Russia-Ukraine war live: EU officials to arrive in Kyiv amid warnings of Russian mobilisation on eastern border | Ukraine

Welcome to those joining our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Geneva Abdul and I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next hour.

On Wednesday night in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, about 55 km (34 miles) north-west of Bakhmut, a Russian missile destroyed an apartment building, killing at least three people and injuring 20, police said.

The situation on the frontlines in eastern Ukraine “has become tougher” as Russian forces push for gains that they could show on the first anniversary of their invasion, on 24 February, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his late-night address.

It’s 12pm in Ukraine. Here are the other key recent developments:

• In an interview on Russia’s state TV on Thursday, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said everybody wanted the conflict in Ukraine to end, but that the west’s support for Kyiv was playing an important role in how Russia approaches the campaign. Lavrov also said that Moscow had plans to overshadow pro-Ukrainian events arranged by Western and allied countries around the world to mark the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

• Austria has declared four Russian diplomats personae non gratae for behaving in a manner inconsistent with international agreements, the foreign ministry said on Thursday without giving many specifics.

• A UK Ministry of Defence update said Russia’s role as a “reliable arms exporter” is “highly likely” being undermined by its invasion of Ukraine and international sanctions. The MoD said prior to the invasion Russia’s share of the international arms market was declining.

• Shell’s annual profits have more than doubled to a record of nearly $40bn (£32.3bn) after a surge in wholesale gas prices linked to the war in Ukraine boosted its performance, as consumers struggled to pay huge energy bills.

• More than a dozen top EU officials, including the head of the commission, Ursula von der Leyen, arrived in Kyiv on Thursday with promises of more military, financial and political aid. It’s a symbolic trip meant to highlight support for Ukraine as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears.

• Fierce fighting continued in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops are trying to gain ground near the strategic logistics hub of Lyman, deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said on Wednesday evening.

• A former commander of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group who fled to Norway told Reuters he wanted to apologise for fighting in Ukraine and was speaking out to bring the perpetrators of atrocities in the conflict to justice.

• Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said he does not think it is the right approach “for now” to send UK fighter jets to Ukraine. He said it was “not a solid decision”, adding: “I’ve learned two things: never rule anything in and never rule anything out.” Meanwhile, Downing Street has continued to rule out providing Kyiv with British jets, saying it was not practical given the complexity of the jets.

• Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said he had a “frank and productive” conversation with France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, regarding his country’s “urgent operational needs for self-defence”.

• The US is readying more than $2bn worth of military aid for Ukraine that is expected to include longer-range rockets for the first time as well as other munitions and weapons, two US officials briefed on the matter told Reuters. The Kremlin said longer-range rockets reportedly included in the upcoming package of military aid would escalate the conflict but not change its course.

• Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said Russia and China’s growing relationship poses a threat not only to Asia but also to Europe. In a speech to Keio University in Tokyo, the Nato chief underlined the importance of stronger cooperation and more “friends” for Nato in the Indo-Pacific region, adding that the war in Ukraine had demonstrated “how security is interconnected”.

• A UK Ministry of Defence intelligence update said recent days have seen “some of the most intense shelling of the conflict” along the Dnipro River. “This has included continued shelling of Kherson city,” the ministry notes, adding that outside the Donbas, Kherson is the city most consistently shelled in the conflict.

• The woman leading the Kyiv tax authority has been accused of a multimillion-dollar fraud after a raid on one of her four homes. Ukraine’s state bureau of investigation (SBI) said in a statement that the acting head of the inspectorate, who has not been named, had abused her “power and official position” along with other members of the authority.

In a wide-ranging interview with state TV, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said that Moscow had plans to overshadow pro-Ukrainian events arranged by western and allied countries around the world to mark the anniversary of Russia sending its armed forces into Ukraine on 24 February.

In the interview on Thursday, Lavrov said Russian diplomats were working on something to ensure western-led events in New York and elsewhere were “not the only ones to gain the world’s attention”, without providing details, Reuters reports.

Earlier we reported on a Russian missile striking the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Wednesday night, destroying an apartment building and damaging several more.

Three people have died, two were rescued from the debris, and 18 were wounded of which 8 have been hospitalised, according to Anton Gerashchenko, Ukraine’s internal affairs ministerial adviser.

Local authorities initially said Russia had fired a rocket but the police force later said an Iskander-K tactical missile had struck at 9:45 pm local time (19:45 GMT).

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said the country’s forces would respond to the delivery of longer-range western weapons to Kyiv by trying to push Ukrainian forces further away from its borders to create a safe buffer zone, Reuters reports.

In an interview on Russia’s state TV on Thursday, Lavrov said everybody wanted the conflict in Ukraine – which Moscow calls a “special military operation” – to end, but that the west’s support for Kyiv was playing an important role in how Russia approaches the campaign.

Lavrov also said Russia does not need help from its ex-Soviet allies for its military campaign, and that they had everything needed for the conflict. Lavrov said they had not asked members of the

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow does not any need help from its ex-Soviet allies for its military campaign in Ukraine.

Lavrov said Russia had everything it needed for the conflict and had not asked members of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) – a Moscow-led alliance that includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – to provide material support.

Austria has declared four Russian diplomats personae non gratae for behaving in a manner inconsistent with international agreements, a reason often invoked in spying cases, the foreign ministry said on Thursday without giving many specifics.

According to Reuters, two of the four diplomats are at the permanent mission to the United Nations in Vienna, and acted in a way “incompatible” with the agreement between the UN and Austria. The other two are Russian embassy staff who acted in a way “incompatible” with their diplomatic status.

Alex Lawson

Shell makes record $40bn in profits on back of surging gas prices linked to war in Ukraine

Shell’s annual profits have more than doubled to a record of nearly $40bn (£32.3bn) after a surge in wholesale gas prices linked to the war in Ukraine boosted its performance, as consumers struggled to pay huge energy bills.

The oil and gas company posted profits of $9.81bn in the final quarter of last year, compared with $6.4bn a year earlier. That took annual adjusted profits to $39.87bn, outstripping the $19.3bn notched up in 2021.

Read more here:

More than a dozen top EU officials will arrive in Kyiv on Thursday, Reuters reports, with promises of more military, financial and political aid. It’s a symbolic trip meant to highlight support for Ukraine as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears.

But the EU is set to dash Ukraine’s hopes of being swiftly allowed membership, stressing the need for more anti-corruption measures, and unwilling to admit a country at war, the biggest armed conflict in Europe since the second world war.

Despite much admiration for Ukraine’s resistance and praise for moves to crack down on corruption, the EU refuses to offer Kyiv a fast track to membership.

Prime minister Denys Shmyhal has said he wanted Ukraine to join the European Union in two years and a liberal Belgian EU lawmaker said teasingly he dreamt of it happening over the next five. In reality, that is most likely to take much longer.

“Some may want to speculate about the end game but the simple truth is that we are not there yet,” said another EU official.

On Thursday, top members of the EU’s executive European Commission will meet their counterparts in the Ukrainian government. On Friday the head of the commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the chair of the 27 EU national leaders, Charles Michel, will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Kyiv warns of Russian mobilisation on eastern border

Jonathan Yerushalmy

Russia is planning a major offensive to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine on 24 February, according to the country’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov.

Speaking to French media, Reznikov warned that Russia would call on a large contingent of mobilised troops. Referring to Russia’s general mobilisation of 300,000 conscripted soldiers in September last year, he claimed that numbers at the border suggest the true size could be closer to 500,000.

“We do not underestimate our enemy,” Reznikov said. “Officially, they announced 300,000, but when we see the troops at the borders, according to our assessments it is much more.”

The Guardian was unable to independently verify these figures.

On Wednesday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces were trying to make gains that they could show on the February anniversary of their invasion, and issued a dire account of the situation in the eastern province of Donetsk.

“A definite increase has been noted in the offensive operations of the occupiers on the front in the east of our country. The situation has become tougher,” Zelenskiy said in a video address.

Reznikov said the offensive would probably be concentrated in two areas: the country’s east, which has seen heavy fighting over recent weeks; and the south.

“We think that, given that [Russia] lives in symbolism, they will try to try something around February 24.”

A Russian missile destroyed an apartment building and damaged seven more in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Wednesday night, killing at least three people and injuring 20, regional police said.

Local authorities initially said Russia had fired a rocket but the police force later said an Iskander-K tactical missile had struck at 9:45 pm local time (19:45 GMT).

“At least eight apartment buildings were damaged. One of them was completely destroyed,” police said in a Facebook post. “People may remain under the rubble.”

At least 44 people were killed last month when a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the eastern city of Dnipro.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next while.

On Wednesday night in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, about 55 km (34 miles) northwest of Bakhmut, a Russian missile destroyed an apartment building, killing at least three people and injuring 20, police said.

The situation on the frontlines in eastern Ukraine “has become tougher” as Russian forces push for gains that they could show on the first anniversary of their invasion, on 24 February, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his late night address.

Here are the other key recent developments:

• Fierce fighting continued in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops are trying to gain ground near the strategic logistics hub of Lyman, deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said on Wednesday evening.

• A former commander of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group who fled to Norway told Reuters he wanted to apologise for fighting in Ukraine and was speaking out to bring the perpetrators of atrocities in the conflict to justice.

• Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said he does not think it is the right approach “for now” to send UK fighter jets to Ukraine. He said it was “not a solid decision”, adding: “I’ve learned two things: never rule anything in and never rule anything out.” Meanwhile, Downing Street has continued to rule out providing Kyiv with British jets, saying it was not practical given the complexity of the jets.

• Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said he had a “frank and productive” conversation with France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, regarding his country’s “urgent operational needs for self-defence”.

• The US is readying more than $2bn worth of military aid for Ukraine that is expected to include longer-range rockets for the first time as well as other munitions and weapons, two US officials briefed on the matter told Reuters. The Kremlin said longer-range rockets reportedly included in the upcoming package of military aid would escalate the conflict but not change its course.

• Norwegian academics, rights campaigners, bestselling authors and a former minister have urged Oslo to increase its support for Ukraine, saying the government must do more to help after earning billions in extra oil and gas revenue from Russia’s war. Norway’s oil and gas revenues have soared to record levels over the past 12 months as energy prices have tripled after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Norway has replaced Russia as Europe’s largest supplier of natural gas.

• Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said Russia and China’s growing relationship poses a threat not only to Asia but also to Europe. In a speech to Keio University in Tokyo, the Nato chief underlined the importance of stronger cooperation and more “friends” for Nato in the Indo-Pacific region, adding that the war in Ukraine had demonstrated “how security is interconnected”.

• A UK Ministry of Defence intelligence update said recent days have seen “some of the most intense shelling of the conflict” along the Dnieper River. “This has included continued shelling of Kherson city,” the ministry notes, adding that outside the Donbas, Kherson is the city most consistently shelled in the conflict.

• The woman leading the Kyiv tax authority has been accused of a multimillion-dollar fraud after a raid on one of her four homes. Ukraine’s state bureau of investigation (SBI) said in a statement that the acting head of the inspectorate, who has not been named, had abused her “power and official position” along with other members of the authority.