Closing summary
Four western leaders, including the prime ministers of Italy, Canada, and Belgium, arrived in Kyiv on Saturday to show solidarity with Ukraine on the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Reuters reports that Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Belgium’s Alexander De Croo and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, travelled to the Ukrainian capital together overnight by train from neighbouring Poland, the Italian government said in a statement.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday he had signed a bilateral security agreement with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau in Kyiv. Canada joins Italy, Britain, Germany, France and Denmark in concluding a 10-year security deal with Kyiv. The agreements are intended to shore up Ukraine’s security until it can reach its aim of becoming a member of the Western military alliance, Nato.
Alexei Navalny’s body has been handed over to his mother, a spokesperson has confirmed. The spokesperson for the Russian opposition politician, who died while in prison last week, said funeral arrangements are still to be determined. It is “unclear” whether the authorities will interfere, they added.
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, had demanded that Russian authorities release his body for burial and accused a “demonic” Russian president Vladimir Putin of “torturing” his corpse. In a six minute video posted on YouTube, Navalnaya accused Putin of holding her husband’s body “hostage”, and questioned Putin’s often-professed Christian faith, Reuters reported.
A fire broke out and was extinguished at Russian steelmaker NLMK’s main plant, the regional governor said on Saturday, the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Preliminary data indicated the fire at the Novolipetsk Steel plant was caused by a drone, the Lipetsk regional governor, Igor Artamonov, said on Telegram, without mentioning Ukraine, Reuters reports. There were no casualties, Artamonov said.
Hundreds of people gathered at Marble Arch in central London to protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the conflict reached its second anniversary. Demonstrators waved Ukrainian flags, with others wrapping them around their shoulders, PA Media reported. Other protesters bore signs urging Russia to “stop the war”, labelling Russian president Vladimir Putin a “terrorist” and urging international powers to offer more support.
Russia is unlikely to take part at the outset of a high-level Ukraine peace conference which neutral Switzerland plans to host in the coming months, Swiss president Viola Amherd was quoted as saying by a newspaper on Saturday. Amherd’s interview with the Neue Zuercher Zeitung daily was published a few hours after Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis told the United Nations that Bern aimed to hold the conference “by this summer” after the idea was floated in January.
David Cameron warned allies in the United Nations against “fatigue” and “compromise” over Russia’s war in Ukraine as he urged countries including the US to keep up support for Kyiv. The UK foreign secretary said the world must “recognise the cost of giving up” in a speech in New York on the eve of the second anniversary of Moscow’s invasion, PA Media reported.
The UK has pledged £8.5 million in humanitarian funding allocations to the Red Cross Movement and the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund on the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Foreign secretary Lord David Cameron said: “Ukrainians are bravely defending their land against Russia’s brutal invasion, but the past two years of war have had a tragic impact on millions of people across Ukraine. Families have been separated, towns and villages decimated, and vital civilian infrastructure destroyed.
Protesters said they dumped two tons of dung outside the home of the Russian ambassador to Poland on Saturday, as they marked the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Activists put a bloodied Russian flag with the letter “Z” on the pile of manure and stuck a sign into it that said “Russia = shit! We don’t want you in EU! Get out!”, pictures of the protest in Konstancin-Jeziorna, seen by Reuters, showed. The town near Warsaw is where the ambassador lives.
Just days after the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prison colony, human rights activists and journalists are warning that dozens of other political prisoners may be at risk of death from deliberate abuse of ill convicts in the Russian prison system, writes Andrew Roth and Pjotr Sauer.
Dmitry Muratov, the Nobel-prize winning editor of Novaya Gazeta, told the Observer that Navalny’s death had sent a clarion call for the world to save the Russian political prisoners who could die next.
“I already can’t help Navalny,” said Muratov. “But there are several people there in the worst condition right now … I’ll tell you straight: we have several more deaths coming.”
Yesterday it was reported that Navalny’s body has been handed over to his mother. His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh wrote on the social media platform X that she did not know if the authorities would allow a funeral to be held “the way the family wants and the way Alexei deserves”.
The blockade on the Zosin-Ustyluh checkpoint was suspended today to mark the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Polish farmers formed the blockade in protest over what they said was Ukrainian grain imports undercutting local farmers.
The blockade was lifted at 3am, with passengers and cargo able to pass through, Sky News reported.
“During February 24, the passage of cargo and passenger vehicles at the indicated crossing point is carried out according to the established procedure for entry and exit,” the Western Regional Department of the State Border Service of Ukraine-Western Border said.
Factories destroyed. Roads blown to pieces. Power plants put out of action. Steel exports decimated. A flood of refugees out of the country. Ukraine – the poorest country in Europe – has paid a heavy economic price for a two-year war against Russia waged almost entirely on its own soil, writes Larry Elliott and Philip Inman.
The figures are stark. More than 7 million people – about a fifth of the population – have been plunged into poverty. Fifteen years of human development have been lost. In the first year of the war, the economy contracted by 30%.
Yet it could have been even worse. Beata Javorcik, chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said 90% of businesses in the areas of Ukraine where there was no fighting are still going concerns. Inflation has come down from a peak of 27% to less than 5%.
Even so, Ukraine’s economy remains on a knife edge. It needs more than $40bn (£31bn) of western aid this year to balance the books and keep the military equipped. The costs of piecing the country back together again is put at $486bn over 10 years – up from $411bn a year ago. “The last two years have seen unprecedented suffering and loss for Ukraine and its people,” said Antonella Bassani, World Bank vice-president for Europe and central Asia.
Large crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square to protest against Russian’s invasion of Ukraine on the day the conflict reached its second anniversary.
Protesters waved Ukrainian flags, chanting “Russia is a terrorist state”, and sang along to Ukrainian anthems playing from loudspeakers.
One protestor, who left Ukraine three years ago, said he feared for the safety of his brother in Kyiv as sanctions on Russia were ineffective.
Mykola, 29, said: “Ukraine needs weapons desperately. It desperately needs help.
“My brother lives in Kyiv, and Kyiv is under missile attack basically every day,” he added.
He said he was “thankful” for the support offered to Ukraine by international powers but added there was “room for improvement”.
Updated
Ukrainian drones hit a major Russian steel factory overnight, causing a large fire, a Kyiv source said on Saturday.
The governor of Russia’s Lipetsk region identified the plant as one in the city of Lipetsk, some 400 km (250 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, that is responsible for about 18% of Russian steel output.
He said a fire apparently caused by a drone strike had been extinguished at the plant and there had been no casualties.
“There is no significant impact on the plant’s operations,” he added.
The Ukrainian source told Reuters the attack, a joint operation by GUR military intelligence and the SBU security service, had caused a major fire and staff had been evacuated.
Navalny's body released to mother, says spokesperson
Alexei Navalny’s body has been handed over to his mother, a spokesperson has confirmed.
The spokesperson for the Russian opposition politician, who died while in prison last week, said funeral arrangements are still to be determined.
It is “unclear” whether the authorities will interfere, they added.
Updated
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday he had signed a bilateral security agreement with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau in Kyiv.
Canada joins Italy, Britain, Germany, France and Denmark in concluding a 10-year security deal with Kyiv.
The agreements are intended to shore up Ukraine’s security until it can reach its aim of becoming a member of the Western military alliance, Nato.
Hundreds of people have gathered at Marble Arch in central London to protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the conflict reached its second anniversary.
Demonstrators waved Ukrainian flags, with others wrapping them around their shoulders, PA Media reported.
Other protestors bore signs urging Russia to “stop the war”, labelling Russian president Vladimir Putin a “terrorist” and urging international powers to offer more support.
A Ukrainian child sang to the crowd, followed by a performance by the St Mary’s Ukrainian School choir.
Organisers said it was important the protest, which preceded a march to Trafalgar Square for a vigil, remained peaceful.
Protesters said they dumped two tons of dung outside the home of the Russian ambassador to Poland on Saturday, as they marked the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Activists put a bloodied Russian flag with the letter “Z” on the pile of manure and stuck a sign into it that said “Russia = shit! We don’t want you in EU! Get out!”, pictures of the protest in Konstancin-Jeziorna, seen by Reuters, showed. The town near Warsaw is where the ambassador lives.
Elsewhere in Warsaw at 6am local time other protesters played the sound of sirens, gunfire and explosions outside a building housing Russian diplomats, Reuters reported.
“We wanted a clear signal to the Polish authorities and the European Union. It’s high time to expel Russian diplomats from our country,” said Dominik, a protester quoted in a statement.
Updated
World leaders offer support to Ukraine
Political leaders are expressing their continued support for and solidarity with Ukraine. Here’s a roundup of what they are saying:
The UK prime minister Rishi Sunak:
We must renew our determination on this grim anniversary. This is the moment to show that tyranny will never triumph and to say once again that we will stand with Ukraine today and tomorrow. We are prepared to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, until they prevail.
The US president Joe Biden:
The brave people of Ukraine fight on, unbowed in their determination to defend their freedom and future. Nato is stronger, larger, and more united than ever. And the unprecedented 50-nation global coalition in support of Ukraine, led by the United States, remains committed to providing critical assistance to Ukraine and holding Russia accountable for its aggression.
The American people and people around the world understand that the stakes of this fight extend far beyond Ukraine.
The Moldovan president Maia Sandu:
I thank Ukrainians for their tireless fight for freedom and for protecting peace in Moldova too. In these two years, the free world has shown unprecedented solidarity, yet the war persists; our support must endure fiercely.
The Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking at Hostomel airport near Kyiv:
This place is the symbol of Moscow’s failure, this place is the symbol of Ukrainian pride ... This land is a piece of our home and we will do our bit to defend it.
The Polish prime minister Donald Tusk:
Two years of Ukrainian heroism. Two years of Russian barbarism. Two years of disgrace of those who remain indifferent.
And the Polish president Andrzej Duda:
We have supported, support and will support Ukraine in its fight for freedom. Today, this support is still extremely necessary. Regardless of war fatigue. The free world cannot allow Putin and Russia to triumph.
The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen:
More than ever, we stand firmly by Ukraine. Financially, economically, militarily, morally. Until the country is finally free.
The Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu:
Commemorating today two years of [Russia’s] war of aggression against Ukraine. We stand united and in full solidarity with , until it achieves victory and a just peace.
The German chancellor Olaf Scholz:
Ukraine is standing because Ukraine is strong and courageous, and because it has friends in Europe and all over the world. We are proud to be among her friends – today and in our common European future.
The Slovak president Zuzana Čaputová:
Ukraine is still standing, defending its people, our shared values and the rules-based order. And we are by Ukraine’s side.
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, the leader of the Ukrainian Catholic community in the UK, tells the congregation that Ukrainians “do not want to give up hope”, as a prayer service marks the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Ukrainians are very resilient and anyone who has been in the last two years to Ukraine can attest to the resilience of the Ukrainian people and their high morale.
Referring to 528 paper angels hanging from the balcony of the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in central London, Bishop Nowakowski has said:
These paper angels are a remembrance of those young lives and the families who are grieving.
Each angel represents a Ukrainian child killed during the war, according to figures provided by Ukrainian authorities.
In an opening prayer, the bishop and the congregation called for those “overtaken by a spirit of deception and violence” to “open their eyes”. Two pupils from St Mary’s Ukrainian school lit two candles, symbolising the second anniversary of the conflict, while 10 children laid flowers to commemorate 10 years since Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
King praises Ukrainian 'valour'
King Charles III praises the “determination and strength” of the Ukrainian people in a message marking the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The monarch said he was “greatly encouraged” by the UK’s efforts to support Ukraine and commended their “true valour”. He has said:
The determination and strength of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire, as the unprovoked attack on their land, their lives and livelihoods enters a third, tragic, year.
Despite the tremendous hardship and pain inflicted upon them, Ukrainians continue to show the heroism with which the world associates them so closely.
Theirs is true valour, in the face of indescribable aggression. I have felt this personally in the many meetings I have had with Ukrainians since the start of the war, from President Zelensky and Mrs Zelenska, to new army recruits training here in the United Kingdom.
I continue to be greatly encouraged that the United Kingdom and our allies remain at the forefront of international efforts to support Ukraine at this time of such great suffering and need.
My heart goes out to all those affected, as I remember them in my thoughts and prayers.
Updated
Russia is unlikely to take part at the outset of a high-level Ukraine peace conference which neutral Switzerland plans to host in the coming months, Swiss president Viola Amherd was quoted as saying by a newspaper on Saturday.
Amherd’s interview with the Neue Zuercher Zeitung daily was published a few hours after Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis told the United Nations that Bern aimed to hold the conference “by this summer” after the idea was floated in January.
Russia, which started its invasion of Ukraine two years ago, last month called the peace conference plan “pointless” and indicated it would be doomed to fail without Moscow’s participation, Reuters reported.
When asked whether Switzerland had since received any more positive signals from Russia, Amherd told the newspaper:
Right now, it looks as though Russia will not take part in a first round of the conference.
We’re in the process of starting off with a very broad alliance consisting of the BRICS countries, countries from the Arab world, as well as from the global south.
Amherd said Switzerland hoped to organize the first round by the summer, and that her government knew the summit needed to hold out some prospect of success. “That doesn’t mean we’ll reach our goal at the first step,” she added.
The president did not name specific countries. BRICS members include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
In some ways it is easy to see why Maksim Kuzminov chose to start a new life in Villajoyosa on the Costa Blanca. It overlooks the Mediterranean, with spectacular sunrises. Lemons and oranges droop from trees, brightly coloured homes dot the shore and Villajoyosa is famous for its chocolate. The name means Joyful Town.
More importantly, Kuzminov must have calculated he could blend into the Russian and Ukrainian communities that fill this corner of Spain with Slavic languages, food and faces. With a new identity – a passport claimed he was Igor Shevchenko – here was a place to hide in plain sight, safe from the vengeance of Vladimir Putin.
The fugitive Russian pilot was discreet. He lived in an apartment block ringed by other apartment blocks, learned some Spanish, breakfasted on coffee, toast and ham alone at a nearby cafe and mostly steered clear of fellow Russians. He avoided the supermarket with eastern European pastries and 52 brands of vodka. It might have been lonely, but it was, at least, life.
The UK has pledged £8.5 million in humanitarian funding allocations to the Red Cross Movement and the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund on the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Foreign secretary Lord David Cameron said: “Ukrainians are bravely defending their land against Russia’s brutal invasion, but the past two years of war have had a tragic impact on millions of people across Ukraine. Families have been separated, towns and villages decimated, and vital civilian infrastructure destroyed.
“The UK stands with Ukraine, and is committed to supporting the most vulnerable Ukrainians living through the horrors of this war.”
David Cameron warned allies in the United Nations against “fatigue” and “compromise” over Russia’s war in Ukraine as he urged countries including the US to keep up support for Kyiv.
The UK foreign secretary said the world must “recognise the cost of giving up” in a speech in New York on the eve of the second anniversary of Moscow’s invasion, PA Media reported.
European countries are struggling to find enough stock to send to Kyiv, and US help worth $60 billion is stalled over political differences in Washington.
Speaking at the UN general assembly on Friday, Lord Cameron said: “Two years on, I recognise some want a rethink. There is a sense of fatigue. There are other problems.
“A compromise might seem attractive. But this is wrong. We must recognise the cost of giving up.
“Putin has said there will be no peace until Russia’s goals have been achieved. And in his latest interview, he studiously avoided confirming he was satisfied with the land seized from Ukraine at present.”
The British foreign secretary added: “This is not a man seeking compromise. Rather, this is a neo-imperialist bully who believes that might is right.”
Lord Cameron also renewed his appeal to US politicians to pass a multi-billion-dollar aid package including support for Ukraine, telling reporters during his visit: “This is fundamentally about US security too.”
Drone suspected after blaze at Russian steel plant, governor says
A fire broke out and was extinguished at Russian steelmaker NLMK’s main plant, the regional governor said on Saturday, the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Preliminary data indicated the fire at the Novolipetsk Steel plant was caused by a drone, the Lipetsk regional governor, Igor Artamonov, said on Telegram, without mentioning Ukraine, Reuters reports.
There were no casualties, Artamonov said.
A video posted on social media showed an explosion, with a large orange flame illuminating the nighttime sky.
The plant, NLMK’s key production site, is about 400km (250 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border. It specialises in flat steel products, making 80% of NLMK’s steel products and 18% of Russian steel.
Western leaders visit Kyiv in solidarity on war anniversary
Four western leaders, including the prime ministers of Italy, Canada, and Belgium, arrived in Kyiv on Saturday to show solidarity with Ukraine on the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Reuters reports that Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Belgium’s Alexander De Croo and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, travelled to the Ukrainian capital together overnight by train from neighbouring Poland, the Italian government said in a statement.
Meloni was due to host a videoconference later in the day from Kyiv that will involve leaders from the Group of Seven major democracies, with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, invited to join the discussion.
Yulia Navalnaya calls Putin 'demonic' and questions his Christian faith
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has demanded that Russian authorities release his body for burial and accused a “demonic” Russian president Vladimir Putin of “torturing” his corpse.
In a six minute video posted on YouTube, Navalnaya accused Putin of holding her husband’s body “hostage”, and questioned Putin’s often-professed Christian faith, Reuters reported.
Navalny’s mother Lyudmila said on Friday that Russian investigators were refusing to release his body from a morgue in the remote Arctic city of Salekhard until she agreed to lay him to rest without a public funeral.
She said an official had told her that she should agree to their demands, as Navalny’s body was already decomposing.
On Saturday, Navalny aides said that authorities had threatened to bury him in the remote prison colony where he died unless his family agreed to their conditions.
In the video, an emotional Yulia Navalnaya claimed that Putin personally was responsible for the whereabouts of Navalny’s body, and that he was “torturing” Navalny in death as he had in life.
“We already knew that Putin’s faith was fake. But now we see it more clearly than ever before,” said Navalnaya, dressed in black. “No true Christian could ever do what Putin is now doing with Alexei’s body.”
Opening summary
Welcome to our latest live coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, which Moscow launched two years ago today with its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.
Four western leaders – the prime ministers of Italy, Canada and Belgium and the European commission president – arrived in Kyiv on Saturday to show solidarity with Ukraine on the anniversary.
The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, is due to host a video conference later on Saturday from Kyiv that will involve leaders from the Group of Seven major democracies, with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, invited to join the discussion.
More on that shortly. In other news:
Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian spy plane on Friday, the air force chief said. If confirmed, it would be a major win for the country as the war enters its third year. Gen Mykola Oleshchuk thanked Ukraine’s military intelligence for helping down the A-50 early warning and control aircraft. Ukrainian media carried footage purportedly showing a huge fire that erupted when the big warplane crashed in the Krasnodar region on the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov. Russia’s military did not comment, but emergency officials in the Krasnodar region said a plane crashed in the area, without identifying it. Several Russian military bloggers confirmed the plane’s loss. It would be the second such aircraft Ukraine shot down in just over a month.
Ukraine on Saturday marked two years since Russia’s invasion, entering a new year of war weakened by a lack of western aid and ammunition while Russia is emboldened by fresh gains. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that decisions on arms supplies had to be “the priority”. The overall picture remains uncertain for Kyiv due to the US Congress blocking a vital $60bn (£47bn/€55bn) aid package and delays in promised European deliveries.
Russian drones attacked Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa on Friday for the second night running, hitting a residential building, killing one person and injuring three, the regional governor said. In all, six people died and 12 were injured in various Ukrainian regions over 24 hours. Odesa’s regional governor, Oleh Kiper, said on Telegram that the body of a man had been recovered from under rubble in the city. Three people were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
A Russian drone hit an apartment building in the city of Dnipro in Ukraine’s south-east and a search and rescue operation overnight on Friday uncovered two dead. The top two floors were damaged, the Dnipropetrovsk region’s governor, Serhiy Lysak, said on Telegram.
One civilian was killed in the town of Myrnohrad and 21 houses, a school and a multi-storey residential building were damaged in an attack on the Donetsk region near the front, said Oleksiy Kuleba, the deputy head of Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office.
The US and the EU on Friday heaped hundreds of new sanctions on Russia in connection with the war’s second anniversary and the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in an Arctic penal colony last week. Washington imposed about 600 new sanctions on Russia and its war machine in the largest single round of penalties since Moscow’s invasion. The EU added sanctions on several foreign companies, also targeting scores of Russian officials, including members of the judiciary and local politicians.
Canada announced additional sanctions against 10 individuals and 153 entities over Russia’s “illegal and unjustifiable invasion”.
On a surprise visit to Ukraine to meet with Zelenskiy, US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer directly challenged House speaker Mike Johnson to take up a $95bn national security package that includes aid for the besieged country. Schumer said in Lviv on Friday that “the weight of history” was on Johnson’s shoulders. Schumer and four other Democratic senators met Zelenskiy and other officials.
A small group of Ukrainian child survivors of war was to address a private meeting at the UN in New York, timed to coincide with a meeting of the security council on Friday, as part of an effort by Kyiv to remind Americans of the human costs of a conflict increasingly affected by US domestic politics.
Ukraine’s foreign minister has told skeptics who believe Ukraine can’t win the war that they will be proven wrong, saying: “Ukraine will win the war.” Dmytro Kuleba, speaking at the UN, urged the world’s nations to stand behind Ukraine and said that if they did, victory would come “sooner rather than later”.
Navalny’s mother has been given an ultimatum – to “agree to secret funeral or he is buried in prison” – by Russian authorities holding her son, she says. Lyudmila Navalnaya accused Russian investigators of “blackmailing” her on Thursday over the logistics of the funeral for Navalny.
Ukraine’s prime minister went to the border with Poland on Friday hoping to end weeks of protests by Polish farmers but he said no one from the neighbouring government turned up for talks. Polish authorities said they had never agreed to a border meeting and there was no end in sight to the protests that Ukraine says threatens its exports and are holding up deliveries of crucial weapons.
The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, speaking in New York, has said support for Ukraine is “fundamentally about US security” in a direct appeal to US politicians to pass the aid bill facing an uphill battle in Congress.
Switzerland is set to hold a Ukraine peace conference “by the summer”. Addressing the UN general assembly on Friday, the Swiss foreign minister, Ignazio Cassis, said: “At Ukraine’s request, we intend to organise by the summer a high-level conference on peace in Ukraine.”
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