Closing summary
It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Russian forces are mounting “round-the-clock” attacks on Ukrainian positions in the east of the country, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said. “The enemy’s offensive continues in the east, (with) round-the-clock attacks. The situation is tense. Yes, it is difficult for us,” Maliar posted to Telegram. The situation in Luhansk remains difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said earlier on Wednesday, without mentioning any retreats in eastern Ukraine.
Russia is sending heavy equipment and mobilised troops into the Luhansk region but Ukrainian forces continue to defend the eastern Ukrainian region, its governor, Serhiy Haidai, has said. The Russian defence ministry claimed earlier its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front of Luhansk. It said Ukrainian troops had retreated in the face of Russian attacks, but did not say in which part of the region. Haidai said Russia’s claims that Ukrainian troops had pulled back “does not correspond to reality”.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted that his mercenary group is facing difficulties in Ukraine and will soon “decrease” in size. “The number of Wagner units will decrease, and we will also not be able to carry out the scope of tasks that we would like to,” Prigozhin said, amid growing evidence that his political influence in the Kremlin is waning.
Six aerial targets were spotted over Kyiv during an air alert in the Ukrainian capital, and most were shot down after being engaged with air defences, according to the Kyiv military administration. In a Telegram post, it said the six Russian balloons may have been carrying corner reflectors and reconnaissance equipment. It did not specify when they flew over the capital.
Ukraine’s allies have said it is unlikely they will be able to supply the number of tanks they previously promised. After a meeting in Brussels of western defence ministers, the German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said they would not be able reach the size of a battalion. The bad news comes just after the Nato chief, Jens Stoltenberg, announced that Russia had begun a renewed offensive in the east in an attempt to take more territory before new western equipment arrives in the spring.
Nato countries are increasing the production of 155mm artillery rounds and need to ramp up that production even further to help Ukraine, Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has said. Speaking at a news conference after a meeting of defence ministers at the military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Stoltenberg said allies have not reached conclusions on a new pledge for defence spending, but it was “obvious that we need to spend more”.
The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said Ukraine has a “real good chance” of taking the initiative on the battlefield. Speaking after a meeting with Nato defence ministers in Brussels, Austin said that for every system that Nato will provide, it will train troops on that system. “We’re laser-focused on making sure that we provide a capability and not just the platform,” he said.
Russia’s army is estimated to have lost nearly 40% of its prewar fleet of tanks after nine months of fighting in Ukraine, according to a count by the specialist thinktank the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). That rises to as much as 50% for some of the key tanks used in combat, forcing Russia to reach into its still sizeable cold war-era stocks. Ukraine’s tank numbers are estimated to have increased because of the number it has captured and supplies of Soviet-era tanks from its western allies.
Ukraine will receive a package of support worth £200m from the UK and other European nations for military equipment, including spare parts for tanks and artillery ammunition, the British government has announced. Britain has agreed with the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Lithuania to send an initial package of support to Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The European Commission has called for a ban on the export of vital technology to Russia worth €11bn to further weaken the Kremlin’s war effort, cementing what EU officials have called the bloc’s toughest-ever sanctions. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was targeting industrial goods that Russia needs, such as electronic components for drones and helicopters; spare parts for trucks and jet engines; and construction equipment such as antennas or cranes that could be turned to military uses.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has welcomed Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson in Kyiv. Zelenskiy praised Sweden’s assistance, saying: “Archer is one of the best artillery pieces in the world. Sweden is a top five supplier of support to Ukraine and I thank Sweden for that support.” Kristersson did not rule out sending Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets, but cautioned that the west’s response had to be coordinated.
The Netherlands has said it has not changed its stance on the possible delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, following a report that it had rolled back on its support. The Dutch do not own any of the tanks, but lease 18 from Germany. Prime minister Mark Rutte last month said his country was willing to deliver those to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has said that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked him to remain in his current post, after a corruption scandal beset his ministry and put his role in doubt. Asked whether he expected to continue as defence minister in the months to come, Reznikov replied: “Yes, it was the decision of my president.”
A British national who was killed in Ukraine has been named by family and friends as Jonathan Shenkin. Shenkin, 45, from Glasgow, “died as a hero in an act of bravery as a paramedic”, his family wrote in a tribute on social media. He is the eighth Briton to be killed in Ukraine since the conflict began nearly a year ago.
At least 6,000 children from Ukraine have attended Russian “re-education” camps in the past year, according to a new report published in the US. Since the start of the war nearly a year ago, children as young as four months living in the occupied areas have been taken to 43 camps across Russia, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab report found. Russia has also unnecessarily expedited the adoption and fostering of children from Ukraine in what could constitute a war crime, it said.
Switzerland has said the seizing of private Russian assets would undermine the country’s constitution. In a statement, the Swiss government said “the expropriation of private assets of lawful origin without compensation is not permissible under Swiss law”.
Journalist Maria Ponomarenko has been sentenced to six years in prison in Russia for “distributing false information about the Russian army” after she posted on social media about the attack on the drama theatre in Mariupol. She has also been banned from journalism for five years.
The UN’s humanitarian aid and refugee agencies said Wednesday they are seeking $5.6bn (£4.6bn) to help millions of people in Ukraine and countries that have taken in fleeing Ukrainians since Russia’s invasion of their country nearly a year ago. The bulk of the joint appeal is for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which aims to help more than 11 million people by funnelling funds through more than 650 partner organisations.
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war live blog today. I’ll be back tomorrow. Thank you.
Wagner mercenary group will ‘decrease’ as prisoner recruitment ends, says boss
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted that his mercenary group is facing difficulties in Ukraine and will soon “decrease” in size, amid growing evidence that his political influence in the Kremlin is waning.
“The number of Wagner units will decrease, and we will also not be able to carry out the scope of tasks that we would like to,” Prigozhin told a group of pro-war bloggers and state journalists gathered at an army barracks in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday.
You have all heard that the recruitment of prisoners to our ranks has stopped.
Prigozhin’s comments followed a recent announcement that the mercenary group will no longer recruit prisoners to fight in the war, ending a months-long campaign in which Wagner signed up about 40,000 convicts from Russian prisons. The businessman has offered no explanation for declaring an end to the recruitment drive, but observers say the move is part of a growing backlash against him from the Russian security services.
Prigozhin, a catering magnate who last year admitted to founding the Wagner group after years of obfuscation, has assumed an increasingly prominent role in the war, while his troops are engaged in some of Russia’s most gruelling battles in eastern Ukraine.
Updated
Earlier we reported that six aerial targets were spotted over Kyiv during the latest air alert, and that most were shot down after being engaged with air defences, according to the Kyiv military administration.
In a Telegram post, it said the six Russian balloons may have been carrying corner reflectors and reconnaissance equipment. It did not specify when they flew over the capital.
It said:
According to information that is now being clarified, these were balloons that move in the air under the propulsion of wind. The purpose of launching the balloons was possibly to detect and exhaust our air defences.
Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat confirmed that air raid sirens had blared in Kyiv because of balloons flying overhead.
In a televised interview, Ihnat said:
They use them [balloons] as false targets, they want air defence to work against them. They need to deplete our air defence both in ammunition and to distract our attention.
It has not been possible to independently verify these claims.
Ukraine ‘inflicting very serious losses’ as Russia mounts constant attacks in east, says Ukrainiain official
Russian forces are mounting “round-the-clock” attacks on Ukrainian positions in the east of the country, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said.
The Russian defence ministry claimed earlier its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front of Luhansk. It said Ukrainian troops had retreated in the face of Russian attacks, but did not say in which part of the region.
In a post to Telegram, Maliar said:
The enemy’s offensive continues in the east, (with) round-the-clock attacks. The situation is tense. Yes, it is difficult for us.
But our fighters are not allowing the enemy to achieve their goals and are inflicting very serious losses.
Ukrainian and western intelligence officials have said the Russians are suffering very heavy casualties. Maliar said some assault units of Russia’s mercenary group Wagner had lost 80% of their strength.
Updated
Ukraine’s allies have said it is unlikely they will be able to supply the number of tanks they previously promised. After a meeting in Brussels of western defence ministers, the German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said they would not be able reach the size of a battalion.
A standard Ukrainian tank battalion comprises 31 tanks. Poland had offered to give 30 German-made tanks but many of them are in poor condition and need repairs before they can be deployed, said Pistorius, whose government had pledged 14. Portugal has promised an additional three tanks.
Ukraine’s allies agreed to supply tanks after much debate. Ukraine has argued that it cannot win without them.
The bad news comes just after the Nato chief, Jens Stoltenberg, announced that Russia had begun a renewed offensive in the east in an attempt to take more territory before new western equipment arrives in the spring. Stoltenberg described the situation as a “race against logistics”.
The fighting in eastern Ukraine has increased in its intensity over the last week or so, particularly in the Ukrainian-controlled town of Bakhmut. Russian forces now almost surround the town.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, described the defence of Bakhmut as “a wall of living people” on Wednesday. He insisted there was no plan to retreat as the soldiers’ efforts were helping Ukraine prepare for its counter-offensive by “destroying the enemy to the maximum”.
Updated
Amnesty International has condemned today’s sentencing of the Russian journalist Maria Ponomarenko to six years in a penal colony for posting on social media about a deadly attack by Russian forces on a drama theatre in Ukraine.
A court in Barnaul in Siberia found Ponomarenko guilty of spreading “fake news”, under laws introduced aimed at stifling dissent about the invasion of Ukraine. She has also been banned from journalism for five years.
Ponomarenko was arrested in April for posting about the Russian bombing of a theatre in southern Ukraine’s Mariupol last year. The Kremlin has denied responsibility for the airstrike, which killed hundreds of civilians.
Her sentence “shows that in Russia telling the truth, denouncing a war crime and demanding justice for the killing of civilians has itself become a grave offence punishable by many years in prison”, the rights group Amnesty said.
Her sentence is yet another example of injustice and the cynicism of the authorities in Russia, which are disturbingly routine. The authorities are trying to lock up all those who disagree with them and intimidate others to stay silent and look the other way rather than risk years behind bars.
Updated
British national killed in Ukraine named by family as Jonathan Shenkin
A British national who was killed in Ukraine has been named by family and friends as Jonathan Shenkin.
Shenkin, 45, from Glasgow, “died as a hero in an act of bravery as a paramedic”, his family wrote in a tribute on social media. He is the eighth Briton to be killed in Ukraine since the conflict began nearly a year ago.
In a post on Facebook, Shenkin’s family said he died in Ukraine in December. They said:
On enlisting in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he made the ultimate sacrifice to defend values we all believe in. He is survived by his son and daughter, to whom he was devoted.
Born and raised in Glasgow, Shenkin lived in London and Malta before joining the Israeli army. His family say he ran his own security business and worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, Oman, Somalia, Angola, the Philippines and South Korea.
A spokesperson from the UK’s foreign office said:
We are supporting the family of a British national who died in Ukraine, and are in contact with the local authorities.
Updated
Germany’s ammunition stocks for Gepard battle systems, which are being used in Ukraine, are “highly sufficient”, defence minister Boris Pistorius has said.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Pistorius said ammunition stocks for German-made Gepard systems “should suffice until the summer”.
The minister’s remarks came a day after he said Germany had signed contracts with Rheinmetall to restart the production of ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft guns it has delivered to Kyiv.
Germany has been trying for months to find new munitions for the Gepard anti-aircraft guns, which its own military had decommissioned in 2010.
Updated
The Netherlands has said it has not changed its stance on the possible delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, following a report that it had rolled back on its support.
The Dutch do not own any of the tanks, but lease 18 from Germany. Prime minister Mark Rutte last month said his country was willing to deliver those to Ukraine.
But a report in the German newspaper Die Welt earlier today, citing sources, said the governments of the Netherlands and Denmark had decided not to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
“The Netherlands doesn’t own tanks,” spokesperson Sascha Louwhoff told Reuters. She added:
With Germany, it was decided that tanks from another battalion would be better suited to deliver to Ukraine. If Germany would have decided to send tanks from our bi-national battalion we would not have opposed this. Nor will we oppose if they decide to send them at a later moment.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Russia is sending heavy equipment and mobilised troops into the Luhansk region but Ukrainian forces continue to defend the eastern Ukrainian region, its governor, Serhiy Haidai, has said. The Russian defence ministry claimed earlier its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front of Luhansk. It said Ukrainian troops had retreated in the face of Russian attacks, but did not say in which part of the region. Haidai said Russia’s claims that Ukrainian troops had pulled back “does not correspond to reality”.
The situation in Luhansk remains difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said on Wednesday, without mentioning any retreats in eastern Ukraine.
Nato countries are increasing the production of 155mm artillery rounds and need to ramp up that production even further to help Ukraine, Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has said. Speaking at a news conference after a meeting of defence ministers at the military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Stoltenberg said allies have not reached conclusions on a new pledge for defence spending, but it was “obvious that we need to spend more”.
The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said Ukraine has a “real good chance” of taking the initiative on the battlefield. Speaking after a meeting with Nato defence ministers in Brussels, Austin said that for every system that Nato will provide, it will train troops on that system. “We’re laser-focused on making sure that we provide a capability and not just the platform,” he said.
Russia’s army is estimated to have lost nearly 40% of its prewar fleet of tanks after nine months of fighting in Ukraine, according to a count by the specialist thinktank the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). That rises to as much as 50% for some of the key tanks used in combat, forcing Russia to reach into its still sizeable cold war-era stocks. Ukraine’s tank numbers are estimated to have increased because of the number it has captured and supplies of Soviet-era tanks from its western allies.
Ukraine will receive a package of support worth £200m from the UK and other European nations for military equipment, including spare parts for tanks and artillery ammunition, the British government has announced. Britain has agreed with the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Lithuania to send an initial package of support to Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The European Commission has called for a ban on the export of vital technology to Russia worth €11bn to further weaken the Kremlin’s war effort, cementing what EU officials have called the bloc’s toughest-ever sanctions. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was targeting industrial goods that Russia needs, such as electronic components for drones and helicopters; spare parts for trucks and jet engines; and construction equipment such as antennas or cranes that could be turned to military uses.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has welcomed Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson in Kyiv. Zelenskiy praised Sweden’s assistance, saying: “Archer is one of the best artillery pieces in the world. Sweden is a top five supplier of support to Ukraine and I thank Sweden for that support.” Kristersson did not rule out sending Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets, but cautioned that the west’s response had to be coordinated.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has said that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked him to remain in his current post, after a corruption scandal beset his ministry and put his role in doubt. Asked whether he expected to continue as defence minister in the months to come, Reznikov replied: “Yes, it was the decision of my president.”
A British national has died in Ukraine, the government has announced, becoming the eighth Briton to be killed there since the conflict began nearly a year ago. The identity of the individual has not yet been made public, but their family has been informed. The deceased person is a man, according to the BBC.
At least 6,000 children from Ukraine have attended Russian “re-education” camps in the past year, according to a new report published in the US. Since the start of the war nearly a year ago, children as young as four months living in the occupied areas have been taken to 43 camps across Russia, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab report found. Russia has also unnecessarily expedited the adoption and fostering of children from Ukraine in what could constitute a war crime, it said.
Switzerland has said the seizing of private Russian assets would undermine the country’s constitution. In a statement, the Swiss government said “the expropriation of private assets of lawful origin without compensation is not permissible under Swiss law”.
Journalist Maria Ponomarenko has been sentenced to six years in prison in Russia for “distributing false information about the Russian army” after she posted on social media about the attack on the drama theatre in Mariupol. She has also been banned from journalism for five years.
The UN’s humanitarian aid and refugee agencies said Wednesday they are seeking $5.6bn (£4.6bn) to help millions of people in Ukraine and countries that have taken in fleeing Ukrainians since Russia’s invasion of their country nearly a year ago. The bulk of the joint appeal is for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which aims to help more than 11 million people by funnelling funds through more than 650 partner organisations.
Good afternoon from London, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong here with all the latest developments from the Russia-Ukraine war. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
Updated
The US is looking at imposing sanctions on more banks with links to Russia, according to a senior US official.
James O’Brien, head of the US state department’s office of sanctions coordination, told Reuters:
We have immobilised about 80% of the assets in the Russian banking sector. We are looking at additional banks and financial institutions to see how Russia deals with the outside world. It is very possible that there will be more action.
His comments came as western allies seek to agree on a new raft of sanctions for the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Soon after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, the west blocked several Russian banks’ access to the international SWIFT payments system, with Sberbank and VTB forced to shutter operations across much of Europe.
But some European banks, including UniCredit and Raiffeisen Bank International, have large businesses in Russia. Gazprombank, the financial arm of Russian gas exporter Gazprom, has escaped harsh sanctions partly because it handles payments for energy.
The European Commission has proposed EU countries should cut four more Russian banks from the SWIFT system, two EU diplomatic sources said. According to two sources, additional financial sanctions were possible but efforts to target Russia’s nuclear sector were unlikely to succeed.
The US will also step up enforcement against any banks dodging existing rules, O’Brien added, saying:
We are always looking to see which companies and parties could benefit from financial transactions linked to Russia.
Updated
Swedish PM in Kyiv to meet Zelenskiy
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has welcomed Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson in Kyiv, and the two have given a joint press conference.
Zelenskiy praised Sweden’s assistance, saying “I thank Sweden for the defence package. Archer is one of the best artillery pieces in the world. Sweden is a top five supplier of support to Ukraine and I thank Sweden for that support. It is a clear message about how Sweden views human rights.”
At a press conference in Ukraine’s capital, Aftonbladet reports that Kristersson did not rule out sending Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets to aid in the war effort, but cautioned that the west’s response had to be coordinated. It quotes him saying:
We are not ruling anything out, but this is not the time for it. We need an international coalition to take more steps. I fully understand Ukraine’s point of view that we should not take too long. It is an ongoing process.
Sweden has applied to join Nato together with Finland and that puts us in a difficult situation. We are careful with our own defence. We must help Ukraine in a way that does not make it difficult for us to defend ourselves.
The Swedish PM also stressed it had been important to visit, saying “I am here to demonstrate Sweden’s steadfast support for Ukraine. It was important to come here and see the terrible Russian destruction with my own eyes. I have done that today.”
Ukraine’s state broadcaster reports that six aerial targets were recorded over Kyiv during the latest air alert, and that most were shot down. Citing the city’s administration it reported:
In the airspace of Kyiv during the alert, about six aerial targets were recorded, most of them were shot down by air defense systems.
According to unconfirmed information, these were balloons that could carry corner reflectors and reconnaissance equipment. Perhaps they were launched to detect and wear out anti-aircraft defences, the Kyiv city military administration said.
The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell has posted a clip of him speaking at the European parliament earlier today, with the accompanying message:
Russia’s invasion has been a wake-up call and highlighted the importance of our common security and defence policy. The EU has reacted strongly and we will continue to support Ukraine. Ukraine must win the war so it can win the peace.
Russia's invasion has been a wake-up call and highlighted the importance of our common security and defence policy.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) February 15, 2023
The EU has reacted strongly and we will continue to support Ukraine. Ukraine must win the war so it can win the peace.@Europarl_ENhttps://t.co/8AeXwCOwrN pic.twitter.com/UiXWBgzl5q
Russian army has lost up to half of key battle tanks, analysts estimate
Defence and security editor Dan Sabbagh reports:
Russia’s army is estimated to have lost nearly 40% of its prewar fleet of tanks after nine months of fighting in Ukraine, according to a count by the specialist thinktank the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS).
That rises to as much as 50% for some of the key tanks used in combat, forcing Russia to reach into its still sizeable cold war-era stocks. Ukraine’s tank numbers are estimated to have increased because of the number it has captured and supplies of Soviet-era tanks from its western allies.
John Chipman, the thinktank’s chair, said the war had been “a political and military failure for Russia” highlighting shortcomings in leadership and deficiencies in its munitions, despite Kremlin modernisation efforts.
“Russia’s actions over the past year have raised questions not only over the competence of its military and senior military leadership, but also over command cohesion,” he added, launching the IISS’s annual Military Balance audit of the world’s armed forces.
The thinktank’s figures are based largely on open source images from drones, satellites and on the battlefield, running from the beginning of the war to the end of November, although the conflict means numbers can only be estimated.
Its headline count is that Russia’s number of tanks in its army have dropped by 38% from 2,927 to 1,800, while there have been particularly heavy losses of its workhorse T-72B3, an upgrade first delivered its army in 2013.
Read more here: Russian army has lost up to half of key battle tanks, analysts estimate
The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said on Wednesday that Ukraine has a “real good chance” of taking the initiative on the battlefield.
“I think they’ll have a real good chance of making a pretty significant difference on the battlefield and establishing the initiative. And being able to exploit that initiative going forward”, Reuters reports he told the media after a meeting with Nato defence ministers in Brussels.
He also said that for every system that Nato will provide, it will train troops on that system. “We’re laser-focused on making sure that we provide a capability and not just the platform”, he said.
Updated
The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, has urged countries to join Germany in sending tanks to Ukraine, after media reports that Denmark and the Netherlands rolled on a decision to deliver Leopard 2 battle tanks to Kyiv.
Speaking to Germany’s Phoenix broadcaster, Borrell, who is the EU’s foreign policy chief, said:
Countries must deliver as many tanks as possible and as quickly as possible. It would be very disappointing if, after so long of pointing the finger at Germany for not doing anything, these countries now don’t follow suit.
Ukraine’s air defence systems have been activated over Kyiv after Russian attacks were detected, according to local authorities.
“An enemy air target was detected in the skies over Kyiv city,” the Kyiv city military administration posted to Telegram.
The administration urged all residents across the region to remain calm and in shelters.
Air raid in #Kyiv and #Cherkasy regions. pic.twitter.com/qKjnBidrOl
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 15, 2023
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has said that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked him to remain in his current post, after a corruption scandal beset his ministry and put his role in doubt.
Asked whether he expected to continue as defence minister in the months to come, Reznikov replied:
Yes, it was the decision of my president.
The position of Reznikov, one of Ukraine’s better-known figures internationally, has faced intense speculation after it emerged the defence ministry paid twice or three times the supermarket price of food to supply troops on the frontline.
One of his deputies resigned last month after the allegation, which the ministry has denied. Two others were dismissed yesterday.
On Tuesday, Reznikov appointed three new deputies, including Lt-Gen Oleksandr Pavliuk, who briefly served as Kyiv region governor during the early days of Russia’s invasion.
Updated
Ukraine will receive a package of support worth £200m from the UK and other European nations for military equipment, including spare parts for tanks and artillery ammunition, the British government has announced.
Britain has agreed with the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Lithuania to send an initial package of support to Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The package will include “vital capabilities in the form of artillery ammunition, maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and spare parts for equipment, including Ukraine’s current tanks”, it said.
In a statement, the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said:
This equipment package will provide a significant capability boost for the armed forces of Ukraine and will support their ability to defend their country.
Updated
The US military has said it had intercepted several Russian warplanes near Alaska on Monday.
Four Russian aircraft, including Tu-95 Bear-H strategic bombers and Su-35 fighter jets, were detected flying over international airspace near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NNorad) said.
The aircraft did not enter US or Canadian airspace and did not pose a threat, the command said, adding that the incident was in no way related to the mysterious spate of airborne objects shot down by US military over North America this month.
Russia said today that it had carried out several flights over international waters in recent days, including in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia.
It said two of its Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers had flown over the Bering Sea accompanied by Su-30 jets, and that it had made similar “routine” flights north of Norway and over international waters near Russia’s far east. It did not say whether its aircraft had been intercepted.
Russia has carried out flights over the Bering Sea before, but its neighbours in the region have become more concerned about Moscow’s military activity since its invasion of Ukraine.
Because such Russian activity happens so regularly it is “not seen as a threat, nor is the activity seen as provocative,” Norad said.
Updated
Germany’s vice chancellor, Robert Habeck, has criticised the Swiss government for refusing to send ammunition for Gepard tanks to Ukraine.
Habeck said he “cannot understand” why Switzerland does not provide Gepard ammunition to Kyiv, in an interview with Die Zeit.
Switzerland has previously vetoed requests from Spain, Denmark and Germany who wanted to send Swiss-made armoured vehicles, ammunition and anti-aircraft guns to help Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Switzerland’s War Materials Act does not allow the export of war materials if the destination country is involved in an internal or international armed conflict.
Nato allies have not reached conclusions on a new pledge for defence spending, Stoltenberg told reporters after a meeting with defence ministers in Brussels.
He said it was “obvious that we need to spend more”, and that member states should commit to spend a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence.
Updated
Stoltenberg also urged Turkey to ratify the Nato applications of Finland and Sweden at the same time, during his press conference just now.
He added that, ultimately, it “is a Turkish decision”.
Updated
Stoltenberg: Nato allies increasing production of 155 mm artillery rounds
Nato defence ministers have taken steps to further strengthen the alliance’s deterrence and defence, Stoltenberg says.
The move “reflects the reality that we live in a more dangerous world with Russia’s aggressive behaviour, persistent terrorism and the challenges posed by China”, he says.
Stoltenberg says Nato will coordinate improvements in protection of critical under-sea infrastructure, referring to the sabotage of the North Stream pipelines last September.
Allied support for Ukraine is consuming an “enormous quantity” of ammunition and depleting its stocks, he says.
Nato countries are increasing the production of 155 mm artillery rounds and needed to ramp up that production even further to help Ukraine, he added. “Artillery shells 155 are increasing,” he said.
He added:
Yes, things are happening but we need to continue, we need to step up even more. This is now becoming a grinding war of attrition and a war of attrition is a war of logistics.
Updated
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, is speaking at a news conference after a meeting of defence ministers at the military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.
“Time is of the essence” and Kyiv has a “window of opportunity to tip the balance”, Stoltenberg says, adding that he welcomed the new pledges of support made by Nato allies, “including more weapons and military training”.
[LIVE] 🔴 🎥 Watch Secretary General @jensstoltenberg's press conference following the #NATO Defence Ministers meeting #DefMin https://t.co/YC1fnG3Ybi
— Oana Lungescu (@NATOpress) February 15, 2023
Updated
Switzerland has said the seizing of private Russian assets would undermine the country’s constitution.
In a statement, the Swiss government cited the findings of a working group set up by the Federal Office of Justice.
The group concluded that “the expropriation of private assets of lawful origin without compensation is not permissible under Swiss law” and that the confiscation of frozen private assets “is inconsistent with the federal constitution and the prevailing legal order and violates Switzerland’s international commitments”, the statement reads.
It added:
Support for Ukraine will continue, independent of the discussions on frozen assets.
Switzerland froze financial assets worth 7.5bn Swiss francs (£6.74bn) under sanctions against Russians in response to its invasion of Ukraine, the state secretariat for economic affairs said in December.
Updated
Russian claim of breakthrough in Luhansk 'does not correspond to reality', says governor
Russia is sending heavy equipment and mobilised troops into the Luhansk region but Ukrainian forces continue to defend the eastern Ukrainian region, its governor, Serhiy Haidai, has said.
The Russian defence ministry claimed earlier its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front of Luhansk. It said Ukrainian troops had retreated in the face of Russian attacks, but did not say in which part of the region.
In a statement posted to Telegram, the Russian ministry said:
During the offensive ... the Ukrainian troops randomly retreated to a distance of up to 3 km (1.9 miles) from the previously occupied lines. Even the more fortified second line of defence of the enemy could not hold the breakthrough of the Russian military.
Haidai said Russia’s claims that Ukrainian troops had pulled back “does not correspond to reality”. He said:
There is a lot of shelling, the aviation is already connected. The attacks are coming from different directions in waves. We see that they are transferring mobilised people (to the front), we also see that there is more (heavy) equipment.
The situation in Luhansk remains difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said earlier today, without mentioning any retreats in eastern Ukraine. It said:
Over the past day, units of the Defence Forces of Ukraine repelled attacks by the (Russian) occupiers in the Nevskyi, Kreminna and Bilohorivka districts.
It has not been possible to verify either side’s battlefield reports.
Hello everyone, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong taking over the live blog from Martin Belam. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.
Updated
The European Commission has called for a ban on the export of vital technology to Russia worth €11bn to further weaken the Kremlin’s war effort, cementing what EU officials have called the bloc’s toughest ever sanctions.
Unveiling the EU’s 10th round of sanctions against Russia since last February’s invasion, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the EU was targeting industrial goods that Russia needs, such as electronic components for drones and helicopters; spare parts for trucks and jet engines; construction equipment such as antennas or cranes that could be turned to military uses.
For the first time the EU will also impose a ban on seven Iranian companies selling high-tech goods to Russia, although it was not immediately clear how this would be enforced. Von der Leyen said this should act as a strong deterrent to other companies and traders. The bloc has already imposed asset freezes on any bank accounts held in the EU by Iranian state-linked entities involved in selling drones to Russia.
The EU’s top diplomats are meeting on Wednesday in Brussels to discuss the latest sanctions plan, with the aim of getting measures into law by 24 February, the first anniversary of the Russian invasion.
But a leaked version of the latest proposals seen by the Guardian shows the EU has not answered Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s plea to blacklist Russia’s nuclear industry in Europe.
For weeks, EU officials had played down the possibility of action to sanction the Russian nuclear industry, a move Hungary – a Rosatom client – has threatened to veto. Nonetheless when Ukraine’s president met EU leaders last Thursday, he urged this step, describing it as “a moral question”.
The EU’s latest sanctions will also put further restrictions on Russian exports believed to generate revenues for the Russia state, from roses to chemicals to pipes and tubes.
The bloc also aims to close loopholes, for example to stop Russian oligarchs using non-Russian private jet charter companies, or from seeking to hide their assets.
The latest proposals will also add more Russians and Ukrainians working for Russia in the occupied territories to the sanctions list. Set to be targeted are more Russian politicians, propagandists, as well as judges in occupied Ukraine cooperating with Russian authorities.
Von der Leyen said:
We now have in place the toughest sanctions ever issued by the European Union and we have to ensure that they are strictly applied.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
Ukrainian forces claim to have repelled some Russian attacks in the eastern region of Luhansk but the situation there remains difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said on Wednesday.
Russia said earlier on Wednesday that its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front. The Russian defence ministry said Ukrainian forces had retreated in a disorganised fashion, leaving behind equipment in the face of Russian attacks in the Luhansk region.
At least 6,000 children from Ukraine have attended Russian “re-education” camps in the past year, with several hundred held there for weeks or months beyond their scheduled return date, according to a new report published in the US. Russia has also unnecessarily expedited the adoption and fostering of children from Ukraine in what could constitute a war crime, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab report found. The report was funded by the US state department.
Nato defence ministers are meeting today in Brussels, where the alliance’s head Jens Stoltenberg urged Western countries to boost supplies to Ukraine. Nato countries should spend a minimum of 2% of their GDP on defence, said the German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, ahead of the meeting, while the UK’s defence minister Ben Wallace again ruled out sending jet fighters to Ukraine in the short term.
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said that the west has reached “the point of no return” in turning Ukraine into “a Russophobic military foothold”, and that the future of Russia’s foreign policy is to end the dominance of the west in international life. Lavrov was addressing Russia’s state Duma.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that foreign journalists from unfriendly nations will not get media accreditation for Vladimir Putin’s presidential address to the federal assembly on 21 February.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday the EU will propose sanctions targeting for the first time Iranian economic operators involved in the Russian war in Ukraine.
Journalist Maria Ponomarenko has been sentenced to six years in prison in Russia for “distributing false information about the Russian army” after she posted on social media about the attack on the drama theatre in Mariupol. She has also been banned from journalism for five years.
The delivery of German-made battle tanks to Ukraine came “a bit too late”, vice chancellor Robert Habeck said in an interview with Die Zeit.
The UN’s humanitarian aid and refugee agencies said Wednesday they are seeking $5.6bn (£4.6bn) to help millions of people in Ukraine and countries that have taken in fleeing Ukrainians since Russia’s invasion of their country nearly a year ago.
Support among the US public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has softened as the Russian invasion nears the one-year mark, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. 48% say they favour the US providing weapons to Ukraine, with 29% opposed and 22% saying they’re neither in favour nor opposed.
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for now. I will be back later on. Léonie Chao-Fong will be with you shortly.
A little more detail on the court appearance of Maria Ponomarenko, the journalist who has been sentenced to six years in jail in Russia today. [See 10.29 GMT]
Reuters reports, via RusNews where Pnomarenko worked, that in court she said “Patriotism is love for the motherland, and love for one’s motherland should not be expressed by encouraging crime.”
Ponоmarenko then went on to say “Attacking your neighbour is a crime. If it is a war – then call it a war. This is a state crime against the army – it is like spitting on the graves of veterans.”
The journalist Maria Ponomarenko has been sentenced to six years in prison in Russia for “distributing false information about the Russian army” after she posted on social media about the attack on the drama theatre in Mariupol. She has also been banned from journalism for five years.
She was first taken into custody in April 2022, and then had been placed under house arrest since November. The BBC Russian language service reported that she had posted on the “No Censorship” telegram channel, which talked about the deaths of people hiding in the Mariupol Theatre. Russia has repeatedly denied that its airstrike hit the theatre in Mariupol.
Updated
The delivery of German-made battle tanks to Ukraine came “a bit too late”, the vice-chancellor, Robert Habeck, said, since time was running short ahead of an expected Russian offensive.
“With the decision to send the tanks we are doing what we can,” Reuters report he told newspaper Die Zeit in comments published on Wednesday. “A bit too late, but it’s done … Everyone is expecting a terrible Russian offensive … Time is pressing.”
Updated
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said that the west has reached “the point of no return” in turning Ukraine into “a Russophobic military foothold”, and that the future of Russia’s foreign policy is to end the dominance of the west in international life.
The state-owned Tass news agency quotes him saying that the west’s policy for had been “many years of containment of Russia” including expanding Nato’s borders and “the transformation of fraternal Ukraine into anti-Russia, into a Russophobic military foothold.”
He accused Germany, France and Poland of sanctioning “a bloody coup d’état in Kyiv in February 2014 under frankly Nazi, racist slogans.”
Explaining Russia’s policy, he said:
In our updated foreign policy concept, we will talk about the need to end the west’s monopoly on the formation of the framework of international life, which should henceforth be determined not in its selfish interests, but on a fair, universal basis of a balance of interests, as required by the UN Charter, which enshrines the principle of the sovereign equality of all states.
Lavrov was speaking to Russia’s state Duma.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that foreign journalists from unfriendly nations will not get media accreditation for Vladimir Putin’s presidential address to the federal assembly on 21 February. Tass quotes Peskov saying:
As for the president’s message to the federal assembly, foreign media representing friendly countries will be accredited there. We will not invite foreign media from unfriendly countries there.
Peskov went on to say that media from unfriendly nations could watch the address on television.
Updated
Ukrainian forces claim to have repelled some Russian attacks in the eastern region of Luhansk but the situation there remains difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said on Wednesday.
Russia said earlier on Wednesday that its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front. The Russian defence ministry said Ukrainian forces had retreated in a disorganised fashion, leaving behind equipment in the face of Russian attacks in the Luhansk region.
Zelenskiy’s office made no mention of any retreats, Reuters reports, but said “The situation in the region remains difficult.”
Neither sets of claims have been independently verified.
Luhansk is one of the partially occupied regions of Ukraine which the Russian Federation claims to have annexed.
Updated
The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has been speaking in Russia’s state Duma, and so far he has said that Russia’s foreign policy concept is aimed at ending western dominance in the world.
More details soon …
Updated
The UN’s humanitarian aid and refugee agencies said Wednesday they are seeking $5.6bn (£4.6bn) to help millions of people in Ukraine and countries that have taken in fleeing Ukrainians since Russia’s invasion of their country nearly a year ago.
Associated Press report the bulk of the joint appeal – $3.9bn (£3.2bn) – is for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which aims to help more than 11 million people by funneling funds through more than 650 partner organisations.
Refugee agency UNHCR, meanwhile, is seeking $1.7bn (£1.4bn) to help 4.2 million refugees who have fled to 10 host countries in eastern and central Europe.
Updated
European Commission proposes sanctions on Iranian entities linked to Russian war
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday the EU will propose sanctions targeting for the first time Iranian economic operators involved in the Russian war in Ukraine.
“For the first time we are also proposing to sanction Iranian entities including those linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard,” Von der Leyen told European lawmakers in Strasbourg, Reuters reports.
Von der Leyen said the 10th package of sanctions, worth a total of €11bn euros (£9.75bn / $11.79bn), would target new trade bans and technology export controls, including drones, helicopters and missiles.
Updated
It would be better for all Nato countries if Sweden and Finland join the alliance together, not one after the after, Finland’s defence minister, Mikko Savola, said on Wednesday.
“It’s better for Finland, better for Sweden and also for Nato that we both become members as soon as possible,” Reuters reports Savola said before a meeting with colleagues from Nato countries and Sweden in Brussels.
“It is better for the planning, we have really close cooperation with Sweden, which is our closest partner.”
Yesterday Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said that it was more important that the countries joined quickly, rather than necessarily together.
The membership bids have been ratified by all of Nato’s members except Hungary and Turkey. Ankara has demanded that both countries take a tougher line against the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and the European Union.
Updated
Ukraine’s state broadcaster Suspilne has posted this summary of the last 24 hours to its Telegram channel. It reports:
The Russian Federation lost approximately 690 of its soldiers in the war against Ukraine, the general staff of the armed forces reported. The total combat losses of the Russian Federation since 24 February are estimated to be almost 140,000.
On 14 February, Russian shelling in Donetsk region left one person dead and another injured.
The Kherson region was shelled 38 times yesterday: a medical facility and residential buildings were damaged. Two people were injured.
The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, spoke to the BBC from Brussels this morning about the prospect of sending fighter jets to Ukraine, as the country’s politicians have requested. He said:
I don’t think it’s going to be in the next few months, or even years, that we are going to necessarily hand over fighter jet, because they are very different weapons systems to you know, handheld anti-tank missiles.
These aircraft come with not only huge sort of capability challenges, you know, you just can’t learn to fly in a week or two, it will take a long time.
But also they come with a pit crew like a Formula One team, you know, they come with hundreds of engineers and pilots. And that’s not something you can just generate in a few months, and we’re not going to deploy 200 RAF personnel into Ukraine at a time of war.
So the reality is what we’re saying is that we have to plan not only for the fight at the moment, where we help Ukraine through seeing off Russia’s illegal invasion, but we have to help Ukraine with its long term resilience, in making sure that after this war, Ukraine is able to defend itself for the long run.
Updated
The British defence secretary, Ben Wallace, is doing a media round of UK outlets from Brussels, and said on Sky News that allies could help Ukraine more quickly by supporting their position on the ground rather than focusing on the provision of jets.
Wallace has argued that fighter jets require a “very substantial pit crew” and that Britain could provide more immediate support through the provision of long range weapons and anti-aircraft missiles.
“I think we can help Ukraine sooner by delivering the effects they need on the battlefield rather than the platform specific request,” Reuters report he said.
Updated
Nato countries should spend a minimum of 2% of their GDP on defence, said the German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, on Wednesday as Nato defence ministers gathered in Brussels.
“Just spending two percent will not be enough. It must be the basis for everything that follows. The German government is debating that right now and will soon reach an agreement,” Pistorius told the media, Reuters reports.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images sent to us from Ukraine across the news wires.
Updated
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. My colleague Martin Belam will bring you the latest for the next while.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has not mentioned any significant setbacks in Luhansk in its morning update on Wednesday.
The Kremlin has intensified attacks across a swathe of southern and eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, and a major new offensive has been widely anticipated.
Russia’s main effort has been focused on the town of Bakhmut in Donetsk province adjacent to Luhansk.
The General Staff said Ukrainian units had repelled attacks in the areas of more than 20 settlements, including Bakhmut as well as Vuhledar - a town 150 km (90 miles) southwest of Bakhmut.
More now on that poll from AP.
US president Joe Biden has repeatedly stated that the United States will help Ukraine for “as long as it takes”. Privately, administration officials have warned Ukrainian officials that there is a limit to the patience of a narrowly divided Congress — and American public — for the costs of a war with no clear end. Congress approved about $113bn in economic, humanitarian and military spending in 2022.
The poll shows 19% of Americans have a great deal of confidence in Biden’s ability to handle the situation in Ukraine, while 37% say they have only some confidence and 43% have hardly any.
Views of Biden’s handling of the war divide largely along partisan lines. Among Democrats, 40% say they have a great deal of confidence in Biden to handle the situation, 50% have some confidence and 9% have hardly any. Among Republicans, a large majority (76%) say they have hardly any confidence. Those numbers are largely unchanged since last May.
Survey finds dip in US support for providing Ukraine with weapons
Support among the American public for providing Ukraine weaponry and direct economic assistance has softened as the Russian invasion nears the one-year mark, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
48% say they favour the US providing weapons to Ukraine, with 29% opposed and 22% saying they’re neither in favour nor opposed. In May 2022, less than three months into the war, 60% of US adults said they were in favor of sending Ukraine weapons.
Americans are about evenly divided on sending government funds directly to Ukraine, with 37% in favour and 38% opposed, with 23% saying neither. The signs of diminished support for Ukraine come as President Joe Biden is set to travel to Poland next week to mark the first anniversary of the biggest conflict in Europe since the second world war.
Upper chamber of Russian parliament to meet on 22 February
The upper chamber of Russia’s parliament will hold extraordinary meeting on 22 February, RIA Novosti news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a senior lawmaker.
The head of a Federation Council committee, Vyacheslav Timchenko, told RIA the meeting would focus on adoption of laws on the integration of four regions into the Russian Federation.
Last year Moscow moved to annex the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in Ukraine in a move condemned by most countries of the United Nations as illegal.
RIA quoted a source as saying that State Duma, a lower chamber, will gather in the morning on 22 February while Federation Council’s extraordinary session will start at 12:00 GMT.
President Vladimir Putin will deliver his annual address to the federal assembly – a joint meeting of Russia’s two houses of parliament – on 21 February.
Updated
Ukrainian children sent to Russian ‘re-education’ camps
At least 6,000 children from Ukraine have attended Russian “re-education” camps in the past year, with several hundred held there for weeks or months beyond their scheduled return date, according to a new report published in the US.
Russia has also unnecessarily expedited the adoption and fostering of children from Ukraine in what could constitute a war crime, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab report found. The report was funded by the US state department.
Since the start of the war nearly a year ago, children as young as four months have been taken to 43 camps across Russia, including in Moscow-annexed Crimea and Siberia, for “pro-Russia patriotic and military-related education”, said the report.
In at least two of the camps, the children’s return date was delayed by weeks, while at two other camps, the return of some children was postponed indefinitely.
Russian authorities sought to provide a pro-Moscow viewpoint to children through school curricula as well as through field trips to patriotic sites and talks from veterans, the report found:
Nato members meet for final day of summit
Nato defence ministers are meeting today in Brussels, where the alliance’s head Jens Stoltenberg urged Western countries to boost supplies to Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Stoltenberg urged members of the transatlantic military alliance to ramp up ammunition production for Ukraine as he warned Vladimir Putin was preparing for new offensives and attacks.
“We see no signs that President Putin is preparing for peace. What we see is the opposite, he is preparing for more war, for new offensives and new attacks,” Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg said the question of supplying fighter jets to Ukraine was on the agenda but “not the most urgent issue now”.
Instead, he said, “the urgent issue right now is to deliver what has always been promised”, namely armoured vehicles, including German Marders and US Bradleys, Leopard battle tanks and others. “We need the training, we need the equipment, we need the ammunition and that’s exactly what allies are now providing and will be a top issue at the meetings today here at Nato.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was in a hurry to achieve as much as it could with its latest offensive before Kyiv and its allies could gather strength.
“That is why speed is of the essence. Speed in everything - adopting decisions, carrying out decisions, shipping supplies, training. Speed saves people’s lives, speed brings back security,” he said in an evening video address.
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments for the next few hours.
Our top stories this morning. Nato members will meet for a second day in Brussels to discuss sending supplies to Ukraine.
Nato defence ministers met on Tuesday to discuss the war and stockpiles, after which Zelenskiy said Russia was in a hurry to achieve as much as it could with its latest push before Ukraine and its allies could gather strength.
“That is why speed is of the essence,” he said in an evening video address.
“Speed in everything - adopting decisions, carrying out decisions, shipping supplies, training. Speed saves people’s lives, speed brings back security, and I thank all our partners who realise that speed is important.”
And at least 6,000 children from Ukraine have attended Russian “re-education” camps in the past year, with several hundred held there for weeks or months beyond their scheduled return date, according to a new report published in the US.
More on these stories shortly. In the meantime, here are the other key recent developments:
Russia has lost “strategically, operationally and tactically”, Gen Mark Milley, chairman of America’s joint chiefs of staff, has said. Speaking at a joint news conference with US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin, Milley said Russians were “paying an enormous price on the battlefield” in Ukraine.
Lloyd Austin has said he expects Ukraine to conduct an offensive against Russia in the spring. Speaking at a news conference following a meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group, Austin said Russia is introducing a number of new troops to the battlefield but that many are ill-trained and ill-equipped. Russia has “inflicted a year of tragedy and terror” on its neighbour Ukraine, he said.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday that supplying Ukraine with fighter jets was not a focus at the moment but would certainly be discussed. Securing Ukraine’s airspace is the priority, he told Germany’s ARD television. “Only when the skies over Ukraine remain safe over the next three, four months, then you can talk about all other further steps,” he said.
Ukrainian forces have reportedly blown up a bridge near the eastern city of Bakhmut, in a sign they may be planning to retreat from the area. Ukraine denies it intends to leave Bakhmut, despite six months of heavy fighting. The capture of Bakhmut would give Russia a significant symbolic boost ahead of the first anniversary of the war.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner group whose mercenaries have been fighting for months to take the eastern city of Bakhmut, has said the battle is far from over. In a Telegram post, Prigozhin said Ukraine was reinforcing with up to 500 new fighters a day. “Bakhmut will not be taken tomorrow, because there is heavy resistance and grinding, the meat grinder is working,” he said, adding “We will not be celebrating in the near future.”
Russian forces have made incremental progress in the last day or two in their assault on the Ukrainian city of Bahkmut but it is unclear if it will fall, the White House has said. John Kirby, the US national security council spokesperson, added that if Bakhmut were to fall to the Russians “it would not have a strategic impact on the overall war”.
A British national has died in Ukraine, the UK government has said. The identity of the individual is not yet known, but their family has been informed. They are believed to be the eighth British national to have died in Ukraine since the war began last February.
One Ukrainian worker was killed and many have been hurt in recent days trying to repair the power network following Russian airstrikes, according to energy minister German Galushchenko. Russia unleashed a wave of airstrikes on Friday, targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and causing emergency power outages for millions of people. In a statement, Galushchenko and Ukraine’s grid operator Ukrenergy said the country was producing enough energy to meet consumers’ needs.
