US President Joe Biden has said there would be a “response in kind” if Russian President Vladimir Putin was to order the use of chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine. He said: "We would respond. We would respond if he uses it. The nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use.”
Nato leaders have already agreed that Russia using chemical weapons would mark a “fundamental change” in the conflict that would be met with a “very severe response”. However, a Western official declined to outline what the response would be saying “we need to keep Putin guessing”.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned against allowing the threats over chemical, biological and nuclear weapons to become a “distraction”. He said: “It’s intended to be a distraction from what is really going on and that is a savage attack with conventional means on innocent people in urban centres in Ukraine, absolutely barbaric use of artillery and mortars and rockets as I’ve described, thermobaric bombs included it now seems, that is what is going on.”
Zelensky says Europe acted too late to stop Russian invasion
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has told European leaders they acted too late against Russia. In a speech at a meeting of the European Council, President Zelensky thanked the EU for its support - but said it "was also a little late" coming.
He said: "You have applied sanctions. We are grateful. These are powerful steps. But it was a little late. Because if it had been preventive, Russia would not have gone to war. At least no one knows for sure. There was a chance.
"You blocked Nord Stream 2. We are grateful to you. And rightly so. But it was also a little late. Because if it had been in time, Russia would not have created a gas crisis. At least there was a chance."
Mr Zelensky asked the council to "not be late" while it is "preparing Ukraine's membership in the European Union". He continued: "Here I ask you - do not be late. Please.
"Because during this month you have compared these worlds, and you see everything. You saw who is worth what. And you saw that Ukraine should be in the EU in the near future. At least you have everything for that. And we have this chance."
President Zelensky appeared to single out Hungary for criticism. He said: "Hungary... I want to stop here and be honest. Once and for all. You have to decide for yourself who you are with."
Biden pledges new aid for Ukraine
US President Joe Biden and western allies have pledged new sanctions and humanitarian aid in response to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine. Mr Biden also announced the US would welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and provide an additional 1 billion dollars (£760 million) in food, medicine, water and other supplies.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he needs far more than Western allies are currently willing to give. “One percent of all your planes, one percent of all your tanks,” Mr Zelensky asked members of the Nato alliance. “We can’t just buy those. When we will have all this, it will give us, just like you, 100% security.”
Mr Biden said more aid was on its way but western leaders are treading carefully so as not to further escalate the conflict beyond the borders of Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron said: “Nato has made a choice to support Ukraine in this war without going to war with Russia. Therefore we have decided to intensify our ongoing work to prevent any escalation and to get organised in case there is an escalation.”
Russian ship destroyed in occupied Ukrainian port city
Ukraine’s navy says it sank a large landing ship near the port city of Berdyansk that had been used to supply Russian forces with armoured vehicles. Photos and video showed fire and thick plumes of smoke.
Russian TV reported earlier this week that the vessel the Ukrainians claimed to have sunk, the Orsk, was the first Russian warship to enter Berdyansk. The port was going to be used to deliver military equipment for the Russians, the report said. Ukraine claimed two more ships were damaged and a 3,000-tonne fuel tank was destroyed when the Orsk was sunk, causing a fire that spread to nearby ammunition supplies.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Ukraine is likely to continue to target logistical assets in Russian-held areas. The MoD's latest intelligence update said: "This will force the Russian military to prioritise the defence of their supply chain and deprive them of much needed resupply for forces. This will reduce Russia’s ability to conduct offensive operations, and further damage already dwindling morale."
Russia and Ukraine 'hold first formal prisoner swap since war began'
Ukraine and Russia exchanged a total of 50 military and civilian prisoners, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. Officials say it is the first formal prisoner swap since the war began.
Ms Vereshchuk outlined the detail of some of the swaps in a Facebook post on Thursday. She said: "Today, by the order of President Zelensky, the first full exchange of prisoners of the military took place. In exchange for 10 captive occupiers, we pulled out 10 of our soldiers.
"Also, today we sent 11 civilian Russian sailors to the Russians that we rescued from a flooded ship near Odessa. As a result of this exchange, 19 Ukrainian civilian sailors are returning home from the Sapphire rescue ship, who were captured by the occupants in an attempt to take our military from the Zmíiny island. Under terms of exchange, the rescue ship itself will also be returned to Ukraine and will be sent to the port in Turkey."
Ukraine can certainly win, says Boris Johnson
Ukraine can “certainly win” against Russia, Boris Johnson has said. Mr Johnson said “the situation for the Ukrainians is grim, miserable”, but he praised “Churchillian” leader Volodymyr Zelensky and said: “I think Ukraine can certainly win.”
In an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight programme, following a day of intense diplomacy with Nato and G7 allies in Brussels, Mr Johnson said: “There’s a sense in which Putin has already failed or lost because I think that he had literally no idea that the Ukrainians were going to mount the resistance that they are and he totally misunderstood what Ukraine is. And far from extinguishing Ukraine as a nation, he is solidifying it.”
Mr Johnson also said he “totally agrees” that Brexit and the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion are not the same after he previously appeared to compare the UK voting to leave the EU and the Ukrainian fight against Russia. Speaking at the Conservative Party spring forum at the weekend, he said it was the “instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom”, with the Brexit vote a “famous recent example”.
But he told Newsnight: “That was not an analogy that I was making. I’m afraid that was wildly misconstrued. I said, I think in the same passage, that there’s been nothing like what we’re seeing in Ukraine since 1945 and it is a horror, and it can’t be compared to anything since 1945.”
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