China is willing to supply weapons to Russia according to US intelligence officials. It comes as Moscow admitted for the first time that the war was not going to plan, reports the Telegraph.
The claims made in US diplomatic cables and handed in person to Nato allies prompted Washington to threaten Beijing with economic sanctions if it tried to help Vladimir Putin. It followed reports that Russia had requested military equipment to make up for their losses suffered in the 19 days since the war began.
As well as drones, the US has reportedly told its allies that Russia has asked China for surface-to-air missiles, armoured vehicles and items linked to intelligence gathering.
Reports of airstrike and huge explosions in Kyiv
A series of air strikes followed by huge explosions were reported in Kyiv this morning, at around 5am local time. As yet unconfirmed photos and videos appear to show at least one large building, said to be residential, on fire.
Elsewhere, a convoy of 160 civilian cars left the encircled port city of Mariupol along a designated humanitarian route, the city council reported, in a rare glimmer of hope a week and a half into the lethal siege that has pulverised homes and other buildings and left people desperate for food, water, heat and medicine.
US warns China on support for Russia in Ukraine war
The US, meanwhile, has issued a warning to China on the issue. President Joe Biden's adviser Jake Sullivan met senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi in Rome and outlined that the Biden administration is becoming increasingly concerned that China is using the war to advance Beijing’s long-term interest in its competition with the United States.
Mr Sullivan was seeking clarity on Beijing’s posture and was warning the Chinese anew that assistance for Russia — including helping it avert sanctions imposed by the US and Western allies — would be costly for them.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said: "The national security adviser and our delegation raised directly and very clearly our concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) support to Russia in the wake of the invasion, and the implications that any such support would have for the PRC’s relationship not only with us, but for its relationships around the world."
Putin's forces 'may only be able to keep on fighting for 14 more days'
Russian forces may only be able to sustain full fighting capacity for another 'ten to 14' days, senior UK defence sources indicated last night, reports the Daily Mail.
Latest intelligence suggest that by that time they may struggle to make any significant progress – while finding it difficult to hold ground.
Despite another day of bombing major Ukrainian cities including Kyiv and Kharkiv, resistance to the onslaught has seen the the Russian invasion fall behind schedule, allies of president Vladimir Putin admitted for the first time on Monday. American officials added that the ground advance, now in its third week, had largely stalled.
MoD believes Russia may seek to use chemical weapons in false-flag operation
The Ministry of Defence has claimed Russia could be plotting to use chemical or biological weapons in a "false-flag" operation. Intelligence also suggests that the country intended to justify its February 24 invasion under a similar guise.
False-flag operations are attacks by a government on its own forces to create the appearance of hostile action by an opponent, allowing the government to broadcast images to the world of its opponent’s supposed actions. Observers have been on the lookout for a Russian false-flag attack, a highly visible event that President Vladimir Putin could use as justification for taking military action.
The MoD posted an intelligence update yesterday on Twitter outlining beliefs surrounding Russia's invasion. The tweet read: "Russian accusations that Ukraine intends to use chemical and biological weapons continue. We have seen no evidence to support these accusations.
"Russia could possibly be planning to use chemical or biological weapons in a false-flag operation. Such an operation could take the form of a faked attack, a staged 'discovery' of agents or munitions or fabricated evidence of alleged Ukrainian planning to use such weapons. A false-flag attack would almost certainly be accompanied by extensive disinformation to complicate attribution."
Growing number of Ukraine refugees have nowhere to go, says charity
In other news the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) charity has reported that an increasing number of refugees are fleeing Ukraine without family in Europe to help them, while the number of lone children crossing the borders is rising.
The most recent arrivals to countries surrounding Ukraine have few family ties, nowhere to go and are deeply traumatised, according to the DEC. And their needs are potentially greater as they have fled the conflict later – at the point when the fighting reached their homes – with fewer possessions or resources, it said.
One charity partner, providing aid in Poland, said the fastest-growing group is those who stayed in Ukraine "until they really had no choice but to run". This compares to earlier cohorts who had predominantly left to join family in Europe.
DEC also warned that neighbouring countries are struggling to keep up with the numbers arriving. Some £175 million has been raised by DEC’s humanitarian appeal, including £25 million matched by the UK Government.
Ukraine peace talks with Russia were 'pretty good' - President Volodymyr Zelensky'
On a more positive note, however, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said there may be a glimmer of hope for peace in Eastern Europe after hailing the latest round of peace talks with Russia as "pretty good".
In an address to his nation in the early hours of Tuesday morning Zelensky said that talks between the two countries were ongoing, "as part of a negotiation effort to end this war as soon as possible, with a fair peace".
He added that a "delegation" from Ukraine held talks with "the Russian Party" - and that these were "pretty good, as I was told". However, he sounded a note of caution, adding: "But let's see. They will continue tomorrow".
West must end addiction to Russian energy, says Boris Johnson
Back home, meanwhile, Boris Johnson urged the West to end its "addiction" on Russian energy prior to heading to Saudi Arabia in a bid to push for increased oil and gas production. The Prime Minister is set for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the hope Saudi can raise its production of oil and gas to make up for a reduced reliance on Russia.
In an article for the Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson said Western leaders had made a "terrible mistake" by letting President Vladimir Putin "get away with" annexing Crimea in 2014 and subsequently becoming “more dependent” on Russian power sources. He said the “addiction” on Russian fuel had "emboldened" Mr Putin to bomb civilians during his invasion of Ukraine, while at the same time profiting from soaring global oil and gas prices.
"We cannot go on like this. The world cannot be subject to this continuous blackmail," said Mr Johnson. He added: "If the world can end its dependence on Russian oil and gas, we can starve him (Putin) of cash, destroy his strategy and cut him down to size."
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