Chinese article urging country to cut ties with Putin gets 1m views

Essay on US site republished in China before being censored, reflecting balancing act between Russia and west

When an essay from a prominent Shanghai scholar suggested China needed to cut ties with Vladimir Putin as soon as possible over the Ukraine war, the online reaction was swift.

Despite being published late on a Friday evening in the Carter Center’s US-China Perception Monitor, Hu Wei’s essay soon gained a million views in and outside China, and was republished into Chinese blogs, non-official media sites and social media accounts.

Continue reading...

Liz Cheney does not regret vote against Trump Ukraine impeachment

January 6 committee member splits from fellow Republican Adam Kinzinger but says first impeachment informs panel’s work

Liz Cheney, one of two Republicans on the January 6 committee, does not regret her vote against Donald Trump’s first impeachment, for withholding military aid to Ukraine in an attempt to extract dirt on rivals including Joe Biden.

But Cheney also said on Sunday she was focused on lessons learned from that impeachment as she pursues the investigation of the deadly Capitol attack, the event which led to Trump’s second Senate trial.

Continue reading...

Marina Ovsyannikova, Russian TV protester, decries Putin propaganda

‘I could see security dragging people away,’ says editor fined for walking into shot with sign saying ‘No War’

The Russian TV editor who interrupted a news broadcast to protest the Ukraine war said on Sunday she acted out of dissatisfaction at propaganda disseminated by Vladimir Putin’s government, and said she had turned down an offer of asylum in France despite fearing further retaliation.

Marina Ovsyannikova, who describes herself as “a patriot”, was fined 30,000 roubles ($280) by a court in Moscow last week for the “spontaneous” act of rebellion in which she appeared during the live newscast with a sign saying “No War”.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak urged to restore UK aid spending after Ukraine invasion

Leading thinktank finds cuts made during pandemic have harmed the UK as well as recipient countries

Rishi Sunak is being urged to boost aid UK spending in this week’s mini-budget after an in-depth study by a leading thinktank showed government cuts had the biggest negative impact on the world’s poorest countries.

The campaign group One said the aid budget was at “breaking point” and would come under renewed pressure as a result of humanitarian and refugee spending in response to the war in Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Ukraine suspends 11 political parties with links to Russia

Zelenskiy says parties such as Viktor Medvedchuk’s Opposition Platform for Life are ‘aimed at division or collusion’

Eleven Ukrainian political parties have been suspended because of their links with Russia, according to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The country’s national security and defence council took the decision to ban the parties from any political activity. Most of the parties affected were small, but one of them, the Opposition Platform for Life, has 44 seats in the 450-seat Ukrainian parliament.

Continue reading...

Russia denies ISS cosmonauts wore yellow and blue suits to support Ukraine

Cosmonaut says colours represent his university, after earlier saying they were chosen because they had a lot of yellow material

Russia has rubbished reports suggesting its cosmonauts wore yellow suits with blue accents to show solidarity with Ukraine.

The three cosmonauts wore the suits, bearing the colours of the Ukrainian flag, when arriving at the International Space Station (ISS), leading to speculation they were a show of support for the country Russia is attacking.

Continue reading...

TikTok was ‘just a dancing app’. Then the Ukraine war started

Many features make the platform susceptible to disinformation as world leaders try to harness influencers’ power for good

Many have called the invasion of Ukraine the world’s first “TikTok war”, and experts say it is high time for the short video platform – once known primarily for silly lip syncs and dance challenge – to be taken seriously.

Some politicians are doing just that. In a speech, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, appealed to “TikTokers” as a group that could help end the war. Last week, Joe Biden spoke to dozens of top users on the app in a first-of-its kind meeting to brief the influencers on the conflict in Ukraine and how the US is addressing it.

Continue reading...

China denies sending weapons to support Moscow – as it happened

This blog is now closed. You can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here


There are a few more updates of specific attacks and recent casualties. The Guardian has not independently verified these.

According to the Kyiv Independent, three people were killed in Rubizhne, including two chidren. The outlet cited Luhansk Oblast Governor, Serhiy Haidai, saying that in the last 24 hours 24 houses and apartment buildings were destroyed in Rubizhne and Severodonetsk over the past 24 hours.

Continue reading...

Australia bans exports of aluminium ores to Russia over ‘illegal’ aggression towards Ukraine

Expanded sanctions seek to limit Russia’s ability to produce aluminium which is critical to arms and munitions manufacturing

Australia has banned the sale of alumina and aluminium ores to Russia in response to what it described as “unrelenting and illegal aggression” towards Ukraine.

Also on Sunday, prime minister Scott Morrison announced Australia would donate coal and further military equipment to Ukraine to “support the brave and courageous resistance” as part of a new aid package that also includes $30m in emergency humanitarian assistance.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 25 of the invasion

Putin’s forces have bombed an art school sheltering 400 civilians in Mariupol, the city’s council has said

Mariupol’s city council said Russian forces bombed an art school where 400 civilians, including children, were sheltering.

Thousands of residents of Mariupol have been forcibly deported to Russia and then sent by rail to various economically depressed cities where they have to remain, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman claimed.

An estimated 10 million people – more than a quarter of Ukraine’s population – have now fled their homes as a result of Russia’s “devastating” war, the head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR said.

One of Europe’s largest metallurgical factories, the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, has been destroyed by the Russians, said Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister.

Russia has struck Ukraine with cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, and launched hypersonic missiles from Crimean airspace, the Russian defence ministry said.

An attack on a barracks in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Friday killed more than 40 Marines, according to the New York Times. If confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest known attacks on Ukrainian forces during the war.

The Ukrainian parliament said 115 Ukrainian children have been killed since the start of the Russian invasion. It said at least 140 more had been injured.

Pope Francis described what is happening in Ukraine as “inhumane and sacrilegious”. Addressing tens of thousands of people in St Peter’s Square in Rome for his weekly blessing, he called on leaders to stop “this repugnant war”.

Continue reading...

‘We have to come to protect you,’ Russian soldiers told Ukrainian man they’d shot

Hostomel resident Eduard Lysovysk spent week in agony in crowded bomb shelter after sniper shot his leg during evacuation

Two sleepless days after Eduard Lysovysk was carried into a basement bomb shelter, his thigh bone shattered by a Russian sniper’s bullet, soldiers from the army who had shot him came to visit.

Heavy shelling outside had pinned him and dozens of neighbours into the cramped dugout, where he would spend a week in agony, waiting for a chance to flee the neighbourhood he once called home.

Continue reading...

UK grounds plane ahead of inquiry into possible Russian links

Aircraft owned, operated or chartered by anyone connected with Russia are banned from flying to and landing in UK

UK authorities have grounded another plane to investigate possible links with Russia, the transport secretary has announced.

Russian airlines and private jets are prohibited from landing in the UK and it is a criminal offence for any Russian aircraft to fly or land in the UK.

Continue reading...

Fury greets Johnson’s claim Ukraine fight is like Brexit

Prime minister says vote is ‘famous recent example’ of ‘instinct of the people … to choose freedom’

Boris Johnson has caused fury among political leaders across Europe – and outrage among opponents of Brexit at home – after he compared the resistance of the Ukrainian people to Russia’s invasion to the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

In a clear attempt to rally the Tory faithful behind a Brexit theme, the prime minister said in a speech to the Conservative spring conference in Blackpool that the world faced a moment of choice “between freedom and oppression”.

Continue reading...

American killed in Ukraine refused to postpone trip to help sick partner

Jimmy Hill, 68, was killed in a Russian attack on Chernihiv as his partner, Irina Teslenko, received treatment

Jimmy Hill, the American who was killed in Ukraine this week, refused to postpone a trip to the country to bring medical treatment to his longtime partner, Irina Teslenko, who has progressive multiple sclerosis, his family said on Saturday.

Hill, 68, was killed in a Russian attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, as Teslenko received treatment. Hill’s family say Teslenko and her mother are trying to leave the city but would need an ambulance and it is unclear if that can happen.

Continue reading...

Dragons’ Den investor signs up to Homes for Ukraine refugee scheme

Steven Bartlett says he would donate monthly payment from scheme to Disasters Emergency Committee

An entrepreneur and investor on BBC programme Dragons’ Den has announced he has signed up to offer his home to a Ukrainian family fleeing the war as part of the UK government’s sponsorship scheme.

Steven Bartlett, the 29-year-old author and podcaster, said he had applied to the initiative and hoped to house refugees in the spare room of his home in London.

Continue reading...

Stranded Nigerians accuse UK of ignoring pleas of black refugees fleeing Ukraine

Critics say race is an issue in treatment of African students fleeing war in Ukraine

Two weeks ago, Alani Iyanuoluwa fled Kyiv as the Russian invasion intensified. Making her way across Europe, the 24-year-old hoped to be reunited with family in London. Yet for 10 days she has been stranded in a French port – because she is Nigerian.

Iyanuoluwa is among a growing number of refugees who claim the British government is ignoring black people who fled Ukraine.

Continue reading...

190,000 civilians have been evacuated since invasion of Ukraine began – as it happened

Mariupol council says civilians being sent to camps where their phones and documents are checked; Ukraine says 190,000 civilians have been evacuated from the frontline since the invasion began

I’m now handing over to my colleague in London, Clea Skopeliti.

Continue reading...

Gordon Brown and John Major back Nuremberg-style tribunal for Putin

Former PMs join campaign calling for trial of Russian president and those around him over invasion of Ukraine

The former UK prime ministers Gordon Brown and Sir John Major are among those calling for the creation of a new international tribunal to investigate Vladimir Putin and those who helped plan his invasion of Ukraine.

They have joined a campaign – along with leading names from the worlds of law, academia and politics – aiming to put the Russian president and others on trial.

Continue reading...

Pressure mounts on Koch Industries to halt business in Russia

While hundreds of companies have paused operations, three Koch subsidiaries are still operating in the country

Pressure is mounting on Koch Industries, the conglomerate run by the rightwing billionaire Charles Koch, to pull out of Russia after it was revealed it was continuing to do business in Russia through three wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Hundreds of companies including Coca-Cola, KPMG, McDonald’s, Netflix and Starbucks have paused operations in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. But, as news site Popular Information revealed last week, three Koch subsidiaries are still operating in the country.

Continue reading...

Don’t mention the Partygate: Boris Johnson is buoyant on the world stage

The PM seems in his element in the role of ‘war leader’, but have voters forgotten their anger?

Since his premiership nearly sank a few weeks ago, Boris Johnson has done more foreign travel and frantic diplomacy than in all his previous years as prime minister combined.

He has made phone calls almost daily to Volodymyr Zelenskiy as the war with Russia rages, and won praise from the Ukrainian president during his emotive video address to the House of Commons.

Continue reading...