Discussions at the Munich security conference, where world leaders have gathered this weekend, have focused in large part on the war.
China’s senior diplomat Wang Yi, one of the few external politicians able to influence Russia, announced that China would launch its peace initiative on the anniversary of the war, and has already been consulting Germany, Italy and France on its proposals. China had “neither stood by idly nor thrown fuel on the fire” regarding the crisis in Ukraine, he said.
Western leaders have reacted nervously to the Chinese peace plan for Ukraine due to be revealed this week, but cautiously welcomed the move as a first sign that China recognises the war cannot be regarded solely as a European affair.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, on Saturday warned Wang Yi of consequences should China provide material support to Russia’s invasion, saying in an interview after the two met that Washington was concerned Beijing was considering supplying weapons to Moscow. The top diplomats met at an undisclosed location on the sidelines of the Munich conference.
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, called on the west to “double down” on its military support to Ukraine. “When Putin started this war, he gambled that our resolve would falter,” he said. “But we proved him wrong then, and we will prove him wrong now.” He also offered to help other countries that were willing to send aircraft to Ukraine now.
The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, said there was “no doubt” that Russia had committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine. Harris also warned that any Chinese support for Russia in its war in Ukraine would reward aggression.
Ukraine must win its battle against Russia’s invasion, said Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, warning that a Russian victory might embolden Moscow to attack other countries. Pistorius said he assured the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that Germany and its allies would help Kyiv “for as long as it takes”.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said the EU wants to work with the defence industry to quicken and scale up the production of ammunition, both for the Ukrainian military and to replenish stocks at home. It follows warnings from Kyiv that its forces need more supplies quickly.
Poland is ready to support Ukraine with its MiG jets, but only if a broader coalition is formed with the United States as a leader, said the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has said it is becoming “increasingly difficult” for the Russian government to “insulate the population” from the reality of the war. Air raid alerts were in place across much of western and southern Ukraine early on Saturday, with Ukrainian officials reporting that Russia fired four Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea.
Two people were injured in a strike on the western city of Khmelnytskyi, according to the local mayor.
One civilian was reported killed in shelling in the eastern city of Vovchansk, a few miles from the Russian border.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that its forces had captured Hrianykivka, a village in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region that is well to the north of most significant fighting. A briefing note from Ukraine’s general staff later on Saturday said the village was being shelled, but made no mention of an assault.
The number of Russian soldiers killed since the invasion has reached 142,270, according to the Ukrainian military. A day earlier the UK’s defence ministry said as many as 60,000 Russian forces may have been killed in just under a year. The MoD said the casualty rate “has significantly increased since September 2022 when ‘partial mobilisation’ was imposed”.
Most of Ukraine has power despite a series of major Russian attacks on the generating system, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday, praising the work done by repair crews. Russia has carried out repeated waves of attacks on key infrastructure, at times leaving millions of people without light, heating or running water.
