China says president will meet Russian leader next week with aim of deepening partnership
China’s president is to visit Russia next week in an apparent show of support for Vladimir Putin, the Chinese foreign ministry has said.
The Kremlin also announced the visit, scheduled for 20-22 March, saying it would take place “at the invitation of Vladimir Putin”.
Continue reading...Director dedicates award to all political prisoners after film about Russian opposition leader wins best feature documentary
Russian liberals on Monday celebrated the Oscar win of Navalny, a documentary about the poisoning and imprisonment of the “hero” Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The film, which won best feature documentary at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, follows an investigation by Navalny’s team together with the Bellingcat group as they unmask FSB agents who were sent to poison Navalny in 2020. The Kremlin has always denied involvement.
Continue reading...‘Tell me, how does this end?’ asked US general David Petraeus during first push to Baghdad in 2003
The French statesman Georges Clemenceau once said: “War is a series of catastrophes that results in a victory.” In the case of the invasion of Iraq, however, the war that began 20 years ago started in victory and has ended in a series of catastrophes.
The main US military pullout from Iraq was ultimately completed by 2011, finally answering the question posed by Gen David Petraeus during that first push to Baghdad in 2003: “Tell me, how does this end?” Yet the long shadow of the invasion still looms over the international order, staining the reputation of those who instigated it and the political process itself, and dealing a heavy blow to the self-confidence that the west felt in the years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Continue reading...UK Ministry of Defence says capture of city has become ‘highly challenging’ for the mercenary group
Russian forces have made progress in the frontline hotspot of Bakhmut, a key target of Moscow’s months-long campaign in eastern Ukraine that has resulted in many casualties, the Associated Press reported.
Their assault , however, will be difficult to sustain without further harsh losses, UK military officials said in an assessment on Saturday.
Continue reading...Ukrainian forces ward off numerous assaults in and around besieged eastern city, says military, while resupply routes become ‘increasingly limited’
Western states delivering fighter jets to support Ukraine defending itself against Russia is “only a question of time”, Latvia’s prime minister has said.
Speaking to German news magazine Der Spiegel, Krišjānis Kariņš said his own country would not hesitate to send jets to Kyiv “if we had any.”
Across the whole of Europe we need a lot more reservists: trained people who can be deployed at the shortest notice.”
The lethality of the standard-issue MPL-50 entrenching tool is particularly mythologised in Russia. Little changed since it was designed in 1869, its continued use as a weapon highlights the brutal and low-tech fighting which has come to characterise much of the war.
One of the reservists described being ‘neither physically nor psychologically’ prepared for the action.
Continue reading...Moscow says details need to be analysed after western leaders say Beijing lacks credibility to act as mediator
Ukraine’s ministry of defence has claimed that overnight its forces shot down 11 Iranian-made Shahed drones. It also confirmed that an officer of Ukraine’s emergency services was killed in Khmelnytskyi.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Continue reading...Russian leader’s comments on state TV channel follow first anniversary of invasion of Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has accused the west of seeking to “dismember” Russia and and to turn the vast country into a series of weak mini-states.
In an interview with the state TV channel Rossiya on Sunday, Putin claimed the US and its Nato allies wanted to “inflict a strategic defeat on us”. The aim, he said, was to “make our people suffer”, adding: “How can we ignore their nuclear capabilities in these conditions?”
Continue reading...Putin makes claim in TV address; mercenary boss and Ukraine make conflicting claims over control of Yahidne village
German defence minister Boris Pistorius on Sunday reacted 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,” he told German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk in an interview.
Continue reading...There are signs Beijing wants a quick political resolution to conflict as its patience with Russia wears thin
Few analysts expected China’s peace plan for Ukraine, which officials trailed all week, to have any concrete measures for solving the crisis. Their suspicions were correct. The position paper published by China’s foreign ministry on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion called for the “sovereignty of all countries” to be respected, without detailing what this meant for Ukraine. In each of the 12 points, the plan reiterated Chinese talking points about the conflict without offering a solution.
The Chinese peace plan is the culmination of a flurry of diplomatic meetings that kicked off at the Munich security conference on 17 February. There Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, presented a bullish front to western officials, denying claims made by Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, that China was on the verge of sending weapons to Russia. Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said such a move would be a “red line” for the bloc. Wang insisted China wanted peace.
Continue reading...‘You’re the frontlines of our collective defense,’ Biden tells Bucharest Nine group of eastern European countries on last day of trip
Joe Biden on Wednesday night condemned as a “big mistake” Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend his country’s participation in the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms control treaty.
The comment came as the US president closed out his wartime visit to Europe, working to shore up partnerships with allies on Nato’s perilous eastern flank – even as Putin was drawing closer to China for help as his invasion of Ukraine neared the year mark.
Continue reading...On eve of Ukraine invasion anniversary Russian leader says China relations ‘proceeding as planned’
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, has met Vladimir Putin in Moscow, as China and Russia reaffirm their close bilateral relationship just days before the first anniversary of the start of the Ukraine war.
In brief televised remarks Wang said China and Russia were ready to deepen their strategic cooperation. Earlier on Wednesday, Wang met Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, where he said he expected to reach a “new consensus” on advancing the relationship between the two allies.
Continue reading...US president delivers speech in Poland on anniversary of Russian invasion of Ukraine after Putin says he will suspend participation in New Start treaty. This live blog is now closed
There have been at least 18,955 civilian casualties since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The OHCHR released the report citing the number of casualties as being 7,199 killed and 11,756 injured, but believes the actual figures are considerably higher.
From 24 February 2022, when the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine started, to 12 February 2023, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 18,955 civilian casualties in the country: 7,199 killed and 11,756 injured.”
The situation is not easy. I have said more than once: every man – and not only a man – should be able to at least handle weapons.
At least in order to protect his family, if needed, his home, his own piece of land and – if necessary – his country.”
Continue reading...Russian president airs grievances against west in speech devoted to first anniversary of Ukraine invasion
Vladimir Putin has said Russia will halt its participation in New Start, the last major remaining nuclear arms control treaty with the US, in a speech devoted to the one-year anniversary of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“They want to inflict a strategic defeat on us and claim our nuclear facilities,” the Russian president said during a speech characterised by grievances against the west. “In this regard, I am forced to state that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty.”
Continue reading...Visit is unwelcome twist for Vladimir Putin as he prepares state of the nation address to mark invasion’s anniversary
The Kremlin has met Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Ukraine with official silence, as analysts and pundits suggested the US leader’s historic trip was an unwelcome twist ahead of a speech by Vladimir Putin and other state events set to mark the anniversary of the full-scale invasion.
Biden’s surprise trip to Ukraine has undercut the Kremlin narrative that the west’s support for Ukraine is waning, with promises of another $500m (£415m) in military aid and fresh sanctions set to be imposed before the end of the week.
Continue reading...In a speech to Munich security conference, UK prime minister says west must not ‘falter in its resolve’. This blog is now closed
The European Union wants to work with its defence industry to increase the supply of ammunition to both Ukraine and the armed forces of its member states, the bloc’s chief has said.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen suggested that the EU’s delivery of the Covid vaccine could serve as a model for how to up production.
Continue reading...Ukraine president tells world leaders in Munich to ‘hurry up’ before Putin gains military advantage
The west needs to speed up its support for Ukraine as Vladimir Putin will gain a military advantage unless arms deliveries arrive soon, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said in a video address to world leaders at a security conference in Munich.
“We need to hurry up. We need speed – speed of our agreements, speed of our delivery … speed of decisions to limit Russian potential,” the Ukrainian president said. “There is no alternative to speed because it is speed that life depends on.”
Continue reading...This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our Russia-Ukraine war coverage here
A poll has revealed that one year after Russia began its war of aggression against Ukraine, 61% of Europeans believe Ukraine will be successful.
PA reports:
One year into the war in Ukraine, 61% of Europeans believe that the country will prevail. Germans, however, are not quite so optimistic, although a 55% majority believes in a Ukrainian victory. These are the findings of the EU-wide survey conducted by eupinions. It is published in cooperation with the Belgian King Baudouin Foundation.
Europeans are not only betting on victory, 68% also see the war of aggression as a matter affecting them all, because it is an attack on the whole of Europe. Most EU citizens polled also see Ukraine in a battle to defend a set of common values that are shared by all European states.
Continue reading...Yevgeny Prigozhin says Moscow’s stated aim of capturing eastern regions unlikely to happen in 2023. This blog is now closed
Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, who headed the country’s negotiating team in the early phases of the conflict, has said “talks are out of the question”.
Podolyak posted to Twitter that Moscow was refusing to withdraw from occupied Ukrainian territories and to admit to “crimes”.
Continue reading...This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our Russia-Ukraine war coverage here
The latest inteligence briefing on the situation in Ukraine from the UK’s Ministry of Defence suggests that “Russian forces have likely made tactical gains in two key sectors” since 7 February. It states:
On the northern outskirts of the Donbas town of Bakhmut, Wagner Group forces have pushed 2-3km further west, controlling countryside near the M-03 main route into the town. Russian forces increasingly dominate the northern approaches to Bakhmut.
To the south, Russian units have made advances around the western edge of the town of Vuhledar, where they re-launched offensive operations in late January 2023.
At 4am, the enemy launched rocket attacks on the city of Kharkiv and the region with S-300 missiles. Critical and infrastructure facilities were targeted. Fires broke out, which the rescuers managed to quickly put out. However, some areas of the city remain without electricity. Specialists are working to eliminate the consequences of the impact. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
Continue reading...Footage thought to show Wagner group fighters beating commander with what appear to be shovels
Warning: video contains footage that some viewers may find distressing
Ukraine has released extraordinary video footage that appears to show Russian fighters dragging their badly wounded commander away from the battlefield, and then beating him violently with what appear to be shovels.
A Ukrainian drone captured the incident near the eastern city of Bakhmut, where intense fighting has been raging for months. Four soldiers from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group carry their colleague through a landscape of ruined houses, holding his arms and legs.
Continue reading...