Closing summary
That’s it for the Guardian’s Ukraine live blog.
It is currently 10pm in Paris, where Zelenskiy has just landed following a brief visit to the UK.
It is 11pm in Kyiv.
Here is what happened today:
Volodymyr Zelenskiy just has landed in Paris, following a brief visit to the UK where he met with the British prime minister, King Charles and other key figures.
Zelenskiy made a powerful appeal to the UK to supply Ukraine with fighter jets in a historic speech to members of the Commons and the Lords at Westminster.
The Ukrainian leader was embraced by Sunak and shook hands as he arrived in the UK for his first visit since the Russian invasion. The visit marked the second time Zelenskiy has left Ukraine since the start of the war.
King Charles held an audience with Zelenskiy in Buckingham Palace after the Ukrainian leader addressed British MPs.
The Russian embassy to Britain has warned the UK against sending fighter jets to Ukraine, after Downing Street confirmed Sunak had asked his defence secretary to investigate what jets London could potentially give to Kyiv, Russian state media is reporting. Such a move would have “military and political consequences for the European continent and the entire world”, the embassy said, according to state-run Tass news agency.
Join us tomorrow for more updates on Ukraine; thank you!
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has landed in Paris, following a brief visit to the UK.
LIVE Volodymyr Zelensky has landed at Paris Orly Airport https://t.co/4CHRyGVrbM pic.twitter.com/qOSGo4q6G8
— AIRLIVE (@airlivenet) February 8, 2023
Zelenskiy was welcomed to Paris by Sébastien Lecornu, France’s minister of armed forces.
🔴 Volodymyr Zelensky accueilli à Paris par Sébastien Lecornu pic.twitter.com/dlo5T43Ack
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) February 8, 2023
Updated
There are some strong images coming out of Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to the UK. Here are a few photos:
During a press conference, Zelenskiy hugged a BBC Ukraine journalist.
Zelenskiy and the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, shook hands during the news conference.
They also embraced.
Updated
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has tweeted a message of thanks to Volodymyr Zelenskiy for his visit and pledged continued support to Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion.
From Rishi Sunak via Twitter:
Volodymyr, it was a privilege to have you here in the United Kingdom today.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) February 8, 2023
We know Ukraine will ultimately defeat tyranny, and the UK will continue to train and arm Ukrainian forces with the equipment they need.
We will always be your staunch and unwavering friends 🇬🇧🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/srMtmJBvfU
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has left London and is set to land soon at Orly airport in Paris.
A brief photo op is expected on the tarmac before he is driven to the Élysée Palace and a dinner date with the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
My colleague Gloria Oladipo will guide you through the rest of the evening. Please stick with us.
Updated
Reuters, meanwhile, has this short video clip of Zelenskiy being welcomed by the king.
“It’s a great honour to be here,” Ukraine’s president said.
“We’ve all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long,” Charles replied.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met Britain's King Charles in Buckingham Palace https://t.co/eBD6vRYBvj pic.twitter.com/QwnarJeTvz
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 8, 2023
Getty has one of the first images of King Charles welcoming Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to Buckingham Palace this afternoon.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It’s 9pm in Kyiv and 7pm in London. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is thought to be on his way to Paris now, where he is expected to meet his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, this evening.
My colleague Richard Luscombe will be taking over the blog. Before I head off, here’s a look at today’s developments so far:
Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a powerful appeal to the UK to supply Ukraine with fighter jets in a historic speech to members of the Commons and the Lords at Westminster Hall. He presented Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the Commons, with the helmet of a fighter pilot on which the pilot had written: “We have freedom. Give us the wings to protect it.” Zelenskiy’s appeal may be broader – an effort to persuade the UK to act as a lobbyist to help Ukraine secure F-16s from the US, with Britain helping with, as announced, initial pilot training in simulators to get the process going.
Hours after Zelenskiy’s speech to the UK parliament, Downing Street announced that prime minister Rishi Sunak had asked Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, to investigate which jets the UK might be able to send to Ukraine in the future. A spokesperson for the PM stressed that no decision had been taken on whether to supply UK jets to Ukraine, but that the issue is being “actively” considered by Wallace.
The Russian embassy to Britain has warned the UK against sending fighter jets to Ukraine, after Downing Street confirmed Sunak had asked his defence secretary to investigate what jets London could potentially give to Kyiv, Russian state media is reporting. Such a move would have “military and political consequences for the European continent and the entire world”, the embassy said, according to state-run Tass news agency.
The Ukrainian leader was embraced by the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, as he arrived in the UK for his first visit since the Russian invasion. The visit marked the second time Zelenskiy has left Ukraine since the start of the war. King Charles held an audience with Zelenskiy in Buckingham Palace after the Ukrainian leader addressed British MPs in Westminster Hall. During his address to parliament, Zelenskiy said: “In Britain, the King is an air force pilot. In Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a King.”
Sunak also pledged additional military support and training to Ukraine as Zelenskiy arrived in the UK on Wednesday. The expansion of the UK’s training programme to include jet fighter pilots is significant as Zelenskiy has repeatedly called on western countries to supply planes. Ukrainian troops are being trained in the use of Challenger 2 tanks, which are expected to be sent to the country next month.
The UK also announced a number of new Russia-related sanctions targeting people who have helped Vladimir Putin build his personal wealth, as well as firms that have profited from the war. Individuals placed under sanctions include the presidential commissioner for entrepreneur’s rights, Boris Titov, and the owner of Aerostart, Viktor Myachin, as well as Putin’s alleged former lover Svetlana Krivonogikh.
In a joint press conference with Zelenskiy, Sunak said “nothing is off the table” when it comes to the provision of military assistance to Ukraine. The UK is “accelerating” the delivery of equipment to Ukraine to “ensure that it reaches [Ukraine’s] frontline in coming days and weeks, not months or years”, Sunak told reporters, adding that the Ukrainian crews who arrived in the UK last week will be using Challenger 2 main battle tanks to defend Ukraine next month.
Zelenskiy is expected to travel to Paris later today to meet French president Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. In a speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament on Wednesday, Scholz criticised the “public competition” among some countries over who can supply weapons to Ukraine, arguing that it “harms unity” among allies. “Cohesion within our alliances is our most valuable asset,” Scholz said.
On Thursday, Zelenskiy is then expected to travel to Brussels, where leaders of EU countries are gathering for a summit. A senior Ukrainian official said his president would ask EU leaders for more arms to fight Russia and to move quickly on his country’s bid to join the bloc.
Western allies could deliver the first battalion of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in the first three or four months of this year, Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has said. A battalion would consist of about 31 tanks, he said during a trip to the Polish capital on Wednesday.
Poland and the Baltic states have urged the EU to work on seizing frozen Russian state assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine “as soon as possible”, raising pressure to act on a legally-fraught question. Ahead of a two-day EU summit that will discuss the Russian invasion, the leaders of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia said “in order to be credible on this matter vis-à-vis Ukraine” the bloc had to go beyond reiterating previous commitments and “accelerate our work in the Council right now”.
Since Russia withdrew its forces from the west bank of the Dnipro in November, “skirmishing and reconnaissance” has continued on the network of islands comprising the Dnipro delta, according to the UK ministry of defence. “It is highly unlikely that Russia will attempt an assault crossing of the Dnipro,” the latest intelligence update said. “It would likely be extremely complex and costly”.
There are “strong indications” Vladimir Putin personally signed off on a decision to supply the missile that downed flight MH17 in 2014, a team of international investigators has said. However, investigators said the evidence was not enough to lead to prosecution. The Boeing 777 was flying over eastern Ukraine when it was shot down by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile in July 2014, killing all 298 people onboard.
The former Pink Floyd rockstar, Roger Waters, has appeared before a UN security council meeting about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Waters, who has a record of blaming the US and the west in general, for allegedly provoking the invasion, spoke by video link where he claimed to be speaking on behalf of “four billion or so brothers and sisters” in what he called a “voiceless majority, who together with the millions in the international anti-war movement represent a huge constituency”. Ukraine’s permanent representative, Sergiy Kyslytsya, was scathing about Waters’ intervention, and drew on his Pink Floyd past to rebuke him
During his press conference earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed he will meet with EU leaders this evening and tomorrow.
The Ukrainian leader said:
Today and tomorrow we will be meeting with the EU leaders and discussing these issues and also longer-range missiles. I’m very grateful that Britain has finally heard us in that regard, and I do hope that other countries will also hear us when it comes to longer-range missiles.
Zelenskiy is expected to meet French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris this evening.
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, is expected to meet Zelenskiy on Thursday in Brussels on the sidelines of a European Council meeting, Reuters has reported, citing a government source.
The pair are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting, the source said, as EU leaders meet for a two-day summit.
Updated
The UK does not want Russia to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics and has been “very clear” with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the issue, Downing Street has said.
The issue of preventing Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the 2024 games was raised during Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to the UK, his office said.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said Russia should not be allowed to compete and that while it was invading another country it “should be treated as a pariah state and should not be able to legitimise its illegal war in Ukraine”.
He added:
We, and indeed many other countries, have been unequivocal on this throughout and we want to ensure that we continue to speak with one voice on this and make that clear to the IOC.
His remarks came after Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, called on the IOC to bar Russian athletes from participating in the 2024 games, referencing the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
In an opinion piece for The Athletic, Yermak said the 1936 games were “a blotch on the history” of the IOC:
The Nazi regime’s open discrimination against Jews and other ‘non-Aryans’ was already public knowledge. But it did not result in the games’ cancellation. Nor did it cause any high-profile political scandal.
The idea that Russian and Belarusian athletes would participate under a neutral banner is “almost irrelevant”, he argued, because “everyone knows already who they are and where they are from”.
He wrote:
To pervert the essence of justice, it is enough to simply neglect the spirit, adhering to the letter. And that is exactly what the ‘neutral’ status for the athletes from the aggressor states is about. Any country supporting the idea is also supporting an injustice.
Updated
Few world leaders arrive for an effective state visit to the UK wearing battle fatigues, but even fewer leaders come to the UK with a mission to remind their hosts of their own greatness and history, manifestly leaving a flattered audience convinced that the world does indeed need their country’s leadership.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has many extraordinary skills as a showman, but one is a unique ability to appeal to a nation’s psyche.
In retrospect, it would have been unforgivable for the Ukrainian leader to have only visited EU leaders at their meeting in Brussels and not also flown to the UK: the major European power that has from the outset provided not just moral support, but been the vanguard in offering arms, training, intelligence – and has since 2014 cooperated with Ukraine by helping to rebuild its navy.
So when it was leaked that Zelenskiy was likely to address EU leaders on Thursday, it should have been self-evident he would also come to London, but the visit, meticulously planned and choreographed, was kept under wraps until Downing Street broke the news before 9am.
The visit is personally important, even a relief, for Rishi Sunak. However much he asserts his support for Ukraine, or visits Kyiv, he cannot as a matter of personality quite evoke the Churchillian uplands of Boris Johnson, or strike up the same relationship as that forged by Johnson and Zelenskiy in the decisive opening days of the war. Except in stature, Sunak is no Tom Cruise.
Read the full analysis by my colleague Patrick Wintour here:
Updated
During the day, the Lulworth ranges on the Dorset coast had been alive with the clatter of automatic fire and the crump of armoured vehicles firing.
The ranges fell silent just before Sunak and Zelenskiy arrived by Chinook helicopter.
Zelenskiy met some of the Ukrainian soldiers who have been training at Lulworth camp with the Royal Armoured Corps and presented medals to some of his troops.
The tank training involves nine instructors from the Royal Tank Regiment and Queen’s Royal Hussars of the Royal Armoured Corps. The Ukrainian soldiers are being trained using four or five tanks as well as simulators. Notices on the doors of the simulators are written in Ukrainian as well as English and the corridors are lined with posters of Russian tank silhouettes.
Sgt James Samson, of the Royal Tank Regiment, said:
It’s really exciting, it’s really good to be delivering training to these guys and hopefully it will make a difference.
After the Ukrainian president presented medals to several of the soldiers, together with Sunak he was shown a Challenger 2 simulator.
Sunak asked the Ukrainian soldiers about the simulators: “Is it similar to what you have been used to?” One of the soldiers replied: “It’s quite different,” and Zelenskiy said: “Yes, it’s new.”
During the press conference, Zelenskiy stepped in front of his podium to give a hug to a BBC Ukraine journalist, Natalia Goncharova. “It was a good hug,” she said afterwards.
He made it clear he was there to thank Britain and ask for more military hardware. Another Ukrainian journalist asked what it was like to be out of Ukraine for only the second time since the war began. He replied:
London is very beautiful city; it’s a shame I don’t have time for this.
Updated
Zelenskiy, speaking during his joint press conference with Rishi Sunak, said without fighter jets, there could be a risk of “stagnation” in Ukraine’s struggle against Russia.
He said:
You’ve just asked me what would happen if we don’t get these fighter jets or longer-range missiles, or we don’t have enough ammunition, because everything obviously is running out and coming out of maintenance.
Without the weapons that we are discussing now and the weapons that we just discussed with Rishi earlier today and how Britain is going to help us, you know, all of this is very important. Without this, there would be stagnation which will not bring to anything good.
The Ukrainian leader added that armoured vehicles are the current priority when it comes to forcing back Russia’s troops, and that “longer-range missiles” were also a priority. He added that he was “very grateful that Britain has finally heard us in that regard” and he hoped other allies would join in providing such weapons.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy was pictured hugging a BBC Ukraine journalist during his joint news conference with Rishi Sunak.
Updated
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, are giving a press conference in front of a Challenger 2 tank on an army base in Dorset.
Sunak said dozens of Ukrainian troops had arrived and were mastering the art of operating the powerful tanks.
Earlier Zelenskiy met some of the Ukrainian soldiers who have been training at Lulworth camp with the Royal Armoured Corps and presented medals to some of his troops.
Sunak said:
It is a privilege for us to have all of you here and your courage is inspiring to us and the courage of your families is inspiring to us. We will be there until the end and you are victorious.
Updated
Asked if he will clear the reputation of London as a city still laundering Russian money, Rishi Sunak says as chancellor he put in place “the most extensive and forward-leaning” sanctions package against Russia.
The UK has announced fresh sanctions today that will continue to “demonstrate very clearly that Russia’s aggression is unacceptable, and we will punish them in every way which we can”, Sunak says.
Updated
'Nothing off the table' in terms of military assistance, says Sunak
Rishi Sunak says “nothing is off the table” when it comes to the provision of military assistance to Ukraine.
He says the UK was – behind the US – the single largest donor of military equipment to Ukraine last year, and the first G7 nation to announce sending battle tanks to Ukraine. He says he believes that the UK has led an “international conversation” that has led to other countries providing tanks to Ukraine.
Sunak says fighter combat aircraft are “of course part of a conversation” that he and Zelenskiy have been discussing today.
The announcement to train Ukrainian air force on Nato-standard planes is a “first step in being able to provide advanced aircraft”, he says.
That is process. It takes some time. We started that process today. That’s because we’re keen to support the president and his country in delivering a victory. Nothing is off the table.
Updated
President Zelenskiy says he and Rishi Sunak are “putting together the final touches on our negotiations” and that they will continue discussing those defence issues in his address earlier today to the UK parliament.
He says he cannot share the details of what he and Sunak spoke about today, but that Ukraine has a “very strong” defence package from Britain, and that Kyiv has already received a significant number of armoured vehicles.
Zelenskiy describes today’s visit to the UK as “very fruitful” and says he is grateful to Sunak “for understanding my needs and for his helpful advice”, as well as to King Charles “for the opportunity to have a meeting”.
Sunak: UK's Challenger 2 tanks will be operational in Ukraine by 'next month'
The UK is “accelerating” the delivery of equipment to Ukraine to “ensure that it reaches [Ukraine’s] frontline in coming days and weeks, not months or years”, Sunak says.
The Ukrainian crews who arrived in the UK last week will be using Challenger 2 main battle tanks to defend Ukraine next month, he says.
Sunak says he is pleased that they have agreed to expand the training programme that has trained 10,000 troops in the last six months alone.
He says he and Zelenskiy have signed a “declaration further deepening our cooperation”.
The UK prime minister says:
We must arm Ukraine in the short term, but we must bolster Ukraine for the long term. Your country cannot be that vulnerable to attack ever again.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Rishi Sunak are holding a joint news conference now. Sunak says the Ukrainian leader’s visit to the UK underlines the two countries “staunch and unwavering friendship”.
Sunak says the Ukrainian troops who are in the UK being trained by members of the British army are “mastering the art” of using sophisticated weapons, which will soon be “making a difference on the battlefields”.
Ukraine’s “incredible strength and inspiring bravery will ultimately defeat tyranny”, the PM says.
Updated
UK supplying jets to Ukraine would have ‘consequences for entire world’, warns Russia
The Russian embassy to Britain has warned the UK against sending fighter jets to Ukraine, after Downing Street confirmed Rishi Sunak had asked his defence secretary to investigate what jets London could potentially give to Kyiv, Russian state media is reporting.
Such a move would have “military and political consequences for the European continent and the entire world”, the embassy said, according to state-run Tass news agency.
The warning came as the UK prime minister’s official spokesman said the supply of British planes to Ukraine is being “actively” considered by Ben Wallace.
Earlier, Sunak announced plans to train Ukrainian pilots, paving the way for them to eventually be able to fly sophisticated Nato-standard jets, but that is seen as a long-term ambition.
Downing Street stressed that any potential move to send jets would not happen immediately and was part of the UK’s long-term efforts to support Ukraine.
The spokesperson said:
The prime minister has tasked the defence secretary with investigating what jets we might be able to give but to be clear, this is a long-term solution, rather than a short-term capability, which is what Ukraine needs most now.
Updated
The Challenger 2 is the British army’s main battle tank, designed to destroy other tanks. It has been used by the British army on operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq.
Challenger 2 is used by four armoured regiments, based in the south-east of England at Tidworth, Wiltshire, and Bovington, Dorset: the Queen’s Royal Hussars, the King’s Royal Hussars, the Royal Tank Regiment, and the Royal Wessex Yeomanry (The reserve regiment). Each regular regiment operates 56 Challenger 2 tanks and a similar number of supporting vehicles in tasks such as reconnaissance and ammunition supply.
One of its strengths lies in its ability to shock the enemy by placing them enemy under pressure by a rapid and fully committed advance, causing them to break and retreat. This form of manoeuvre has been present on the battlefield for centuries and was previously the role of horse-mounted cavalry.
Challenger 2 is slightly slower than some of its opponents, but its accuracy and lethality offset their higher speeds.
Lulworth and Bovington on the Dorset coast have been home to the British tank since the first world war.
David Willey, curator of the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset, said:
Bovington Camp, which is usually taken to include the Lulworth ranges and gunnery school, has been home to the tank since 1916.
In world war one the government was looking for somewhere away from the public eye because the tank was secret.
Most of the area was heathland but it also had a railway station which they could use for bringing in tanks.
Being on the coast the tanks fire towards the sea on the Lulworth ranges – there is an exclusion zone when the tanks fire in case of ricochets.
Last year Britain sent some light-weight combat vehicle reconnaissance (Track) vehicles to Ukraine and Bovington has hosted Ukrainian soldiers who have been trained to use these vehicles.
We have also promised Ukraine some 14 Challenger II tanks, to add to the large amounts of kit they have already received.
Most important is probably the training the British army has given the Ukrainian military – before and since last February’s invasion.
The Challenger 2 is the British army’s main battle tank that was introduced in 1998. There are 227 in the inventory but only a small proportion are kept in running order and spares for many are short.
With 20 years of counter insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan the tank was not a priority for many Western nations – but the fighting in the Ukraine has led to a re-evaluation of heavy armoured vehicles.
They are still a very potent bit of kit with high levels of protection and tremendous fire power.
To train crews on them would usually take months, but those with some tank training already could be trained in weeks.
Updated
At the close of the UN security council session on the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s permanent representative, Sergiy Kyslytsya, was scathing about Roger Waters’ intervention, and drew on his Pink Floyd past to rebuke him.
Kyslytsya said the band had been banned by the Soviet Union for protesting against the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.
“It is ironic, if not hypocritical, that Mr Waters attempts now to whitewash another invasion,” the Ukrainian diplomat said.
How sad for his former fans to see him accepting the role of just a brick in the wall.
On closer inspection of the video link, it does not look like Waters was speaking from his Long Island estate. There seems to be a snow-covered mountain in the distance, so perhaps a ski resort somewhere.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Rishi Sunak have arrived by helicopter at Lulworth Camp, Dorset, to meet Ukrainian troops being trained by the British army.
The Ukrainian leader thanked Sunak for his support before presenting medals to some of his troops.
Summary of the day so far
It’s 7pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a powerful appeal to the UK to supply Ukraine with fighter jets in a historic speech to members of the Commons and the Lords at Westminster Hall. He presented Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the Commons, with the helmet of a fighter pilot on which the pilot had written: “We have freedom. Give us the wings to protect it.” Zelenskiy’s appeal may be broader – an effort to persuade the UK to act as a lobbyist to help Ukraine secure F-16s from the US, with Britain helping with, as announced, initial pilot training in simulators to get the process going.
Hours after Zelenskiy’s speech to the UK parliament, Downing Street announced that prime minister Rishi Sunak had asked Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, to investigate which jets the UK might be able to send to Ukraine in the future. A spokesperson for the PM stressed that no decision had been taken on whether to supply UK jets to Ukraine, but that the issue is being “actively” considered by Wallace.
The Ukrainian leader was embraced by the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, as he arrived in the UK for his first visit since the Russian invasion. The visit marks the second time Zelenskiy has left Ukraine since the start of the war. Zelenskiy spoke to Sunak in No 10, where he said the two had a “very good relationship”. In a break from protocol, staff in Downing Street greeted the president with applause when he entered No 10.
King Charles held an audience with Zelenskiy in Buckingham Palace after the Ukrainian leader addressed British MPs in Westminster Hall. The King told Zelenskiy he was delighted to welcome him, to which the Ukrainian leader said it was “a great honour to be here”. During his address to parliament, Zelenskiy said: “In Britain, the King is an air force pilot. In Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a King.”
Sunak also pledged additional military support and training to Ukraine as Zelenskiy arrived in the UK on Wednesday. The expansion of the UK’s training programme to include jet fighter pilots is significant as Zelenskiy has repeatedly called on western countries to supply planes. Ukrainian troops are being trained in the use of Challenger 2 tanks, which are expected to be sent to the country next month.
The UK also announced a number of new Russia-related sanctions targeting people who have helped Vladimir Putin build his personal wealth, as well as firms that have profited from the war. Individuals placed under sanctions include the presidential commissioner for entrepreneur’s rights, Boris Titov, and the owner of Aerostart, Viktor Myachin, as well as Putin’s alleged former lover Svetlana Krivonogikh.
Zelenskiy is expected to travel to Paris later today to meet French president Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. In a speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament on Wednesday, Scholz criticised the “public competition” among some countries over who can supply weapons to Ukraine, arguing that it “harms unity” among allies. “Cohesion within our alliances is our most valuable asset,” Scholz said.
On Thursday, Zelenskiy is expected to travel to Brussels, where leaders of EU countries are gathering for a summit. A senior Ukrainian official said his president would ask EU leaders for more arms to fight Russia and to move quickly on his country’s bid to join the bloc.
Western allies could deliver the first battalion of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in the first three or four months of this year, Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has said. A battalion would consist of about 31 tanks, he said during a trip to the Polish capital on Wednesday.
Poland and the Baltic states have urged the EU to work on seizing frozen Russian state assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine “as soon as possible”, raising pressure to act on a legally-fraught question. Ahead of a two-day EU summit that will discuss the Russian invasion, the leaders of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia said “in order to be credible on this matter vis-à-vis Ukraine” the bloc had to go beyond reiterating previous commitments and “accelerate our work in the Council right now”.
Ssince Russia withdrew its forces from the west bank of the Dnipro in November, “skirmishing and reconnaissance” has continued on the network of islands comprising the Dnipro delta, according to the UK ministry of defence. “It is highly unlikely that Russia will attempt an assault crossing of the Dnipro,” the latest intelligence update said. “It would likely be extremely complex and costly”.
Estonia’s intelligence service says the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine is “unlikely” due to “international opposition and low military effectiveness”, in a report published on Wednesday. The 2023 international security report added Russia continues to keep the “nuclear card” on the table as an instrument of anti-western leverage and to dissuade western nations from helping Ukraine.
There are “strong indications” Vladimir Putin personally signed off on a decision to supply the missile that downed flight MH17 in 2014, a team of international investigators has said. However, investigators said the evidence was not enough to lead to prosecution. The Boeing 777 was flying over eastern Ukraine when it was shot down by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile in July 2014, killing all 298 people onboard.
The former Pink Floyd rockstar, Roger Waters, has appeared before a UN security council meeting about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Waters, who has a record of blaming the US and the west in general, for allegedly provoking the invasion, spoke by video link where he claimed to be speaking on behalf of “four billion or so brothers and sisters” in what he called a “voiceless majority, who together with the millions in the international anti-war movement represent a huge constituency”.
World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to allow Russian athletes to compete under a neutral banner in Paris next year. On Wednesday, Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy also urged partners to counter the committee’s exploration of options to permit Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
A British lawmaker said his private email was hacked by a group, thought to be Russian, and he wanted to speak out publicly to warn others about the attackers’ tactics. Stewart McDonald, until last year a defence spokesperson for the Scottish National party, said he opened an email that appeared to be from a member of his staff and accessed a password-protected document said to be a military update about Ukraine.
Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong still here with all the latest developments from the war in Ukraine. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.
There is another session under way at the UN security council about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This one has been unusual because Russia’s invited speaker was the former Pink Floyd rockstar, Roger Waters, who has a record of blaming the US and the west in general, for allegedly provoking the invasion.
Waters did not appear in the security council chamber, although he lives in New York state in a sprawling estate in Bridgehampton on the far end of Long Island, about 150 km from UN headquarters in midtown Manhattan.
He spoke by video link, but it was not immediately clear whether he was speaking from his estate, which he bought in 2010 for a reported $16.2m.
In his address to the security council, Waters claimed to be speaking on behalf of “four billion or so brothers and sisters” in what he called a “voiceless majority, who together with the millions in the international anti-war movement represent a huge constituency”.
Despite appearing as Russia’s guest, Waters condemned all sides. He said:
The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. Also, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not unprovoked, so I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms.
On the eve of his security council appearance, Waters was denounced by Polly Samson, former Pink Floyd lyricist and the wife of its guitarist, Dave Gilmour, as an antisemite and Putin apologist, allegations which he has rejected as “incendiary and wildly inaccurate”.
Updated
There are “strong indications” the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, personally signed off on a decision to supply the missile that downed flight MH17 in 2014, a team of international investigators has said.
The Boeing 777 was flying over eastern Ukraine when it was shot down by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile in July 2014, killing all 298 people onboard.
The Netherlands and Australia said in 2018 that Russia was responsible for the disaster, after investigators concluded the Buk missile used by Moscow-backed separatists of the self-declared republic in Donetsk had come from a Russian military base.
A report published on Wednesday by the joint investigation team (JIT) said:
The investigation produced strong indications that a decision on providing the Buk Telar – or in any event a heavier air defence system with a higher range – to the Donetsk People’s Republic was taken at the presidential level.
The JIT is made up of experts from the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Belgium and Ukraine. It said it had collected “abundant evidence” that showed the Kremlin had “overall control” over the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, where the downing happened in 2014.
Investigators cited intercepted telephone conversations between senior Russian officials and the pro-Russia separatist movement in which the decision to provide heavy anti-aircraft systems was discussed.
According to the JIT, Putin and his defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, eventually granted the request to supply heavier anti-aircraft systems to pro-Russian separatists in June 2014, a month before the downing.
However, investigators said the evidence was not enough to lead to prosecution. “Although the investigation produced strong indications, the high bar of complete and conclusive evidence is not reached,” the report said, adding: “The president of the Russian Federation, as head of state, is in any event immune under international law from prosecution.”
The Dutch prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer said that without Russian cooperation, “the investigation has now reached its limit. All leads have been exhausted.”
Updated
First battalion of Leopard 2 tanks could reach Ukraine in March/April, says German defence minister
Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has said western allies could deliver the first battalion of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in the first three or four months of this year.
Speaking during a trip to the Polish capital, Pistorius said a battalion would consist of about 31 tanks.
We could deliver at least one battalion in the first four months of this year – three months maybe – and then we need to proceed as fast as possible of course.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy is scheduled to meet with the German leader, Olaf Scholz, and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, later this evening in Paris.
Updated
Here’s a bit more detail on that meeting between King Charles and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at Buckingham Palace.
The King told Zelenskiy he was delighted to welcome him, to which the Ukrainian leader said it was “a great honour to be here”.
The King said:
We’ve all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long, I can’t tell you.
He went on to say that he had heard that the president had addressed both Houses of Parliament earlier in the day.
Zelenskiy said what a “big support” they had been. The King responded: “I’m so glad.”
The meeting continued in private, with the pair joined by the King’s principal private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, and Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, and Dmytro Kuleba, minister of foreign affairs.
They sat in the 1844 Room for 30 minutes of conversation about the war and the part Britain has played in supporting Ukraine.
Tea was served, before further representatives from Ukraine were welcomed into the room for an introduction and informal conversation with the king and a chance to have pictures taken individually.
The Ukrainian party then departed through the grand entrance, Buckingham Palace said.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy will ask EU leaders for more arms to fight Russia and to move quickly on his country’s bid to join the bloc, according to a senior Ukrainian official.
“My president travels to get results,” said the Ukrainian official, speaking under condition of anonymity, Reuters reported.
He is on a foreign trip today. First and foremost, the main result is - weapons ... We need the support of the European Council to speed up arms deliveries to Ukraine.
Kyiv “badly need[s] as of now, as of yesterday” long-range artillery and multiple types of ammunition, as well as battle tanks and fighter jets, they said.
These weapons will be “crucial as Russia is planning an offensive”, they said, adding:
If we had all this already, we could be starting a counteroffensive.
Why Zelenskiy's appeal for UK fighter jets is surprising
President Zelenskiy’s dramatic appeal for fighter jets on his surprise visit to the UK is surprising because until now Ukraine’s air force has been seeking US-made F-16s jets or perhaps Sweden’s Gripen as the kind of combat aircraft that could help it win the near year long war.
The RAF uses neither and has 146 Typhoons out of an estimated 580 worldwide, but the fighter is available in far smaller numbers than the F-16, and the involvement of Germany as a manufacturer may make export to Ukraine complex given Berlin’s hesitancy over tanks.
The other fighter Britain uses, the F-35, is made by Lockheed Martin of the US and so any re-export decision would rest with Washington. It is so new (and so expensive) it would simply be not as cost effective as the F-16 either.
But Zelenskiy’s appeal may be broader – an effort to persuade the UK to act as a lobbyist to help Ukraine secure F-16s from the US, with Britain helping with, as announced, initial pilot training in simulators to get the process going.
Handing speaker Lindsay Hoyle an engraved pilot’s helmet is the kind of attention grabbing stunt the Ukrainian president, a former actor, loves to pull off.
The west’s decision to give Ukraine western tanks last month was a step change in support – helped forward by Britain coming out quickly and offering to supply its own Challenger 2 tanks to help encourage Germany to follow suit.
Meanwhile, the military reality is that western jets would dramatically increase Kyiv’s chances of kicking out the Russian invaders.
At present, Ukraine’s small surviving air force, running perhaps a dozen combat missions a day, has to operate conservatively, partly because of the threat of Russian air defence systems but also because of the longer range of the enemy’s air to air missiles.
It had targeted the F-16 principally because of its wide availability – there are over 3,000 in 25 countries – and has mentioned the Gripen because it is capable, easy to maintain and is designed to operate against Russian planes.
Although the strength of Russia’s air defence mean that bombing enemy positions would not be straightforward, it would boost Ukraine’s strike options, already greatly assisted by the supply of western artillery and rocket artillery.
Kyiv knows to win the war it has to do it in a more technologically sophisticated way than Moscow and not rely on ageing Soviet era equipment. As the country’s ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko said recently: “The little red army cannot beat the bigger red army.”
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UK 'actively looking at' supplying British jets to Ukraine, says No 10
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has asked his defence secretary, Ben Wallace, to investigate what jets the UK could potentially give to Ukraine, Downing Street has said.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said:
The prime minister has tasked the defence secretary with investigating what jets we might be able to give but, to be clear, this is a long-term solution rather than a short-term capability, which is what Ukraine needs most now.
He stressed that no decision had been taken on whether to supply UK jets to Ukraine, but that the issue is being “actively” considered by Wallace.
He said:
What we have not made a decision on is whether we send UK fighter jets. Obviously there is an ongoing discussion among other countries about their own fighter jets, some of which are more akin to what Ukrainian pilots are used to.
Thee UK was hoping to receive the first Ukrainian pilots in the spring, he said, adding that “obviously we want it to start as soon as possible”.
Stressing that these planes were “complex pieces of military equipment”, the spokesman said:
We think this is right to provide both short-term equipment like Challenger tanks, additional guns, longer-range capabilities that can help win the war now, but also look to the medium-to-long term to ensure Ukraine has every possible capability it requires.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s powerful speech to both Houses of Parliament contained one standout line:
In Britain, the King is an air force pilot. In Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king.
Zelenskiy personally came up with the sentence, as he sat closeted with his closest advisers before his historic trip to London, the Guardian understands.
He wanted to stress the importance of air power to Ukraine’s fight for survival against Russia and to press the west to give him fighter jets. “It was the president’s idea,” one source said.
Zelenskiy has a team of speech writers including former journalists and screenwriters who worked on his hit TV show, Servant of the People. Before he won Ukraine’s 2019 presidential election he was an actor and comedian.
Zelenskiy is known for writing sections of his speeches himself and for typing in last-minute changes on a laptop. He is fond of poetry and comes up with images and metaphors himself, according to those in his inner circle.
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King Charles meets Volodymyr Zelenskiy at Buckingham Palace
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has been pictured in an audience with the King at Buckingham Palace.
Earlier, the Ukrainian president told MPs that he would convey his gratitude to the King, from all Ukrainians, for his support.
In a message urging the UK and allies to supply Ukraine with fighter jets, Zelenskiy said:
In Britain, the King is an air force pilot. In Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a King.
Updated
Labour party leader Keir Starmer said it was “an honour” to be addressed by president Zelenskiy.
“As a country, we are at our best when we unite to confront tyrannical aggression. Our duty now is to stand on the shoulders of giants who came before & support Ukraine’s fight for liberty & victory,” he wrote on Twitter.
It's an honour to be in Parliament as we are addressed by President Zelenskyy.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) February 8, 2023
As a country, we are at our best when we unite to confront tyrannical aggression.
Our duty now is to stand on the shoulders of giants who came before & support Ukraine’s fight for liberty & victory.
Former prime minister Liz Truss, a vocal backer of Ukraine during her brief tenure, said it was a “privilege” to listen to Ukrainian president Zelenskiy as he addressed members of the Commons and the Lords at Westminster Hall.
Truss wrote:
His courage in the face of Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine is an inspiration as we remain steadfast in our support for the Ukrainian people. As he said: ‘Freedom will win’.
A privilege to hear President @ZelenskyyUa address MPs and peers today. His courage in the face of Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine is an inspiration as we remain steadfast in our support for the Ukrainian people. As he said: “Freedom will win.”#WeStandWithUkraine 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/xswrAHbG0Z
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) February 8, 2023
Former prime minister Boris Johnson also took to Twitter to express support for Zelenskiy’s “powerful and passionate appeal” and urged the government to send planes.
Thank you President @ZelenskyyUa. Your powerful and passionate appeal must be heard. There is nothing to be lost and everything to be gained by sending planes now. 🇬🇧🇺🇦 #UkraineMustWin pic.twitter.com/pzxHBtt8aU
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 8, 2023
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Zelenskiy to meet France's Macron and Germany's Scholz in Paris
Ukrainian president Zelenskiy arrived in London on Wednesday midday, though it doesn’t appear he will be staying for long.
French president Emmanuel Macron will host a meeting in Paris on Wednesday with Zelenskiy and German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, according to Reuters, citing the French presidency and German government sources.
Updated
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has arrived at Buckingham Palace for his audience with the King, PA news reports.
It is the first time the monarch has met Zelenskiy.
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German chancellor to meet Zelenskiy in Paris
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskiy and French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Reuters reports, citing broadcaster NTV.
Earlier we reported that Zelenskiy was expected in Paris this evening, French media outlet BFM TV is reporting, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
The Ukrainian leader is then reportedly visiting Brussels tomorrow, where the EU is holding a summit.
Updated
Rishi Sunak lays down a marker with offer to train Ukraine pilots
The British offer to train Ukrainian pilots on modern Nato fighter jets is a carefully couched hint to the rest of Nato that at some point it may have to provide modern jets to help Ukraine defend its airspace from the Russian air force.
The offer of Nato jets to Ukraine briefly surfaced as an idea after the controversy over the provision of tanks was settled with as many as 150 tanks to be offered within the next year.
But the jets proposal looked like a red line too far with a firm no from the US president, Joe Biden, and an even firmer rejection by the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
But as the last year has shown, initial rejections of forms of aid to Ukraine have been frequently overturned only months later. By offering to train Ukrainian pilots Rishi Sunak is at least setting down a marker. In welcoming the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to the UK on Wednesday, Sunak was careful to couch the proposal as part of a long-term plan to ensure that in future Ukraine is master of its own skies.
Read more of this analysis by the Guardian’s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour here:
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has thanked British parliamentarians for their support in his country’s war against Russia as he gave a historic address to both houses of parliament.
In a speech to members of the Commons and the Lords at Westminster Hall, the Ukrainian president hailed the “bravery” of the British people and politicians who helped form the international alliance in support of his country.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your bravery,” he said. “London has stood with Kyiv since day one, from the first seconds and minutes of the full-scale war.”
Read more here:
“We are backing Ukraine until they are victorious,” says the UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, after Ukrainian president Zelenskiy addressed parliamentarians.
What a powerful speech from President @ZelenskyyUa.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) February 8, 2023
We are backing Ukraine until they are victorious.
Freedom will win 🇺🇦🇬🇧
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Zelenskiy to travel to Paris after UK visit
Volodymyr Zelenskiy will have an audience with King Charles following his address to British MPs in Westminster.
He is then expected to be in Paris this evening, French media outlet BFM TV is reporting, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
The Ukrainian leader is then reportedly visiting Brussels tomorrow, where the EU is holding a summit.
Updated
Updated
The Guardian’s Peter Beaumont writes that Zelenskiy’s gifting of a Ukrainian air force pilot’s helmet is a clever touch, as the Ukrainian leader urged allies to supply fighter jets.
The gift of the Ukrainian airforce pilot's helmet is a very clever touch as Zelinskiy appeals for jets
— petersbeaumont (@petersbeaumont1) February 8, 2023
Zelenskiy told MPs he would do everything he could to persuade the world to provide Ukraine with modern planes to help his forces defeat Russia.
He said:
We … will do everything possible and impossible to make the world provide us with modern planes to empower and protect pilots who will be protecting us.
Peter Walker writes that Zelenskiy’s address to the UK parliament was “pure political theatre”, with “humour, emotion, a touch of flamboyance, and a very, very clear and powerful political message”.
That was pure political theatre from Zelenskiy - humour, emotion, a touch of flamboyance, and a very, very clear and powerful political message.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) February 8, 2023
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'Give us wings': Zelenskiy urges UK to send fighter jets to Ukraine
President Zelenskiy presents the UK’s speaker of the house, Lindsay Hoyle, with a Ukrainian pilot’s helmet.
On the helmet was written:
We have freedom, gives us wings to protect it.
He says he trusts this symbol “will help us with our next coalition... of planes... wings for freedom”.
Updated
Zelenskiy says he will meet with King Charles later today, which he says will be “a truly special moment”.
He says he will convey to the King the gratitude for the support from all Ukrainians. He says:
In Britain, the King is an air force pilot. In Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king.
Zelenskiy thanks the UK for supplying his country with main battle tanks, addressing prime minister Rishi Sunak “for this powerful defensive step”.
Long-range missiles will “allow us to make the evil completely retreat from our country,” he adds.
The UK is “marching” with Ukraine towards “the most important victory of our lifetime – a victory of the very idea of war”, Zelenskiy says.
He says Ukraine and its allies have formed a “true coalition of friends” and have already achieved “remarkable” results.
The Ukrainian leader calls on the UK to continue to impose sanctions to deprive Russia of the ability to finance its war against Ukraine.
He says:
The world needs your leadership, Britain. Just as it needs Ukrainian bravery.
He praises the UK for its help in preparing the ground for a special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression, and a special compensation mechanism.
Updated
Zelenskiy: London has stood with Kyiv since day one
President Zelenskiy shares a story about the last time he visited the UK, in the autumn of 2020, where he visited the War Rooms beneath Whitehall, where Winston Churchill led Britain through the second world war.
He says he felt how “bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory”.
“London has stood with Kyiv since day one,” Zelenskiy says, “from the first seconds and minutes” of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Great Britain – you extended your helping hand when the world [had] not yet come to understand how to react.
Boris –you go to others when it seemed absolutely impossible. Thank you.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy is addressing the UK parliament now. Speaking in English, he thanks Britain on behalf of Ukraine’s warriors, air gunners, defenders of the sky, conscripts and those who will be deployed to the frontline of the war.
He says he is speaking:
On behalf of every father and every mother who are waiting for their brave sons and brave daughters back home from the war.
Announcement of Zelenskiy brings a real surge of applause and feeling in Westminster Hall. MPs and peers have a high bar for being impressed, but it’s very clear they are. pic.twitter.com/Bdtck91TLj
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) February 8, 2023
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is about to address British MPs in a speech from Westminster Hall, on his first visit to the UK since his country was invaded by Russia on 24 February 2022.
You can watch his address live here:
Putin approved supply of missiles that shot down Flight MH17 in 2014, say investigators
An international team said “there are strong indications” that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, “decided on supplying” the Buk missile system used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
The BUK-TELAR missile system was used to shoot down MH17 on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014, investigators said.
The investigators outlined their findings as they suspended their probe, saying they have insufficient evidence to launch any fresh prosecutions.
Dutch prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer said “the investigation has now reached its limit. All leads have been exhausted” as the team began laying out the evidence it has uncovered.
Investigators added:
Although a lot of new information has been discovered about various people involved, the evidence is at the moment not concrete enough to lead to new prosecution.
Updated
Zelenskiy to address UK parliament
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is due to address the UK parliament at 1pm.
We will be following his speech live on the blog.
Updated
Germany’s Scholz says he will not engage in ‘competition’ to send arms to Ukraine
Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has criticised the “public competition” among some countries over who can supply weapons to Ukraine, arguing that it “harms unity” among allies.
“Cohesion within our alliances is our most valuable asset,” Scholz told the Bundestag lower house of parliament.
He added:
What harms our unity is a public competition to outdo each other along the lines of: battle tanks, submarines, aircraft - who is asking for more?
Scholz used his speech to parliament to assure Kyiv that its future was in the EU. He said:
Ukraine belongs to Europe, its future lies in the European Union. And this promise holds true.
He added:
Putin will not achieve his goals - not on the battlefield and not through a dictated peace. That much, at least, is certain after a year of war.
Updated
Poland and the Baltic states have urged the EU to work on seizing frozen Russian state assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine “as soon as possible”, raising pressure to act on a legally-fraught question.
Ahead of a two-day EU summit that will discuss the Russian invasion, the leaders of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia said “in order to be credible on this matter vis-à-vis Ukraine” the bloc had to go beyond reiterating previous commitments and “accelerate our work in the Council right now”.
The quartet of countries, Ukraine’s most outspoken allies in the EU, want western governments to use Russia’s €300bn of frozen central bank reserves to help Ukraine’s internally-displaced people and start rebuilding the country.
“Those frozen assets must be used as soon as possible, we cannot wait until the war is over and a peace agreement is signed,” the four write in a joint letter seen by the Guardian to EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, and Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson. Sweden currently holds the rotating presidency and is responsible for drawing up agendas for the EU council of ministers.
Last November, the European Commission suggested creating a structure to manage €300bn of frozen Russian Central Bank assets and €19bn of Russian oligarchs’ money under EU sanctions. Officials said only the proceeds could go to Ukraine, amid uncertainty over the legality of seizing the funds.
Poland and the Baltic states go further, arguing “all assets should be used to cover the costs of Russian aggression against Ukraine”.
The idea is likely to come up at the EU summit on Thursday that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to attend in what would be his first visit to Brussels since Russia’s invasion.
Zelenskiy’s surprise visit to the UK – not leaked in advance – will raise expectations he will go to Brussels on Thursday. An unpublished agenda note shows the European parliament decided on Tuesday to hold a last-minute plenary session this Thursday, suggesting Zelenskiy could address MEPs.
At the summit, EU leaders are expected to endorse Zelenskiy’s ten-point peace plan, which calls for the withdrawal of all Russian troops, restoration of Ukraine’s borders and a special tribunal for the prosecution of Russian war crimes.
On Thursday, European leaders are also set to express support for a “peace formula summit aiming at launching [the peace’s plan’s] implementation”, according to draft summit conclusions. The document also notes: “Russia has not shown any genuine willingness regarding a fair and sustainable peace”.
Updated
We have a clip of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy landing at Stansted airport this morning, before travelling in a police-escorted convoy to Downing Street for talks with Rishi Sunak before an address to parliament.
Zelenskiy will then head to Buckingham Palace to meet with King Charles III in the afternoon.
My colleague Kiran Stacey has a clip of Zelenskiy and Sunak arriving at Downing Street earlier.
Updated
One of the Russians on today’s UK sanctions list is Vladimir Putin’s alleged former lover, Svetlana Krivonogikh.
Krivonogikh worked as a cleaner in the 1990s before allegedly meeting Putin in St Petersburg. The Pandora Papers leak revealed how she rapidly grew rich and acquired several properties, including a luxury flat in Monaco.
The investigative website Proekt claims Putin is the father of Krivonogikh’s daughter Luiza. Russia’s president has not commented on the story.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Rishi Sunak are now in Downing Street.
Updated
Zelenskiy in UK to 'personally thank the British people for their support'
The speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, has shared a photo of Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Rishi Sunak meeting at London’s Stansted airport.
Stefanchuk posted to Twitter:
A meeting of strong leaders. A meeting of leaders of strong countries. A meeting of friends and allies.
The United Kingdom 🇬🇧🇺🇦
— Ruslan Stefanchuk (@r_stefanchuk) February 8, 2023
A meeting of strong leaders.
A meeting of leaders of strong countries.
A meeting of friends and allies. pic.twitter.com/YFrTThCAAg
President Zelenskiy also shared the same image on his Telegram account with the caption:
The United Kingdom was one of the first to come to Ukraine’s aid. And today I’m in London to personally thank the British people for their support and prime minister Rishi Sunak for his leadership.
Updated
UK announces new sanctions ‘on Russian military and Kremlin elites’
Britain has added 15 new designations to its Russia-related sanctions list, including six entities providing military equipment such as drones for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions also target eight individuals and one entity connected to financial networks that help “maintain wealth and power amongst Kremlin elites”, the UK government said in a statement.
Those sanctioned include five individuals who the government said were “connected to Putin’s luxury residences, including the 100 billion rouble ‘Putin’s palace’ and Putin’s lakeside Dacha”.
Boris Titov – Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneur’s Rights, which he was awarded after purchasing 740 acres of vineyards on the grounds of the palace.
Nikolay Egorov – Until recently, deputy chairman of the largest privately owned oil refinery in Russia.
Sergey Rudnov – the owner of pro-Kremlin news outlet Regum.
Svetlana Krivonogikh – a shareholder in Bank Rossiya and the National Media Group, who consistently promote the Russian assault in Ukraine.
Viktor Myachin – Owner of Aerostart, a Russian aircraft maintenance and repair company.
Also being sanctioned are the organisations “that Putin’s military relies on to maintain its illegal invasion of Ukraine”, the government said.
CST, a manufacturer of Russian drones which have been used to destroy Ukrainian combat vehicles.
RT-Komplekt who produce parts for helicopters used by Russia in its assault on Ukraine.
Oboronlogistics who organise the transportation and delivery for Russian military equipment.
Universalmash and Lipetsk, who manufacture or modify the tracked chassis for anti-aircraft missile systems used by Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine.
Topaz, a software company involved in military aviation.
Foreign secretary, James Cleverly said:
Ukraine has shown Putin that it will not break under his tyrannical invasion. He has responded by indiscriminately striking civilian areas and critical national infrastructure across the country. We cannot let him succeed. We must increase our support.
These new sanctions accelerate the economic pressure on Putin – undermining his war machine to help Ukraine prevail. I am determined, consistent with our laws, that Russia will have no access to the assets we have frozen until it ends, once and for all, its threats to Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty and integrity.
Updated
Zelenskiy to visit Brussels on Thursday – report
Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to visit Brussels on Thursday, Reuters is reporting, citing an EU diplomat.
The Ukrainian president was reported to be planning a trip tomorrow to meet EU leaders in person at a summit and address the European parliament in an extraordinary session.
Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here again, taking over the live blog from Geneva Abdul to bring you the latest from the Russia-Ukraine war. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
Updated
Zelenskiy arrives in UK
Zelenskiy has arrived in the UK and was greeted by the UK prime minister Rishi Sunak.
Welcome to the UK, President @ZelenskyyUa.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) February 8, 2023
🇬🇧🇺🇦 #SlavaUkraini pic.twitter.com/rMoBTC3ken
King Charles III to meet Ukrainian president
The King will hold an audience with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy today, Buckingham Palace has said.
The audience between the King and President Zelensky will take place at Buckingham Palace this afternoon.
In a surprise visit, Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy arrives in the UK today on his first visit since Russia’s invasion to address parliament and meet with prime minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian troops being trained by British armed forces.
More to come…
Updated
Estonia’s intelligence service says the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine is “unlikely” due to “international opposition and low military effectiveness”, in a report published on Wednesday.
The 2023 international security report added Russia continues to keep the “nuclear card” on the table as an instrument of anti-western leverage and to dissuade western nations from helping Ukraine.
“While Putin still seems to believe that time will play in Russia’s favour and he will be able to “bomb” Ukraine to the negotiating table, reality will dawn on the Kremlin sooner or later,” the report says.
Updated
World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has urged the International Olympic Committee not to allow Russian athletes to compete under a neutral banner in Paris next year, saying any medals they win will be “medals of blood”, Reuters reports.
Usyk’s comments came as the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, made clear she does not want a Russian delegation at next year’s games.
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy also urged partners to counter the International Olympic Committees’ (IOC) exploration of options to permit Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In a direct video message to IOC president Thomas Bach posted on his official Instagram account, Usyk said:
You want to allow Russian athletes to compete at the Olympics … Russian Armed Forces invaded our country and kill civilians. Russian army is killing Ukrainian athletes and coaches and destroying sports grounds as well as sports halls … The medals that Russian athletes are going to win are medals of blood, death and tears. Let me wish you to have peaceful sky above you and to be in good health and happy.
The remarks come a day after five Olympic committees in the Nordic region – Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway – urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from participating in international sports, according to AP news.
Earlier we reported on Ivan Kovbasnyuk saying athletes from Russia and Belarus should not be allowed to compete at the next Olympics – or in any international sports events.
Kovbasnyuk told AP news:
It’s not fair when Ukrainian sportsmen don’t have a chance to participate in the Olympics because they are dying on the battlefields while Russian athletes are just silently supporting (Vladimir) Putin’s crime regime.
Updated
A fire broke out on Wednesday at an oil refinery in Russia’s southern Rostov region near the border with Ukraine and was later extinguished, state media reported, citing the emergencies ministry.
“In Rostov Region, Novoshakhtinsk city ... a message was received at 10:24 a.m. Moscow time about a fire on the territory of an oil products processing plant,” the ministry said, according to Reuters.
The fire broke out over an area of about 100 square metres and was extinguished around an hour later, Interfax news agency reported, adding that the small refinery belonged to a company called Resource LLC.
Wednesday’s fire was the second in two days to hit a Russian refinery, following an incident on Tuesday at a Lukoil unit in Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow.
Ukraine has released extraordinary video footage that appears to show Russian fighters dragging their badly wounded commander away from the battlefield and then beating him violently with what appear to be shovels.
A Ukrainian drone captured the incident near the eastern city of Bakhmut, where intense fighting has been raging for months. Four soldiers from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group carry their colleague through a landscape of ruined houses, holding his arms and legs.
Warning: video contains footage that some viewers may find distressing
Updated
Here are the latest images coming from Ukraine:
British lawmaker says private email hacked by group thought to be Russian
A British lawmaker said his private email was hacked by a group, thought to be Russian, and he wanted to speak out publicly to warn others about the attackers’ tactics, Reuters reports.
Stewart McDonald, until last year a defence spokesperson for the Scottish National party, said he was worried his emails would be published after he clicked on a document and entered his password.
In January, McDonald opened an email that appeared to be from a member of his staff and accessed a password-protected document said to be a military update about Ukraine, he told the BBC.
Later, he discovered the member of staff had not sent the email.
On Twitter, McDonald said:
Over the past couple of weeks I have been dealing with a sophisticated and targeted spear phishing hack of my personal email account, and the personal email account belonging to one of my staff. These hacks are a criminal offence.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been dealing with a sophisticated and targeted spear phishing hack of my personal email account, and the personal email account belonging to one of my staff. These hacks are a criminal offence.https://t.co/VQkLMJTsio
— Stewart McDonald MP (@StewartMcDonald) February 8, 2023
News of the hack follows a warning from Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre on 26 January that Russia and Iran-based groups were targeting politicians, journalists, academics and defence experts to extract sensitive information from what is known as a “spear-phishing” campaign.
Read more here:
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Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome to those joining the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Geneva Abdul and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments as they unfold over the next couple of hours.
Russian forces have ramped up a winter assault in eastern Ukraine, bringing tens of thousands of freshly mobilised troops to the battlefield, Reuters reports. Kyiv expects Moscow to broaden its offensive as towns in the northeast and south came under fire.
It’s 11am in Ukraine, here’s the latest:
Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives in the UK today on his first visit since Russia’s invasion to address parliament and meet with prime minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian troops being trained by British armed forces. Sunak will expand the training offered by the UK to include fighter jet pilots and marines “ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future”.
Ahead of his UK visit, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged partners on Wednesday to counter the International Olympic Committee’s exploration of options to permit Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Russia said on Wednesday that work to unblock Russian exports under the Black Sea grain deal was unsatisfactory, accusing the European Union of failing to deliver on its promises, the Tass news agency reported. The comments refer to the United Nations-brokered agreement between Moscow and Kyiv that aimed to free up grain exports held up at Black Sea ports by the war in Ukraine.
The latest update from the UK’s Ministry of Defence says since Russia withdrew its forces from the west bank of the Dnipro in November, “skirmishing and reconnaissance” has continued on the network of islands comprising the Dnipro delta. “It is highly unlikely that Russia will attempt an assault crossing of the Dnipro,” the update said. “It would likely be extremely complex and costly”.
Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that European Union moves to add what he called “exemptions” to its price cap on oil products showed that Russian oil was still in demand, Reuters reports.
Russia has demanded that the US embassy in Moscow stop spreading what Moscow regards as fake news regarding its military operation in Ukraine and has threatened to expel US diplomats, Reuters reports, citing an original report in the Tass news agency.
President Joe Biden promised on Tuesday that the US will support Ukraine for as long as it takes to fight off the Russian invasion. “We’re going to stand with you, as long as it takes. Our nation is working for more freedom, more dignity, more peace – not just in Europe, but everywhere,” Biden said, addressing Ukraine’s ambassador to Washington.
The Kremlin is expected to target the north-eastern Kharkiv or southern Zaporizhzhia regions in a new thrust, Ukraines national security chief Oleksiy Danilov said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.
Ukraine’s military claimed on Tuesday that the last 24 hours were the deadliest of the war for Russian troops. It increased its tally of Russian military dead by 1,030 overnight to 133,190, the biggest increase in daily Russian military deaths since the war began in February 2022. Russia has also said it killed large numbers of Ukrainian troops in recent weeks, claiming it inflicted 6,500 Ukrainian casualties in the month of January. These figures could not be independently verified, but the assertion that the fighting was the deadliest so far fits descriptions from both sides of an escalating campaign of close-contact trench warfare in Ukraine’s east.
Ukraine’s parliament has approved the appointment of Ihor Klymenko as the new interior affairs minister and Vasily Malyuk as new head of the security services, known as the SBU. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked parliament for approving his proposed candidates and called for an end to “rumours or any other pseudo-information” that could undermine unity.
Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands have announced they plan to provide Ukraine with at least 100 refurbished Leopard 1 battle tanks. In a joint statement, their defence ministers said the shipment of the older Leopard 1 was part of an effort “to support Ukraine in their endeavour to withstand Russian aggression”. The delivery would occur “within the coming months” and include logistical support and training.
Germany’s defence ministry has said Leopard 2A6 battle tanks will be available to Ukraine by the end of March. The head of the German arms maker Rheinmetall has also said it expects to send 20 to 25 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine this year. Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.
Ukraine’s top national security official, Oleksiy Danilov, has said he is confident his country will eventually receive US-made F-16 fighter jets. It was “only a matter of time” before Kyiv gets the F-16s, Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, told CNN. He also suggested Ukraine may be capable of striking Russia on its own territory, beyond occupied Ukraine.
Ukraine has released extraordinary video footage that appears to show Russian fighters dragging their badly wounded commander away from the battlefield, then beating him violently with what appear to be shovels. A Ukrainian drone captured the incident near the eastern city of Bakhmut, where intense fighting has been raging for months.
Russia almost certainly lacks the munitions and units required for successful offensives, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. Its intelligence update stated it remained unlikely that Russia could build up the forces needed to substantially affect the outcome of the war in the coming weeks.
Recriminations have broken out among EU officials after a possible visit to Brussels by Zelenskiy was leaked, raising concerns over his security. Zelenskiy was reported to be planning a trip to Brussels this Thursday to meet EU leaders in person at a summit and address the European parliament in an extraordinary session.
Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has warned that western arms supplies to Ukraine are effectively “dragging” Nato into the conflict, which could lead to an “unpredictable level of escalation”. In remarks during a conference call with military officials, quoted by state-owned Tass news agency, Shoigu accused the US and its allies of “trying to prolong the conflict as much as possible” by supplying Kyiv with what he described as “heavy offensive weapons”.
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Ahead of his UK visit, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged partners on Wednesday to counter the International Olympic Committees’ exploration of options to permit Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Against the backdrop of continued Russian aggression and devastating war crimes, the IOC is “exploring ways” to permit Russian athletes to participate in the Paris Olympics. We urge partners to join our marathon of honesty, counter these efforts, and protect the Olympic Charter. pic.twitter.com/JlFT49hO5K
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 8, 2023
The remarks come a day after five Olympic committees in the Nordic region – Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway – urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from participating in international sports, according to AP news.
On Tuesday, Paris’s mayor Anne Hidalgo also said no Russian team should be allowed to compete at the Paris Olympics next year if Moscow continues its war against Ukraine, in an interview with France Info. The mayor went back on her previous remarks that Russian competitors could participate under a neutral flag.
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With Zelensky in surprise visit to UK today, Downing St says UK “will offer to bolster its training offer for Ukrainian troops, including expanding it to fighter jet pilots…The training will ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future.”
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) February 8, 2023
Ukrainian president Zelenskiy visits UK for first time on Wednesday since Russian invasion
Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives in the UK today on his first visit since Russia’s invasion to address parliament and meet with prime minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian troops being trained by British armed forces.
Sunak will expand the training offered by the UK to include fighter jet pilots and marines “ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future”.
Sunak said:
President Zelenskiy’s visit to the UK is a testament to his country’s courage, determination and fight, and a testament to the unbreakable friendship between our two countries … Since 2014, the UK has provided vital training to Ukrainian forces, allowing them to defend their country, protect their sovereignty and fight for their territory.
According to Downing Street, under the training programme already running in the UK 10,000 Ukrainian troops have been brought to battle readiness in the last six months, and it will upskill a further 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers this year.
The UK will continue to work with the Ukrainian armed forces and the international community to scale the programme up in 2023, said No 10.
An announcement of further sanctions is also expected today, including the targeting of those who have “helped Putin build his personal wealth, and companies who are profiting from the Kremlin’s war machine”, the statement said.
In November, the UK government announced a fresh round of sanctions against 22 Russians, including those the Foreign Office said were involved in enlisting criminals to fight in Ukraine.
The Russian officials joined more than 1,000 others, including 120 the UK has sanctioned since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, among them Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian prime minister, and Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea FC.
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Russia said on Wednesday that work to unblock Russian exports under the Black Sea grain deal was unsatisfactory, accusing the European Union of failing to deliver on its promises, the Tass news agency reported.
The comments, reported by Reuters, refer to the United Nations-brokered agreement between Moscow and Kyiv that aimed to free up grain exports held up at Black Sea ports by the war in Ukraine.
In October, the Russian government had written to the UN telling the international body that it was suspending for an “indefinite term” the Black Sea grain deal that allowed vital exports of food from occupied parts of southern Ukraine.
The July deal was designed to allow essential Ukrainian grain exports, that were backing up in the occupied area even as developing countries faced the threat of starvation without such supplies, to leave Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory.
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A two-time Ukrainian Olympian skier is unable to train at home in the Carpathian Mountains because war in the country has damaged the power grid so severely that there’s not enough energy to make the chairlifts operate.
That’s one of the reasons why Ivan Kovbasnyuk thinks athletes from Russia and Belarus should not be allowed to compete at the next Olympics – or in any international sports events, AP reports.
After competing at the Alpine skiing world championships on Tuesday, Kovbasnyuk told the news agency through a translator:
It’s not fair when Ukrainian sportsmen don’t have a chance to participate in the Olympics because they are dying on the battlefields while Russian athletes are just silently supporting (Vladimir) Putin’s crime regime.
Kovbasnyuk added:
We will do everything in our powers to prevent them from being a part of the Olympic family again. And we will defend ourselves until the end, down to the last soldier, to the last person in Ukraine … Russia is killing my people. Not good situation for Olympic Committee.
The remarks came as five Olympic committees in the Nordic region – Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway – urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from participating in international sports, according to AP news.
On Tuesday, Paris’s mayor Anne Hidalgo also said no Russian team should be allowed to compete at the Paris Olympics next year if Moscow continues its war against Ukraine, in an interview with France Info. The mayor went back on her previous remarks that Russian competitors could participate under a neutral flag.
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Here are the latest images coming from Ukraine:
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Russia’s deputy prime minister said on Wednesday that the European Union’s move to add what he called “exemptions” to its price cap on oil products showed that Russian oil was still in demand, Reuters reports.
Alexander Novak said in comments published the state-run TASS news agency:
Yesterday we saw another change to the European Union’s regulations, the exemptions…This once again emphasises that our oil products are in demand in Europe, once European politicians indicated that their actions defy any logic and take such decisions and think how to get out of this situation.
The EU said last week it agreed to set price caps on Russian refined oil products to limit Moscow’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine. At the same time, the EU introduced several exemptions to the way its price cap works.
The latest update from the UK’s Ministry of Defence says since Russia withdrew its forces from the west bank of the Dnipro in November, “skirmishing and reconnaissance” has continued on the network of islands comprising the Dnipro delta.
It says both Ukraine and Russia are likely aiming to maintain a presence in these areas to control maritime access and warn of any attempt by adversaries to launch a major assault across the river.
“It is highly unlikely that Russia will attempt an assault crossing of the Dnipro,” the update said. “It would likely be extremely complex and costly”.
(2/5) Russian forces have almost certainly used small boats to try to main a presence on key islands; Ukraine has successfully deployed long-range artillery to neutralise Russian outposts a number of times.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) February 8, 2023
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EU price cap exemptions show our oil is still in demand, says Russia
Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that European Union moves to add what he called “exemptions” to its price cap on oil products showed that Russian oil was still in demand, Reuters reports.
He said in comments shared by the state-run Tass news agency:
Yesterday we saw another change to the European Union’s regulations, the exemptions. This once again emphasises that our oil products are in demand in Europe, once European politicians indicated that their actions defy any logic and they take such decisions and think how to get out of this situation.
Last week, the European Union said it agreed to set price caps on Russian-refined oil products to limit Moscow’s funds for its invasion of Ukraine.
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Russia has further consolidated administrative control in occupied areas of Ukraine after the Russian State Duma further formalised a social benefits scheme, according to the US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War.
On Tuesday, chair of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin stated it had adopted the first reading of four bills on the legislative integration of social rights for residents living in occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia oblasts.
The bills define the minimum level of income, pension payments, sick leave, pregnancy and childcare benefits, and social support for veterans and people with disabilities.
The US thinktank reported the bills represent the highest level of legislative integration of social benefit schemes in occupied areas of Ukraine thus far. It had previously only been defined and advertised in local forms by individual occupation officials.
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‘A mammoth task’: Joyce Banda on helping Ukraine supply grain to African countries
Joyce Banda, a former president of Malawi, hailed the “love affair” between Ukraine’s leader and its people as she promised to help Kyiv identify African countries badly needing the country’s grain exports.
Beginning work as one of Ukraine’s three “grain ambassadors”, the ex-president described Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s wartime direction as “an inspiring story”, part of an effort to boost Kyiv’s standing in Africa, where Russian influence remains strong.
Her job, she said, was “a mammoth task” because climate breakdown was badly affecting parts of Africa “like the northern part of Kenya, that didn’t get rain at all the past season”, meaning they need more help than ever with food security.
More on this story here:
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Here are some of the latest images from the frontline in Ukraine.
Russia accuses US embassy of ‘fake news’ over Ukraine and threatens expulsions
Russia has demanded that the US embassy in Moscow stop spreading what Moscow regards as fake news regarding its military operation in Ukraine and has threatened to expel US diplomats, Reuters reports, citing an original report in the Tass news agency.
The warning included a harsh message to Lynne Tracy, the new US ambassador to Moscow, Tass said, citing a senior Russian foreign ministry source who said Tracy had been told she must strictly adhere to Russian law when making any statements about the country’s armed forces in Ukraine.
US diplomats engaging in what Moscow called “subversive activities” would be expelled, Tass quoted the source as saying.
A US state department spokesperson confirmed that the US embassy had received a diplomatic note from the Russian foreign ministry, but said the department’s general policy was not to comment on diplomatic correspondence.
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Key event
‘We’re going to stand with you, as long as it takes’: Joe Biden
President Joe Biden promised Tuesday that the United States will support Ukraine for as long as it takes to fight off the Russian invasion.
“We’re going to stand with you, as long as it takes. Our nation is working for more freedom, more dignity, more peace – not just in Europe, but everywhere,” Biden said, addressing Ukraine’s ambassador to Washington, Oksana Markarova, who was in attendance at the president’s State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress.
Moscow may target Kharkiv or Zaporizhzhia in new offensive, says Kyiv
Ukraine national security chief Oleksiy Danilov said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday that the Kremlin is expected to target the north-eastern Kharkiv or southern Zaporizhzhia regions in a new thrust.
Speaking in his office in Kyiv, he told Reuters:
Attempts at an offensive in either the Kharkiv or Zaporizhzhia direction will of course be made.
How successful they’ll be will depend on us.
Top Ukrainian officials including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have said Moscow will attempt to mount another major offensive with freshly mobilised troops in the coming weeks as the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears on 24 February.
Danilov said:
They need to have something to show before their people, and have a major desire to do something big, as they see it, by this date.
Updated
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Jordyn Beazley and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments as they unfold over the next hour.
Russian forces have ramped up a winter assault in eastern Ukraine, bringing tens of thousands of freshly mobilised troops to the battlefield, Reuters reports. Kyiv expects Moscow to broaden its offensive as towns in the northeast and south came under fire.
Ukraine’s military claimed on Tuesday that the last 24 hours were the deadliest of the war for Russian troops. It increased its tally of Russian military dead by 1,030 overnight to 133,190, the biggest increase in daily Russian military deaths since the war began in February 2022. Russia has also said it killed large numbers of Ukrainian troops in recent weeks, claiming it inflicted 6,500 Ukrainian casualties in the month of January. These figures could not be independently verified, but the assertion that the fighting was the deadliest so far fits descriptions from both sides of an escalating campaign of close-contact trench warfare in Ukraine’s east.
Ukraine’s parliament has approved the appointment of Ihor Klymenko as the new interior affairs minister and Vasily Malyuk as the new head of the security services, known as the SBU. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked parliament for approving his proposed candidates and called for an end to “rumours or any other pseudo-information” that could undermine unity.
Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands have announced they plan to provide Ukraine with at least 100 refurbished Leopard 1 battle tanks. In a joint statement, their defence ministers said the shipment of the older Leopard 1 was part of an effort “to support Ukraine in their endeavour to withstand Russian aggression”. The delivery would occur “within the coming months” and include logistical support and training.
Germany’s defence ministry has said Leopard 2A6 battle tanks will be available to Ukraine by the end of March. The head of the German arms maker Rheinmetall has also said it expects to send 20 to 25 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine this year. Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.
Ukraine’s top national security official, Oleksiy Danilov, has said he is confident his country will eventually receive US-made F-16 fighter jets. It was “only a matter of time” before Kyiv gets the F-16s, Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, told CNN. He also suggested Ukraine may be capable of striking Russia on its own territory, beyond occupied Ukraine.
Ukraine has released extraordinary video footage that appears to show Russian fighters dragging their badly wounded commander away from the battlefield, then beating him violently with what appear to be shovels. A Ukrainian drone captured the incident near the eastern city of Bakhmut, where intense fighting has been raging for months.
Russia almost certainly lacks the munitions and units required for successful offensives, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. Its intelligence update stated it remained unlikely that Russia could build up the forces needed to substantially affect the outcome of the war in the coming weeks.
Recriminations have broken out among EU officials after a possible visit to Brussels by Zelenskiy was leaked, raising concerns over his security. Zelenskiy was reported to be planning a trip to Brussels this Thursday to meet EU leaders in person at a summit and address the European parliament in an extraordinary session.
Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has warned that western arms supplies to Ukraine are effectively “dragging” Nato into the conflict, which could lead to an “unpredictable level of escalation”. In remarks during a conference call with military officials, quoted by state-owned Tass news agency, Shoigu accused the US and its allies of “trying to prolong the conflict as much as possible” by supplying Kyiv with what he described as “heavy offensive weapons”.
