pictures: Destroyed Russian tanks on display in Latvia
Residents in Latvia have been viewing destroyed Russian tanks taken from the Ukrainian village of Dmytrivka, outside Kyiv, in front of the Russian embassy in Riga today.
The scenes come days after the first Leopard 2 tanks began arriving in Kyiv.
The modern German-made tanks are thought to be a game-changer for Ukraine, which is planning to launch a counteroffensive in the coming weeks.
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11h ago
10:19
Zelenskyy vows to ‘return Crimea’ to Ukraine
As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to return Crimea to Ukraine.
Crimea, which juts out into the Black Sea, was absorbed into the Russian empire after Catherine the Great annexed it in the 18th century.
In 1921, the peninsula became part of the Soviet Union and of Russia within it until 1954, when it was handed to Ukraine, also a Soviet republic, by Josef Stalin’s successor Nikita Khrushchev.
In the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, Russia recognised Ukrainian sovereignty in its existing borders – which included Crimea – and agreed to refrain from using force against Kyiv.
But in 2014, Kremlin-backed forces captured Crimea and illegally annexed it from Ukraine.
In a Telegram post today, the Ukrainian leader said: “Nine years ago, Russian aggression began in Crimea.
“By returning Crimea, we will restore peace. This is our land. Our people. Our history. We will return the Ukrainian flag to every corner of Ukraine.”
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12h ago
09:52
West seeking to ‘scatter former Soviet Union’, Putin claims
The West is seeking to “scatter the former Soviet Union” and Russia has no choice but to take into account NATO’s nuclear capabilities, Vladimir Putin has said.
Speaking on Russian state TV, the Russian president claimed that Russia faced an existential threat because, in his view, NATO members were seeking the country’s “strategic defeat”.
He said that the suspension of New START, which seeks to cap the number of nuclear warheads possessed by the US and Russia, stemmed from the need to “ensure security, strategic stability” for Russia.
“When all the leading NATO countries have declared their main goal as inflicting a strategic defeat on us, how can we ignore their nuclear capabilities in these conditions?” he said.
On Tuesday, Mr Putin suspended Moscow’s participation in the 2010 New START treaty, saying that Russia could not accept US inspections of its nuclear sites under the pact while Washington and its NATO allies seek Russia’s defeat in Ukraine.
In the interview with Russia 1 television, Mr Putin alleged that the West wanted to eliminate Russia.
“They have one goal: to scatter the former Soviet Union and its main part – the Russian Federation,” he said.
“And then maybe they will accept us into the so-called family of civilised nations, but only separately, each part separately.”
He added: “If we follow this path, I think that the destinies of many nations of Russia, and first of all the Russian people, can change radically.”
Mr Putin also claimed if the West succeeds in destroying Russia and establishing control, the Russian people may not survive as a unified nation.
“There will be Muscovites, Uralians and others,” he said of Russia’s possible fragmentation.
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12h ago
09:25
China sending ‘lethal aid’ to Russia would come at ‘real cost’, US says
China has not moved towards providing lethal aid that would help Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said.
In an interview with CNN’s State of the Union programme, Mr Sullivan said the US had made clear behind closed doors that such a move would have serious consequences.
He said: “Beijing will have to make its own decisions about how it proceeds, whether it provides military assistance, but if it goes down that road, it will come at real costs to China.”
The US and its NATO allies have been scrambling to warn China against such a move in recent days, making public comments on their belief that China is considering providing lethal equipment to Russia.
CIA Director William Burns also weighed in on China today.
“We’re confident that the Chinese leadership is considering the provision of lethal equipment,” Mr Burns told CBS.
“We also don’t see that a final decision has been made yet, and we don’t see evidence of actual shipments of lethal equipment.”
For context: On Friday, China called for a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine and put forward a 12-point peace plan.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed some elements of the Chinese proposal but said only the country where a war is being fought should be the initiator of a peace plan.
Beijing claims to have a neutral stance in the war but has also said it has a “no limits friendship” with Russia and has refused to criticise Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, or even refer to it as an invasion.
It has accused the West of provoking the conflict by providing Ukraine with defensive arms.
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13h ago
08:52
Demonstrators march for Ukraine outside White House
Pictures show demonstrators marching outside the White House in support of Ukraine during a rally in Washington on Saturday.
It was held to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and was followed by a candlelight vigil at Boris Nemtsov Plaza – just outside the Russian embassy in northwest Washington.
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14h ago
07:42
What would Russian success mean for Western security?
By Sean Bell, military analyst
President Vladimir Putin might have hoped for a swift and decisive invasion of Ukraine – instead, a year on, Russia has paid a huge price for his imperial ambition.
Yet time is a powerful ally for Mr Putin, and victory could still be secured.
What would some form of Russian success mean for Western security?
Mr Putin’s frustration at Russian military incompetence will be tempered by knowing this is a David vs Goliath battle, in which Russia should prevail.
Notwithstanding Western support – upon which Ukraine is utterly dependent – Mr Putin will know that precision weapons have a finite supply, are not easily replaced and that Western cohesion is fragile.
Read more here…
Ukraine war: What would Russian success mean for Western security?
Sky News
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14h ago
07:00
Algeria to reopen its embassy in Kyiv after one-year closure
Algeria has said it will reopen its embassy in Kyiv one year after it was closed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the country’s state television.
“This decision falls within the framework of preserving the interests of the Algerian state and the interests of the national community in this country,” state TV quoted the foreign ministry statement as saying.
“The Algerian embassy in Kiev, which suspended its activities due to the deteriorating security situation in Ukraine, will be managed by the Chargé d’Affaires.”
The embassy closed in March last year following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The decision to reopen the embassy will be effective “as soon as possible,” the statement read.
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15h ago
06:30
No movement in NATO guarantees for Ukraine, German government says
There has been no development for months in the discussion of possible NATO security guarantees for Ukraine, a government spokesperson said today.
“At the recent meeting of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron with Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy, this issue played no role at all,” the spokesperson said.
The statement comes after a recent report by The Wall Street Journal that said some of NATO’s biggest European members are floating a defence pact with Ukraine.
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15h ago
06:02
China should be judged on actions not words, Germany says
The German defence minister has reacted today with scepticism to a Chinese ceasefire proposal for the war in Ukraine.
“When I hear reports – and I don’t know whether they are true – according to which China may be planning to supply kamikaze drones to Russia while at the same time presenting a peace plan, then I suggest we judge China by its actions and not its words,” Boris Pistorius told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk in an interview.
The US and Germany have previously warned China not to deliver weapons to Russia.
According to recent reports, Beijing and Moscow are said to be negotiating the purchase of 100 strike drones, which could be delivered as soon as April.
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16h ago
05:30
Who are the violent prisoners fighting for the Wagner Group in Ukraine?
The hundreds of inmates gathered in a Russian prison yard were given a choice.
“After six months, you go home and receive a pardon. There are no options to return to prison.
“You have five minutes to decide.”
The footage is grainy but it captures a clear offer: survive six months fighting with the Wagner Group in Ukraine – and return a free man.
It was September 2022. The video shows the mercenary force’s leader, Evgeny Prigozhin, confirming the group’s new prisoner recruitment strategy for the first time.
Under the scheme, as many as 50,000 prisoners have now fought in Ukraine for the group, according to estimates.
More than seven months after the prison recruitment drive began, videos depicting returned fighters are beginning to emerge.
Among them are violent criminals seemingly freed via presidential decree whose new status as celebrated war veterans has left some uncomfortable.
Read more…
Who are the violent prisoners being offered pardons for fighting with the Wagner Group in Ukraine?
Sky News
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17h ago
04:55
Life on the frontline…
The war in Ukraine is now in its second year. Life for residents near the frontline has become grinding, with no electricity or running water in many places.
Emilia Budskaya, below, decided to stay in the eastern city of Vuhledar, about 50kmn from the the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk.
She burns branches to keep warm in her basement in the city.
A Ukrainian marine serviceman heads to a position in Vuhledar
A Ukrainian marine serviceman heads to a position in Vuhledar
AP
Ukrainian forces fire at Russian positions in the Kharkiv area
Ukrainian forces fire at Russian positions in the Kharkiv area
Ukrainian servicemen during a flag ceremony at which some were honoured for their bravery and accomplishments in battle, in Kharkiv
Ukrainian servicemen during a flag ceremony at which some were honoured for their bravery and accomplishments in battle, in Kharkiv
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17h ago
04:09
Ukraine not planning further electricity outages
Ukraine is not planning further outages to ration electricity if there are no new strikes and has been able to amass some power reserves, the country’s energy minister has said.
It comes after months of interruptions caused by Russian bombings.
“Electricity restrictions will not be introduced, provided there are no strikes by the Russian Federation on infrastructure facilities,” Herman Halushchenko said in remarks posted on the energy ministry’s Telegram messaging platform.
“Outages will only be used for repairs.”
After multiple battlefield setbacks and scaling down its troop operation to Ukraine’s east and south, Russia in October began bombing the country’s energy infrastructure, leaving millions without power and heat for days on end.
The temperature in winter months often stays below freezing across most of Ukraine.
Mr Halushchenko said this heating season has been extremely difficult.
“But our power engineers managed to maintain the power system, and for the third week in a row, electricity generation has ensured consumption needs, we have reserves,” he said.
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18h ago
03:03
I was shot while reporting in Ukraine – but even a family member doubts my story
By Stuart Ramsay, chief correspondent
It’s nearly a year since the start of the war in Ukraine and I’m at a family funeral in the UK, when one of my younger family members, who I haven’t seen in a while, pulls me aside.
“Stuart, I know my mum said you were shot in Ukraine, but were you really shot, or did you make it up?” I was genuinely shocked, a little lost for words if I’m honest.
I asked him why he didn’t believe what had happened to me.
“It’s just that online people say it was fake and that you weren’t really shot, and I think they might be right.”
Now I’m not naive, I do know there are all sorts of almost comical, wild theories on social media about what “really happened” to me and my team – but I didn’t expect the mistrust from someone so close.
I showed him the bullet wound in my lower back, a scar that’s become so part of me I often forget it’s there, and I wondered whether I needed to show him my life-saving flak jacket with more rounds in it.
Read more below…
I was shot while reporting on the Ukraine war – but such is the power of misinformation, some doubt my story
Sky News
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18h ago
02:58
Russia accused West of ‘cowboy methods’
In an update on diplomacy and sanctions, Russia’s senior diplomat to the United Nations has accused the West of “cowboy” methods and “arm twisting” of some countries during last week’s United Nations General Assembly vote that demanded Moscow to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
Meanwhile, finance chiefs of the world’s biggest economies strongly condemned Moscow this weekend for its war on Ukraine, with only China and Russia itself declining to sign a joint statement.
And French President Emmanuel Macron said he is planning to visit China in early April, in part to seek Chinese help in ending Russia’s war.
Elsewhere, the US marked the anniversary of the invasion on Friday with $2bn (£1.6bn) in weaponry for Kyiv and new sanctions against Russia aimed at undermining Moscow’s ability to wage war.
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19h ago
02:51
What’s happening on the ground?
Ukraine’s military has said this morning that Russia conducted unsuccessful offensives near Yahidne in the past day, after Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenary fighters claimed to have captured the village in the east of the country.
The village is near Bakhmut, where around 5,000 of 70,000 residents remain. It has become the centre of some of the bloodiest and fiercest battles of Russia’s yearlong invasion.
Ukraine’s armed forces said Russia continues to concentrate its main efforts on attacks along the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Shakhtar parts of the frontline.
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19h ago
02:47
Putin: Russia must take into account NATO nuclear capability
President Vladimir Putin has said today that Russia had no choice but to take into account the nuclear capabilities of NATO as the US-led military alliance was seeking the defeat of Russia.
“In today’s conditions, when all the leading NATO countries have declared their main goal as inflicting a strategic defeat on us, so that our people suffer as they say, how can we ignore their nuclear capabilities in these conditions?” he told Rossiya 1 state television, according to TASS.
Mr Putin said the West wanted to liquidate Russia.
“They have one goal: to disband the former Soviet Union and its fundamental part – the Russian Federation,” he said.
He added that the West was an indirect accomplice to the “crimes” committed by Ukraine.
