Closing summary
It has just gone 6.20pm in Kyiv and 7.20pm in Moscow. We will be closing this blog soon, but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s Russia and Ukraine coverage here.
Here is a recap of today’s latest developments:
A deadly Russian missile strike on the port city of Odesa appeared to land near Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the visiting Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who described the moment of the bombardment as “intense”. The attack on port infrastructure on Wednesday killed five people and left an unspecified number of wounded, according to Ukraine’s navy.
Ihor Zhovkva, a top Ukrainian diplomatic adviser, told CNN that it could not be ruled out that a Russian missile strike had targeted the delegations of Zelenskiy or Mitsotakis.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, said today that Russia did not target Zelenskiy’s delegation in a missile attack in Odesa on Wednesday. Medvedev said Russia would have hit its target if that had been its aim.
Mitsotakis emphasised the urgent need to continue assisting Ukraine after experiencing first-hand the perils of war during a top-secret visit to the country. Addressing a meeting of European conservative party leaders in Bucharest after coming “very close” to a Russian ballistic missile attack in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Wednesday, the Greek prime minister said: “I think that we all have a message for the Kremlin: we will not be intimidated.” His visit had been planned for months with the Greek media reporting on Thursday that he had taken off from a military airport in “top secret” circumstances because of security concerns.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that French president Emmanuel Macron was increasing France’s involvement in Ukraine, after he declined to rule out deploying troops there. “Macron is convinced of his line to strategically defeat our country, and he continues to raise the level of France’s direct involvement,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
The Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday it had summoned the US ambassador in Moscow and warned her against “attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation”. Ahead of a March presidential election, it said in a statement that such behaviour would be “firmly and resolutely suppressed, up to and including the expulsion as ‘persona non grata’ of US embassy staff involved in such actions”.
French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday pledged his country’s “unwavering support” for Moldova as tensions mount between the eastern European country and pro-Russian separatists. Macron and Moldova’s president Maia Sandu signed a Chisinau-Paris defence deal as well as an “economic roadmap” at a meeting at Élysée Palace on Thursday.
Sandu said on Thursday that Russia was renewing its efforts to destabilise her country and warned that, if president Vladimir Putin was not stopped in Ukraine, he continue to be a threat for the rest of Europe. “If the aggressor is not stopped, he will keep going, and the frontline will keep moving closer. Closer to us. Closer to you,” the Moldovan president said as she signed a defence and cooperation agreement with Macron in Paris.
The EU’s largest political party on Thursday endorsed Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second five-year term at the helm of the bloc’s powerful Commission. As the two-day European People’s party (EPP) meeting came to a close on Thursday, von der Leyen warned of the expected rise of populists in the bloc’s upcoming elections and Russia’s attempt “to wipe Ukraine off the face of (the) earth”.
Macron also met leaders of France’s main political parties on Thursday as he sought to hammer home the importance of greater support for Ukraine ahead of European elections this summer. The president and party leaders were expected to discuss the war, including the results of an international conference to step up military support for Ukraine held in Paris last week.
Ireland’s prime minister Leo Varadkar has said his government supports a Europe wide defence policy, despite Ireland’s policy of neutrality, adding that he did not believe that “Putin’s ambitions will stop at Ukraine”. He said: “This is our war too and it’s not just happening on Ukraine’s territory. It’s happening all around us, in our seas, and in the form of physical and cyber-attacks.”
China’s top foreign affairs official has accused the US of trying to suppress China and has vowed to deepen relations with Russia, as Beijing continues to assert the importance of what it calls a “multipolar” world order. Foreign minister Wang Yi praised the “strategic guidance” of China’s president Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin for strengthening the relationship to the point that bilateral trade hit a record $240bn last year.
The recently elected Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, issued a stark warning on Thursday that Europe now stands in a new prewar era just as it did before the second world war. “We are living in new times, in a prewar epoch. In fact, for some of our brothers, it is no longer even a prewar time. It is a full-scale war in its most cruel form,” he told fellow prime ministers and hundreds of MEPs attending the annual congress of the EPP alliance in Bucharest.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that a Belarusian man who had been planning “an act of terrorism” inside Russia on behalf of Ukraine had been killed in the Russian region of Karelia. RIA cited the FSB as saying that the man had intended to blow up an administrative building in the city of Olonets, about 155 miles (250 km) from the Finnish border.
The Czech Republic has announced it is suspending intergovernmental consultations with Slovakia amid growing concerns that Bratislava is shifting away from western policy on supporting Ukraine. The two countries have traditionally enjoyed a special relationship, given their history as part of the former Czechoslovakia, and close economic links.
Russian security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a top ally of Putin, said on Thursday that Nato’s latest military exercise looked like a rehearsal for an armed confrontation with Russia. Patrushev said the exercise, which is due to run until 14 March, was destabilising and was raising tensions
Sweden on Thursday is to become the 32nd member of Nato – a development entirely due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On a visit to Washington, Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom, are due to hand over final Nato accession documents to US representatives in the coming days. It is Sweden’s last step in a two-year process to join the military alliance.
On Thursday, EU lawmakers approved giving Ukrainian food producers access to EU markets for a further year, rejecting a series of amendments that could have added restrictions. The European Commission has proposed import duties and quotas on Ukrainian farm produce be lifted for another year to June 2025.
Norway will provide new funding to buy artillery shells for Ukraine, under the Czech-led ammunition initiative, the Ukrainian defence ministry said on Thursday. “Norway will provide €140m to procure artillery shells for Ukraine within the Czech initiative,” it said.
A senior Russian military officer warned that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a full-scale war in Europe and said the probability of Moscow’s forces becoming involved in a new conflict is increasing “significantly”. Colonel-general Vladimir Zarudnitsky, head of the Russian army’s Military Academy of the General Staff, made the comments in an article for “Military Thought”, a defence ministry publication, the state RIA news agency reported on Thursday.
India’s embassy in Moscow confirmed the death of a citizen recruited by the Russian army, days after a relative told Agence France-Presse (AFP) he had been sent to fight in Ukraine. The embassy did not state the circumstances behind Mohammed Afsan’s death but said it was in touch with his family and Russian authorities.
Japan’s top government spokesperson said on Thursday that Tokyo was gravely concerned about closer military cooperation between China and Russia in light of security for Japan as well as for the region. “Our country intends to keep a close eye on development in Sino-Russian relations,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular press conference.
The Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has emphasised the urgent need to continue assisting Ukraine after experiencing first-hand the perils of war during a top-secret visit to the country.
Addressing a meeting of European conservative party leaders in Bucharest after coming “very close” to a Russian ballistic missile attack in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Wednesday, Mitsotakis said: “I think that we all have a message for the Kremlin: we will not be intimidated, we will continue to support Ukraine and its brave citizens for as long as necessary. And we remain united on this issue.”
The Greek leader came within meters of the blast as he toured the Black Sea port with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday morning. The strike left five dead and an unspecified number of wounded with Ukrainian officials saying today that the visiting delegation was deliberately targeted.
Mitsotakis, who was visiting Ukraine for the first time since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, said the sttack occurred as he and aides were about to get into their motorcade. The Greek minister of state Stavros Papastavrou, who was also with the leader, was quoted as saying he believed the missile struck “within 200 meters” of the convoy.
The prime minister’s seven-hour visit had been planned for months with the Greek media reporting Thursday that he had taken off from a military airport in “top secret” circumstances because of security concerns.
It had been decided that the two leaders would meet in Odesa because of the Black Sea city’s historic links to Greece. Home to a vibrant Greek community, Odesa played a key role in the nation’s war of independence against Ottoman rule in the early 19th century with Mitsotakis vowing to help rebuild it once the war ended.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that French president Emmanuel Macron was increasing France’s involvement in Ukraine, after he declined to rule out deploying troops there, reports AFP.
Macron has since doubled down on his remarks, which stunned many in Europe and represented a significant shift in rhetoric as Ukraine struggles on the battlefield.
“Macron is convinced of his line to strategically defeat our country, and he continues to raise the level of France’s direct involvement,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
According to AFP, Peskov said Paris had given “very contradictory” statements about whether it was open to sending troops to Ukraine, and that its foreign ministry had since talked down the suggestion.
On Tuesday, Macron said he “fully stood behind” his controversial remarks and urged Kyiv’s allies not to be “cowards” in supporting the country fight off Russia.
Moldova's president says Putin will keep going if he's not stopped
Moldova’s president Maia Sandu said on Thursday that Russia was renewing its efforts to destabilise her country and warned that, if president Vladimir Putin was not stopped in Ukraine, he continue to be a threat for the rest of Europe, reports Reuters.
“If the aggressor is not stopped, he will keep going, and the frontline will keep moving closer. Closer to us. Closer to you,” Sandu said as she signed a defence and cooperation agreement with president Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
“Europe must therefore present a united front. Aggression must be repelled by a strong force,” she said. Macron said France would back Moldova.
“Moldova’s democratic reality and its inspiration about a European future, like Ukraine, are, in fact, a challenge for the Russia of Vladimir Putin,” Macron said, adding his country would strengthen cooperation to help it fight off what he called “hybrid attacks”.
Located on Ukraine’s south-western border, former Soviet state Moldova has long expressed aspirations to move closer to the EU, and says it is the target of Russian interference, mainly in the breakaway Transdnistria region.
With weak military forces, Moldova is seen as particularly vulnerable should the Ukraine war spill over to other eastern European countries.
Earlier this week, Moldova’s spy chief said Russia was planning fresh attempts to meddle in the country’s internal affairs by provoking protests and interfering in upcoming presidential elections.
Updated
My colleague, Helena Smith, has written a news article on the Russian missiles strike near Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the visiting Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Wednesday. You can read more below:
A deadly Russian missile strike on the port city of Odesa appeared to land near Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the visiting Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who described the moment of the bombardment as “intense”.
The attack on port infrastructure on Wednesday killed five people and left an unspecified number of wounded, according to Ukraine’s navy.
“We heard the sound of sirens and explosions that took place near us,” said Mitsotakis, who was holding talks with Zelenskiy. “We did not have time to get to a shelter. It is a very intense experience,” Mitsotakis added in Odesa.
Ukraine stepped up its own attacks behind Russian lines with the apparent killing of a Russian election official on Wednesday with a car bomb and a drone assault on a metal plant.
Russia and Ukraine have increased aerial attacks as Moscow’s troops advance on the frontlines and Kyiv faces a shortage of manpower and weapons.
Ukrainian navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk confirmed that the Odesa strike came as the Greek delegation was visiting the port with Zelenskiy.
Updated
French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday pledged his country’s “unwavering support” for Moldova as tensions mount between the eastern European country and pro-Russian separatists, reports AFP.
“France restates its unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognised borders,” he said in a joint statement with Moldovan president Maia Sandu as she visited Paris.
Two years into Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, Moldova faces “multiple challenges caused by the conflict on its borders”, the statement said.
Top of the list is the pro-Russian breakway region of Transnistria, where officials last week appealed to Moscow for “protection”. There is mounting concern that the territory could become a new flashpoint in the conflict, with Moldova “facing intensifying hybrid attacks”, the two presidents said.
The two presidents signed a Chisinau-Paris defence deal as well as an “economic roadmap”, reports AFP.
“The Moldovan state must be in a position to protect its neutrality, defend its territory and its population, and contribute to regional and international security,” they said in the statement.
Macron and Sandu said Paris was “fully backing” Moldova’s reforms aimed at one day joining the EU. It is to hold a referendum later this year.
“Justice reform and the battle against corruption” would be particularly important to a successful membership bid, they added.
Updated
Senior Russian politician denies Zelenskiy's motorcade was targeted
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said today that Russia did not target Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s delegation in a missile attack yesterday, Reuters reported.
Medvedev said Russia would have hit its target if that had been its aim.
Sweden is about to complete the process to formally join Nato.
NATO SG Stoltenberg has just informed me that all NATO member states have accepted our accession protocol, and has invited Sweden to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty. Sweden will soon be NATO’s 32nd member.
— SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) March 7, 2024
Norway will provide new funding to buy artillery shells for Ukraine, under the Czech-led ammunition initiative, the Ukrainian defence ministry said.
Good news from our Norwegian friends 🇺🇦🤝🇳🇴
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 7, 2024
Norway will provide €140 million to procure artillery shells for Ukraine within the Czech initiative.
Also, Norway joined the Air Defense Coalition. That's an important step towards strengthening Ukraine's capabilities, as Norwegian… pic.twitter.com/fYnMBOqtMM
Ukrainian aide says 'cannot exclude' Russia targeted delegations
Ihor Zhovkva, a top Ukrainian diplomatic adviser, has told CNN that it could not be ruled out that a Russian missile strike had targeted the delegations of Volodymyr Zelenskiy or the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Reuters reported.
“It really was less than 500 meters from us. What was that? ... You cannot exclude it was directed at the delegation of my president or the delegation of foreign guest,” he said.
French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday met leaders of the country’s main political parties as he sought to hammer home the importance of greater support for Ukraine ahead of European elections this summer, reports AFP.
Last week Macron stunned many in Europe by refusing to rule out the dispatch of western ground troops to Ukraine, pointing to Russia’s hardening stance.
According to AFP, although members of the opposition denounced his remarks, Macron has since doubled down on his calls to ramp up military aid for Ukraine.
The president and party leaders were expected to discuss the war, including the results of an international conference to step up military support for Ukraine held in Paris last week.
France’s parliament will have a chance to vote on the country’s Ukraine strategy, including a bilateral security treaty signed with Kyiv last month, after debates in the National Assembly lower house next Tuesday and the Senate upper house on Wednesday.
Ahead of meeting the opposition, Macron had spoken to his predecessors François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy at the Élysée Palace late on Wednesday.
Speaking to journalists after the talks, Hollande called for more aid for Ukraine as well as European unity. “The only possible response is to show that we are with the Ukrainians in total solidarity, that we are giving them all the support they need, without taking part in any combat ourselves,” Hollande said.
Asked about the possibility of sending troops, the former president said: “My position on military issues is: the less we say, the better.”
EU's largest party endorses Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second term as European Commission chief
The EU’s largest political party on Thursday endorsed Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second five-year term at the helm of the bloc’s powerful Commission, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Von der Leyen ’s nomination at a gathering of her center-right European People’s party (EPP) in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, comes ahead of the 6-9 June elections for the European parliament, the EU’s only democratically elected institution. The endorsement places her firmly as a frontrunner for the top job in the 27-nation bloc.
The EPP is expected to remain the biggest in the bloc’s legislature after the June voting, but von der Leyen’s posting would still require approval from leaders of the EU’s member states. Almost half of the EU’s 27 national leaders are members of the EPP.
As the two-day EPP meeting came to a close on Thursday, von der Leyen warned of the expected rise of populists in the bloc’s upcoming elections and Russia’s attempt “to wipe Ukraine off the face of (the) earth”.
“Our peaceful and united Europe is being challenged like never before by populists, by nationalists, by demagogues, whether it’s the far right or it’s the far left,” she said. “The names may be different, but the goal is the same. They want to trample on our values and they want to destroy our Europe … the EPP will never let that happen.”
According to AP, von der Leyen noted Europe’s push to reduce its dependence on Russian energy after president Vladimir Putin ordered the war in Ukraine two years ago.
“We have resisted Putin’s blackmail with its dirty coal, oil and gas. We got rid of this dependency,” she said. “We are massively investing in clean energy. For the first time we produced more electricity from wind and sun in Europe than from gas. This creates good jobs here at home, drives prices down and cleans up pollution. And it gives us energy security.”
In 2022, wind and solar generated a record 22% of EU’s electricity, for the first time overtaking fossil gas at 20% and remaining above coal power at 16%, according to a recent review by Ember, an energy think tank.
Updated
Ireland’s prime minister Leo Varadkar has said his government supports a Europe wide defence policy, despite Ireland’s policy of neutrality.
“I do not believe that Putin’s ambitions will stop at Ukraine. This is our war too and it’s not just happening on Ukraine’s territory. It’s happening all around us, in our seas, and in the form of physical and cyber-attacks. As one of my forebears said, a Europe worth building is a Europe worth defending. We should do so by developing PESCO in particular,“ he said in reference to the European security cooperation framework involving all member states bar Malta.
“The people in Ukraine are fighting, sacrificing their lives for European values. Fighting for democracy, liberty and the rule of law. The least we can do is provide them with the tools they need to defend their country and their homes – and progress EU accession negotiations as quickly as possible,” he said.
Updated
According to Reuters, Norway will donate up to 1.6bn Norwegian crowns ($153m/£120m) for the purchase of ammunition for Ukraine, Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement on Thursday.
Polish prime minister warns that Europe stands in a new 'prewar' era
The recently elected Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, has issued a stark warning that Europe now stands in a new prewar era just as it did before the second world war.
“The times of blissful calm are over. The postwar epoch is gone. We are living in new times, in a prewar epoch. In fact, for some of our brothers, it is no longer even a prewar time. It is a full-scale war in its most cruel form,” he told fellow prime ministers and hundreds of MEPs attending the annual congress of the European People’s party alliance in Bucharest.
“It is not our fault that our daily vocabulary includes, once again, such words as fighting, bombings, rocket attacks, genocide,” he said. Tusk added:
Europe wanted to live and develop itself in a postwar world. But today we must say clearly that we are faced with a simple choice – either we undertake the fight to defend our borders, our territory, our principles, and as a consequence our citizens and future generations, or we will fall.
There is no objective reason to capitulate before evil. The potential of Europe, economic, financial, demographic, moral, is greater than the potential of those who attack us. It is crucial today that Europe believes in its strength.
Also when it comes to the context of our defence capacity, we cannot live on the illusions. No one will take our place in this fight for our safety and for our future. We ourselves are the best guarantors of our safety and of our unity.
As you well know, the only person you can count on is yourself. Europeans will be united when they see with all clarity that the Union is really our Europe, a safe and good home for the people.”
Updated
Czech Republic to suspend talks with Slovakia over Russia ties
The Czech Republic has announced it is suspending intergovernmental consultations with Slovakia amid growing concerns that Bratislava is shifting away from western policy on supporting Ukraine.
The two countries have traditionally enjoyed a special relationship, given their history as part of the former Czechoslovakia, and close economic links.
But a recent meeting between Slovakia’s foreign minister, Juraj Blanár, and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in Turkey has proved to be a step too far for many in Prague, prompting tensions over foreign policy differences to come to the fore.
“There is no disguising that there are differences of opinion on several very important issues. We consider the meeting between the Slovak foreign minister and the Russian foreign minister to be problematic,” the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, said on Wednesday.
Russian security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a top ally of president Vladimir Putin, said on Thursday that Nato’s latest military exercise looked like a rehearsal for an armed confrontation with Russia, Reuters reports citing the Interfax news agency.
Nato’s Nordic Response Exercise is taking place across northern Norway, Sweden and Finland and involves 20,000 soldiers from 13 countries.
Patrushev said the exercise, which is due to run until 14 March, was destabilising and was raising tensions, reports Reuters.
Here are some of the latest images from Ukraine and Russia on the newswires:
Russia summons US ambassador in Moscow and says it will expel diplomats who meddle in its internal affairs
The Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday it had summoned the US ambassador in Moscow and warned her against “attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation”, reports Reuters.
Ahead of a March presidential election, it said in a statement that such behaviour would be “firmly and resolutely suppressed, up to and including the expulsion as ‘persona non grata’ of US embassy staff involved in such actions”.
Russia summons US ambassador, says state news agency Tass
According to a breaking news line by Reuters on the newswires, Russia has summoned the US ambassador. Reuters are citing the Russian state news agency Tass, who say the message has come from the Russian foreign ministry.
More details to follow …
Updated
Reuters have reported more details on the news that Russia’s FSB shot dead a Belarusian man, who it said had been planning “an act of terrorism” on behalf of Ukraine, in the northern Russian region of Karelia, according to the RIA state news agency.
The FSB said it had “seized weapons and an improvised explosive device” after the shootout.
RIA cited the FSB as saying that the man had intended to blow up an administrative building in the city of Olonets, about 155 miles (250 km) from the Finnish border.
“During the arrest, the criminal opened fire from a firearm at special services officers and was neutralised during the clash,” RIA cited the FSB as saying.
Reuters report that RIA published video footage showing several FSB agents entering a dilapidated, unlit building in a remote area, shouting “come out” and then firing shots. The video then showed a man who appeared to be dead lying on the ground with a handgun next to his body, it said.
The FSB said the improvised explosive device had been made using a plastic explosive manufactured in Britain and had a US-made detonator.
Citing unnamed sources, Russian media reported the man’s name as Nikolai Alekseev, a 49-year-old activist from Belarus who had participated in opposition protests there in 2020.
Updated
Russia's FSB says a Belarusian man planning 'act of terrorism' on behalf of Ukraine has been shot dead – reports
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that a Belarusian man who had been planning “an act of terrorism” inside Russia on behalf of Ukraine had been killed in the Russian region of Karelia, Reuters reports citing the RIA news agency.
There is no further information in the report but we will update when more details are released.
Updated
Military education facility is ablaze in Russia's Kazan, say state media
A military education facility is ablaze in the Russian city of Kazan, Russian state news agencies reported, citing emergency services.
According to the Russian state news agency Tass, the fire broke out at the Higher Tank training college, where future tank commanders and crew learn their skills, report Reuters.
EU lawmakers back extension of trade liberalisation for Ukraine
On Thursday, EU lawmakers approved giving Ukrainian food producers access to EU markets for a further year, rejecting a series of amendments that could have added restrictions, reports Reuters.
The European Commission has proposed import duties and quotas on Ukrainian farm produce be lifted for another year to June 2025. They were originally suspended in 2022 after Russia’s invasion, which hit shipments via the Black Sea.
Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Aakash Hassan in Delhi and Gaurav Pokharel in Kathmandu have also reported on the Indian and Nepalese men on frontlines in Ukraine. The young men have been “made to join the Russian military” after signing up for jobs in Russia, Germany or Dubai, say their families.
You can read more here:
Updated
India’s embassy in Moscow has confirmed the death of a citizen recruited by the Russian army, days after a relative told Agence France-Presse (AFP) he had been sent to fight in Ukraine.
Two years after Russia’s invasion began, tens of thousands of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine and Moscow is on a global quest for more combatants.
The foreign ministry in New Delhi said last month that it was working to secure discharges for about 20 Indian nationals “stuck” in the Russian army.
The embassy did not state the circumstances behind Mohammed Afsan’s death but said it was in touch with his family and Russian authorities.
“Mission will make efforts to send his mortal remains to India,” the embassy wrote on X.
Afsan’s brother, Mohammed Imran, told AFP in February that his brother had been missing for nearly two months. Afsan had last called from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don to say that he had been deployed to the frontlines, Imran had said.
He said that another Indian soldier who managed to escape told his family that 30-year-old Afsan had been wounded by a bullet. Afsan is the first death confirmed by Indian authorities among its citizens serving with the Russian army and the second confirmed overall.
A 23-year-old man from Gujarat state was killed in a Ukrainian airstrike while working as a “security helper”, local media reported last month, citing relatives and another Indian soldier at the frontlines.
Several Indian recruits told AFP last month that they were lured into joining up by promises of high salaries and a Russian passport before being shipped to the frontlines.
The soldiers who spoke with AFP said they had been promised non-combatant roles but were trained to use Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons before being sent to Ukraine.
Japan’s top government spokesperson said on Thursday that Tokyo was gravely concerned about closer military cooperation between China and Russia in light of security for Japan as well as for the region, reports Reuters.
“Our country intends to keep a close eye on development in Sino-Russian relations,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular press conference.
China pledges to deepen Russia ties
China’s top foreign affairs official has accused the US of trying to suppress China and has vowed to deepen relations with Russia, as Beijing continues to assert the importance of what it calls a “multipolar” world order.
Foreign minister Wang Yi accused the US of imposing sanctions on Chinese companies to a “bewildering” and “unfathomable” level, referencing Beijing’s opposition to “unilateralism and protectionism”, complaints that have become buzzwords in China’s official statements of late.
Speaking on Thursday, Wang said the relationship between China and the US was “critical” but that it was the relationship with Russia that would be deepened and strengthened in the coming months.
Wang praised the “strategic guidance” of China’s president Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin for strengthening the relationship to the point that bilateral trade hit a record $240bn last year. Wang noted that Russian natural gas was fuelling Chinese households, while Chinese cars were driving on Russian roads.
You can read Amy Hawkins’s full report from Beijing here:
Russian missiles strike near Zelenskiy and visiting Greek prime minister
A deadly Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa appeared to land near president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and visiting Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who described the moment of the bombardment as “intense”.
The attack on port infrastructure on Wednesday killed five people and left an unspecified number of wounded, according to Ukraine’s navy.
“We heard the sound of sirens and explosions that took place near us,” said Mitsotakis, who was holding talks with Zelenskiy. “We did not have time to get to a shelter. It is a very intense experience,” Mitsotakis added, through an interpreter in Odesa.
Ukraine stepped up its own attacks behind Russian lines with the apparent killing of a Russian election official on Wednesday with a car bomb and a drone assault on a metal plant.
Russia and Ukraine have increased aerial attacks as Moscow’s troops advance on the frontlines and Kyiv faces a shortage of manpower and weapons.
Spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk confirmed that the Odesa strike came as the Greek delegation was visiting the port with Zelenskiy.
Senior Russian officer warns Ukraine conflict could escalate into full-scale war in Europe
A senior Russian military officer has warned that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a full-scale war in Europe and said the probability of Moscow’s forces becoming involved in a new conflict is increasing “significantly”, reports news agency Reuters.
Colonel-general Vladimir Zarudnitsky, head of the Russian army’s Military Academy of the General Staff, made the comments in an article for “Military Thought”, a defence ministry publication, the state RIA news agency reported on Thursday.
“The possibility of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine – from the expansion of participants in ‘proxy forces’ used for military confrontation with Russia to a large-scale war in Europe – cannot be ruled out,” RIA cited him a saying.
“The main source of military threats to our state is the anti-Russian policy of the US and its allies, who are conducting a new type of hybrid warfare in order to weaken Russia in every possible way, limit its sovereignty and destroy its territorial integrity,” he was quoted as saying.
“The likelihood of our state being purposefully drawn into new military conflicts is significantly increasing.”
Zarudnitsky’s comments come at a time when the west is scrambling to help Ukraine with more arms and financing after Kyiv’s failed counteroffensive last summer and after Russian forces regained the initiative on the battlefield.
Zarudnitsky advocated a number of changes in the way Russia organises its military and security, RIA added, including placing greater emphasis on relying on what he called friendly countries to ensure Russia’s own security and consolidating the whole of Russian society around its defence needs.
Updated
Opening summary
It has gone 10am in Kyiv and 11am in Moscow. This is our latest Guardian blog covering all the latest developments over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
A deadly Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa appeared to land near president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and visiting Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who described the moment of the bombardment as “intense”.
The attack on port infrastructure on Wednesday killed five people and left an unspecified number of wounded, according to Ukraine’s navy.
“We heard the sound of sirens and explosions that took place near us,” said Mitsotakis, who was holding talks with Zelenskiy. “We did not have time to get to a shelter. It is a very intense experience,” Mitsotakis added, through an interpreter in Odesa.
More on this story in a moment, but first, here are the other latest developments:
A senior Russian military officer has warned that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a full-scale war in Europe and said the probability of Moscow’s forces becoming involved in a new conflict is increasing “significantly”, reported the state RIA news agency on Thursday.
The Ukrainian military will stabilise the battlefield situation shortly and aims to form units for counter-offensive actions later this year, according to Lt Gen Oleksandr Pavliuk, commander of ground forces. He said work was under way to withdraw military units and restore their combat potential. Zelenskiy, has previously said Russia will try to mount a new offensive this spring or summer, but Kyiv has a battlefield plan of its own.
Ukrainian military spokesperson Dmytro Lykhoviy told national television on Wednesday that Russian forces were unable to gain new ground near Avdiivka. The Russians were instead focusing on an area to the south, near the village of Novomykhailivka. Maksym Zhorin, a Ukrainian commander in the area, also said Russian forces were having difficulty making headway. Their latest target was the village of Orlivka. “They are constantly attempting to advance and make progress wherever possible. Despite significant losses, they persist in launching assaults, both day and night.”
Sweden on Thursday is to become the 32nd member of Nato – a development entirely due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On a visit to Washington, Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom, are due to hand over final Nato accession documents to US representatives in the coming days. It is Sweden’s last step in a two-year process to join the military alliance.
Britain’s foreign minister, David Cameron, will discuss boosting support for Ukraine in talks with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, in Berlin on Thursday. There may be awkward moments after Russian media published an intercepted online call between senior German military officials that included details about Britain’s operations in Ukraine.
High oil prices, sanctions evasion and state investment are providing Russia with enough resources to fight on in Ukraine at the current intensity for at least two more years, Lithuanian intelligence agencies have said. In a report, they add that Russian intelligence is driving efforts to evade sanctions on its defence industry. Russia is openly supplied with weapons and ammunition by only Iran and North Korea, but China has become its largest supplier of microchips, and the yuan now the main currency for Russia’s international transactions, the intelligence agencies say.
Britain is prepared to loan Ukraine all frozen Russian central bank assets in the UK on the basis that Russia will be forced to pay reparations to Ukraine at the end of the war, the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said. He said the assets would be used as surety for the payment of the reparations.
Ukraine stepped up its attacks behind Russian lines with the apparent car bomb killing of a Russian election official in the Russian-occupied city of Berdiansk; and two drones struck the Mikhailovsky GOK iron ore refinery in Russia’s Kursk region, where an industrial fuel tank exploded. Ukrainian military intelligence was responsible for the iron plant attack, a source told Reuters.
Germany is participating in a Czech Republic initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine with a three-digit million euro contribution, a spokesperson for the German government said on Wednesday.
A reporter for the independent Russian news outlet RusNews has been sentenced to seven years in prison for articles he wrote about alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, his publication said. Roman Ivanov was convicted of publishing “fake news” about the Russian army under wartime censorship laws.
