NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Wednesday that the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut may fall into Russian hands in the coming days after months of intense fighting. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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03:56am: Russian missiles target cities across Ukraine, officials say
Russia unleashed a massive missile barrage on cities across Ukraine early Thursday, targeting energy infrastructure facilities, Ukrainian officials and media said.
Air raid sirens wailed all over Ukraine in the first such missile attack in weeks.
The governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, reported more than 15 strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.
“Objects of critical infrastructure is again in the crosshairs of the occupants,” he said in a Telegram post.
The governor of the southern Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, also reported strikes on Odesa, saying that energy facilities and residential buildings were hit.
Explosions were also reported in cities in Dnieper, Lutsk and Rivne.
10:01pm: US House speaker declines Zelensky's invitation to visit Ukraine
US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he has no plans to visit Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky extended an invitation, CNN reported on Wednesday.
In an interview with CNN set to air on Wednesday, Zelensky asked McCarthy, a Republican, to see the situation in Ukraine firsthand.
"Mr. McCarthy, he has to come here to see how we work, what’s happening here [...] Then after that, make your assumptions," Zelensky said in the CNN interview.
The US has extended nearly $32 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russian troops invaded on February 24, 2022, but some
Republicans have balked at sending more.
Asked about Zelensky's invitation, McCarthy told CNN he did not need to travel to the country and would get information in other ways.
"I will continue to get my briefings and others, but I don’t have to go to Ukraine or Kyiv to see it," he told the television network.
9:02pm: Zelensky calls for 'democratic success' in Georgia amid protests
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called for "democratic success" in Georgia where thousands of protesters rallied against a controversial "foreign agent" bill reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics.
"There is no Ukrainian who would not wish success to our friendly Georgia. Democratic success. European success," Zelensky said in his evening address to the nation.
7:21pm: Germany cautious over Nord Stream pipeline attack reports
Germany’s defence minister voiced caution Wednesday over media reports that a pro-Ukraine group was involved in blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last year.
German daily newspaper Die Zeit and public broadcasters ARD and SWR reported Tuesday that investigators were able to largely reconstruct how the pipelines from Russia to Germany were sabotaged on the night of September 26, 2022.
Citing multiple unnamed officials, the news outlets reported that five men and a woman used a yacht hired by a Ukrainian-owned company in Poland to carry out the attack. German federal prosecutors confirmed that a boat was searched in January.
The New York Times also reported Tuesday that US officials reviewed intelligence that suggested a pro-Ukrainian group was behind the blasts. The Ukrainian government has denied involvement.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he read the news reports “with great interest” but warned against drawing hasty conclusions.
“We need to clearly differentiate whether it was a Ukrainian group that acted on the orders of Ukraine or ... without the government's knowledge,” he told reporters in Stockholm.
5:38pm: Russia won't make major gains in Ukraine in 2023, US intelligence chief says
Russia's military is likely unable to sustain its current level of fighting in Ukraine and probably won't capture significantly more territory this year, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said Wednesday.
After major setbacks and large battlefield losses, "We do not foresee the Russian military recovering enough this year to make major territorial gains," Haines told a Senate hearing.
Nevertheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin "most likely calculates that time works in his favor", Haines said.
Putin likely believes that prolonging the war, with intermittent pauses in fighting, "may be his best remaining pathway to eventually securing Russian strategic interests in Ukraine, even if it takes years", she said.
4:32pm: UK opens military base in northern Norway amid Ukraine war
The UK on Wednesday announced the opening of a military base in the far north of Norway to strengthen NATO's capabilities in the Arctic amid concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The newly established Norwegian site, called Camp Viking, will serve as a hub for Royal Marines Commandos, said Britain's Royal Navy.
It described the troops as "the tip of the Arctic spear" and "the unit the UK turns to when it needs troops able to fight in cold weather extremes.
"A new Arctic operations base will support Britain's commandos for the next 10 years as the UK underscores its commitment to security in the High North," the statement added.
4:17pm: China will continue co-operation with Russia, US intelligence agencies say
China will maintain its cooperation with Russia as part of its attempt to challenge US hegemony, despite international concerns about the invasion of Ukraine, US intelligence agencies said on Wednesday.
"Despite global backlash over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China will maintain its diplomatic, defense, economic, and technology cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States, even as it will limit public support," they said in a report tied to the Senate Intelligence Committee's annual hearing on worldwide threats to US security.
The report largely focused on threats from China and Russia, assessing that China will continue using its military and other assets to intimate rivals in the South China Sea and that it will build on actions from 2022, which could include more Taiwan Strait crossings or missile overflights of Taiwan.
The report said Russia probably does not seek conflict with the United States and NATO, but the war in Ukraine carries "great risk" of that happening, and that there is "real potential" for Russia's military failures in Ukraine to hurt Russian President Vladimir Putin's domestic standing, raising the potential for escalation.
2:55pm: Wagner Group chief claims more gains in Bakhmut
The owner of Russia's Wagner Group military contractor claimed Wednesday that his troops have extended their gains in the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut, but it remained unclear how long the grinding fight that has exacted heavy losses might continue.
The battle for the city the Ukrainians have dubbed “fortress Bakhmut” has become emblematic of the way each side has tried to wear down the other. Russian forces must go through Bakhmut in order to push deeper into the areas in Donetsk province they don't yet control, but Western officials say that capturing the city won't change the course of the war.
Bakhmut has been the focus of much of the fighting in recent months, as each side hopes it can inflict severe damage on other there – while buying time to prepare offensives elsewhere. It's not clear which country has paid a higher price in the battle that has lasted six months and reduced the city with a prewar population of more than 70,000 to a smoldering wasteland.
2:45pm: Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska visits UAE
Ukraine's first lady on Wednesday offered spirited support to her nation's people while visiting the United Arab Emirates, a country that still remains open to Russia despite Western sanctions.
Olena Zelenska described her role and that of other first ladies and gentlemen in the world as a real power while speaking before a packed ballroom on International Women's Day. She also applauded the work of the average Ukrainian amid the ongoing war.
“We are a force and we can continue to change the world,” Zelenska said at the Forbes 30/50 Summit via a translator.
2:35pm: Ukraine, UN's Guterres call for Black Sea grain deal extension
Ukraine's president and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Wednesday for the extension of a deal with Moscow that has allowed Kyiv to export grain via Black Sea ports during Russia's invasion.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said after talks with Guterres in Kyiv that the Black Sea Grain Initiative was necessary for the world. Guterres underlined the importance of the deal to global food security and food prices.
The 120-day deal, initially brokered by the UN and Turkey in July and extended in November, will be renewed on March 18 if no party objects. Russia has signalled that obstacles to its own agricultural exports need to be removed before it lets the deal continue.
2:01pm: Russia's demands not yet met for renewal of grain deal, says Turkish source
Russia's demands for the extension of a deal that allows the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea have not yet been met, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Wednesday, adding that Ankara is "working very hard" to ensure the deal continues.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports. It was extended in November and until March 18 and will expire unless another extension is agreed.
Russia signalled that obstacles to its own agricultural exports needed to be removed before it let the Ukraine's Black Sea deal continue.
"Turkey is working very hard for the extension of the Black Sea grain deal, negotiations are still going on," a Turkish diplomatic source said.
"Russia's concerns, or the rather the difficulties that it is facing, have not been overcome yet. But Turkey is doing its part for an agreement between all parties," the source added.
1:16pm: Bakhmut may fall 'in coming days', says NATO chief
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Wednesday that the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut may fall into Russian hands in the coming days following months of intense fighting.
"What we see is that Russia is throwing more troops, more forces and what Russia lacks in quality they try to make up in quantity," Stoltenberg told reporters in Stockholm on the sidelines of a meeting of EU defence ministers.
"They have suffered big losses, but at the same time, we cannot rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days."
The head of the Western military alliance, which backs Ukraine, insisted: "It is also important to highlight that this does not necessarily reflect any turning point of the war."
12:45pm: EU court halts sanctions against Wagner chief's mother
A European court on Wednesday cancelled EU sanctions imposed on Violetta Prigozhina, the mother of Russian paramilitary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, ruling that Brussels had not proved she was linked to her son's actions in Ukraine.
In a statement, the EU General Court said even if Prigozhin was responsible for illegal acts in Ukraine, the evidence presented against his mother when the sanctions were applied last year was insufficient.
12:07pm: Ukraine urges EU ministers to back joint ammunition buying plan
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov urged his European Union counterparts on Wednesday to support a plan to buy 1 million artillery shells to help Kyiv fight Russia's invasion and replenish their own stocks.
Speaking to reporters just before meeting the ministers in Stockholm, Reznikov said Ukraine urgently needed the shells to defend against Russian forces and launch a counter-offensive.
He said he supported a proposal by Estonia for EU countries to group together to buy 1 million 155-millimetre shells for Ukraine this year at a cost of 4 billion euros ($4.22 billion). He said Ukraine wanted 90,000 to 100,000 artillery rounds per month.
"We need to move forward as soon as possible," Reznikov said, standing alongside Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur.
A massive joint munitions-buying effort would be a landmark step for the EU as defence procurement has largely been in the hands of the bloc's individual member governments. While there appears to be broad support among the EU's governments and institutions for a joint procurement project, they have yet to agree on how big it should be, how it should work, how much it should cost or how to pay for it.
11:58am: German prosecutors searched ship over Nord Stream blast suspicions
German investigators probing the Nord Stream gas pipeline blasts searched a ship suspected of having transported explosives used in the incident, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
The searches took place from January 18 to 20 over the "suspicion that the ship in question could have been used to transport explosive devices that exploded on 26 September 2022 at the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea", they said.
Investigators are still trying to determine the identity of the perpetrators and their motive, they added.
10:08am: UN believes video of Ukrainian soldier's killing 'may be authentic'
The UN Human Rights Office said Wednesday it believes that a viral video showing what it called the apparent execution of a captured soldier after saying "Glory to Ukraine" may be authentic.
"We are aware of this video posted on social media that shows a Ukrainian soldier hors de combat apparently being executed by Russian armed forces. Based on a preliminary examination, we believe that the video may be authentic," a spokeswoman told AFP.
"Since Russia's armed attack on Ukraine over a year ago, the UN Human Rights Office has documented numerous violations of international humanitarian law against prisoners of war, including cases of summary execution of both Russian and Ukrainian POWs," she said.
"Impartial and effective investigations must be carried out into all these allegations and those responsible held to account."
9:44am: Nord Stream sabotage 'not our activity', says Ukraine defence minister
The Ukrainian government was not involved in the sabotage last year of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, the country's defence minister said Wednesday.
"This is not our activity," Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told reporters in Stockholm ahead of a meeting with EU defence ministers, in response to a report in The New York Times on Tuesday that US officials had seen new intelligence indicating a "pro-Ukrainian group" was responsible for the sabotage.
9:27am: EU needs to prioritise existing funds for buying Ukraine shells, Borrell says
Existing European funds will need to be prioritised for procuring ammunition for Ukraine before any decision on fresh funds can be expected, the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.
"The first thing to do is to use what we have. If member states are ready to provide more, I will be happy. But today let's be realistic and pragmatic, and discuss about the things that can be adopted today," Borrell said before a meeting with EU defence ministers in Stockholm.
9:22am: Zelensky's statement that fall of Bakhmut gives Russia 'open road' into rest of Ukraine 'very strange'
FRANCE 24's Ukraine corresponent Gulliver Cragg says that Zelensky’s words about the fall of Bakhmut giving Russia an "open road" into the rest of Ukraine are “very strange”, given the terrain and the "very strong defences" the Ukrainians have put in place outside the city.
"The Ukrainians have dug trenches that are almost like rivers, I’ve seen it for myself in recent days driving around the area,” said Cragg, who is currently positioned about 25km outside Bakhmut.
“The Russians are proudly claiming control of the eastern side of the Bakhmutka river – that was a statement from Yevgheny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group. (…) If you look at the map, you realise that the eastern side of the Bakhmutka river is very much the smaller part of the city centre of Bakhmut. So we can take that to mean that the Ukrainians are still in control of the larger part of the city centre, and that also chimes with what soldiers were telling me," Cragg added.
"The Russian forces don’t really seem to have made any significant advances since last Thursday, actually,” said Cragg.
8:15am: Seoul approved Poland's export of howitzers with S. Korean parts to Ukraine, official says
South Korea's government approved export licenses for Poland last year to provide Ukraine with Krab howitzers, which are built with South Korean components, a defence acquisition official in Seoul told Reuters on Wednesday.
The comments are the first confirmation that South Korea officially acquiesced to at least indirectly providing weapons components to Ukraine for its war against Russia.
Seoul officials have previously declined to comment on the Krabs, fuelling speculation over whether South Korea had formally agreed or was simply looking the other way.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration's (DAPA) technology control bureau reviewed and approved the transfer of the howitzer's South Korean-made chassis, said Kim Hyoung-cheol, director of the Europe-Asia division of the International Cooperation Bureau.
He later stressed that the government's stance is to not transfer weapons systems to Ukraine.
6:57am: EU defence chiefs to discuss arming Ukraine as Bakhmut fighting rages
EU defence ministers were preparing to meet Wednesday to discuss a plan to rush one billion euros of ammunition to Ukraine as pressure mounts on Kyiv's allies to boost supplies to its war effort.
Ukraine's critical shortage of ammunition will top the agenda at the meeting in Stockholm, where European leaders will try to replenish the thousands of 155-millimetre howitzer shells Kyiv's forces are firing each day in its fight against a grinding Russian offensive.
7:48am: Berlin warns against hasty accusations following Nord Stream reports
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warned against premature accusations on Wednesday after a media report said intelligence reviewed by US officials indicated that a pro-Ukrainian group was behind last year's attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines.
"It may just as well have been a false flag operation staged to blame Ukraine, an option brought up in the media reports as well," Pistorius told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk in an interview.
"The likelihood for one or the other is equally high," he added. Pistorius was speaking in Stockholm where EU defence ministers are meeting.
6:19am: Prigozhin says Wagner controls all of eastern part of Bakhmut
The Wagner group of mercenaries has taken full control of the eastern part of Bakhmut, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Wednesday.
"Units of the private military company Wagner have taken control of the eastern part of Bakhmut," Prigozhin said in a voice recording on the Telegram messaging platform of his press service.
"Everything east of the Bakhmutka River is completely under the control of Wagner."
FRANCE 24 was not able to independently verify the report.
Prigozhin has issued premature success claims before.
5:35am: Kremlin says reports on Nord Stream attack "coordinated" effort to divert attention
Media reports on the Nord Stream pipelines attacks are a coordinated effort to divert attention and the Kremlin is perplexed how US officials can assume anything about the attacks without investigation, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
"Obviously, the authors of the attack want to divert attention. Obviously, this is a coordinated stuffing in the media," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state RIA news agency. "How can American officials assume anything without an investigation?"
Peskov also said that Nord Stream shareholder countries should insist on an urgent, transparent investigation.
"We are still not allowed in the investigation. Only a few days ago we received notes about this from the Danes and Swedes," Peskov said. "This is not just strange. It smells like a monstrous crime."
4:33am: US intelligence sees 'pro-Ukraine group' behind Nord Stream sabotage, says media report
US officials have seen new intelligence that indicates a "pro-Ukrainian group" was responsible for the sabotage last year of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, the New York Times reported Tuesday, claims dismissed by a senior Ukrainian official.
In a cautious report that did not identify the source of the intelligence or the group involved, the Times said the US officials had no evidence implicating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the pipeline bombing.
But the attack benefitted Ukraine by severely damaging Russia's ability to reap millions by selling natural gas to Western Europe.
At the same time, it added to the pressure of high energy prices on key Ukrainian allies, particularly Germany.
"Ukraine has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no information about 'pro-Ukraine sabotage groups'," presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on Tuesday.
US officials had no indication of who exactly took part or who organised and paid for the operation, which would have required skilled divers and explosives experts.
4:26am: Russia vows to capture Bakhmut, push further into Ukraine
The battle for Bakhmut has been the longest and bloodiest in Russia's more than year-long invasion that has devastated swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions.
Russia has appeared intent to capture it at all costs.
"Capturing (Bakhmut) will allow for further offensive operations deep into the defence lines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told military officials during a televised meeting on Tuesday.
4:20am: Swiss president opposes arms exports to Ukraine, citing neutrality
Switzerland remains opposed to exporting arms to war-torn Ukraine, the famously neutral country's President Alain Berset said Tuesday on the sidelines of meetings at the United Nations.
Switzerland bars re-export of Swiss weaponry to nations at war, but the issue of the country's long tradition of neutrality has been under debate since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine just over a year ago.
Read more: War in Ukraine tests long-standing neutrality of some European nations
"The discussion about the export of arms, weapons ... while we have (our) legal framework in Switzerland, it is not possible to do it," Berset, who currently holds the country's rotating one-year presidency, told reporters on the margins of UN meetings on women's rights. "For the government and for the Federal Council, we have to, and we want to, maintain this legal framework and to work in this legal framework."
His comments came after Berlin requested in late February that German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall be permitted to acquire old Swiss Leopard tanks, guaranteeing they will not be transferred to Ukraine.
While the wealthy Alpine country, which is not a member of the European Union, has followed the bloc's lead on sanctions targeting Moscow, it has so far shown less flexibility on its military neutrality.
4:05am: Russia would get 'open road' into Ukraine if Bakhmut falls, says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian army would have an "open road" into eastern Ukraine if it captures the besieged city of Bakhmut, US media reported Tuesday.
"We understand that after Bakhmut they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, it would be open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine, in the Donetsk direction," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an interview due to broadcast in the United States on Wednesday.
The Russian army has vowed to capture Ukraine's eastern town of Bakhmut, a symbolic prize in months of fierce combat, as a precursor for offensives deeper into Ukraine.
1:25am: Macron and Biden spoke about the situation in Ukraine, says the Élysée Palace
French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation in Ukraine and how to restore peace in Europe with his US counterpart President Joe Biden, the Élysée Palace announced on Wednesday.
Macron and Biden also spoke about the situation in the Asia-Pacific region and in Iran, according to the Élysée.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
