Russia-Ukraine war live: ‘we will rebuild’ says Zelenskiy on anniversary of invasion; China calls for end to attacks on civilians | Russia

US President Joe Biden will meet virtually on Friday with G7 leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and announce new sanctions against those aiding Russia’s war effort, the White House said.

The same group came together last year hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, imposing the first round of a series of sanctions, Reuters reports.

“The G7 has become an anchor of our strong and united response to Russia,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday. The leaders on Friday will discuss “how we continue supporting Ukraine” and ways to increase pressure on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine a year ago, she said.

The sanctions will include Russian banks, technology and defense sectors, and will impact both people and companies involved in the conflict, according to Jean-Pierre.

The US will also announce a fresh Ukrainian aid package that will include economic, security and energy support, she added.

We’re just getting the first look at what is inside China’s so-called “Peace plan” for Ukraine, which was notably not shared with Ukraine’s leaders.

So far, it looks fairly unsurprising, noting the dangers of nuclear weapons, which should be avoided, stressing the need for negotiations, and saying that ‘“one country’s security cannot be at the expense of another country’s security”. But one thing stands out, which is that China says it is opposed to “any unilateral sanctions not authorised by UN security council”.

Many countries have imposed their own sanctions against Russian products, including gas, selling products within Russia, and on wealthy Russians with links to the Kremlin. So it seems like the cat’s out of the bag on that one.

The paper also warns that, “nuclear weapons cannot be used and nuclear war cannot be fought”

Here are the dot points from the peace plan:

• Respect sovereignty of all countries

• Country’s security cannot be at expense of other countries’ security

• Regional security cannot be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs

• Cease fire and stop fighting, prevent Ukraine crisis from further aggravating or even getting out of control

• Gradually promote de-escalation and easing of situation and finally reach comprehensive ceasefire

• Dialogue, negotiation are only viable way to resolve Ukraine crisis

• Maintain safety of nuclear power plants, oppose armed attacks on nuclear facilities

• Nuclear weapons cannot be used and nuclear war cannot be fought

• Prevent nuclear proliferation, avoid any nuclear crisis

• We oppose development, use of biological and chemical weapons by any country under any circumstances

• Oppose any unilateral sanctions not authorised by UN security council

On Thursday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he had not seen any Chinese peace plan but he would welcome a meeting between Ukraine and China.

“We would like to meet with China,” he said during a news briefing in Kyiv with the visiting Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, on the eve of the first anniversary the invasion.

In joyful news: the Ukrainian football team that has not played in their home city since 2014, qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League on Thursday with coach Igor Jovicevic hailing the win at French side Rennes as a “victory for Ukraine.”

AFP reports that Shakhtar defeated Rennes 5-4 in a penalty shootout after their playoff had ended 3-3 on aggregate and then went to extra-time.

The win comes on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“It was very important. This match was for you, Ukraine, it was for our country, for Ukraine,” said Croatian national Jovicevic who has worked in Ukraine for more than 20 years.

“I can’t find the words at the moment, we were in the game until the end,” he added.

“You could almost say that we died on the pitch, that we left our arms and legs there. This victory is a reward for our work.”

Russia ‘in talks with Chinese manufacturer about buying drones’ – Der Spiegel

Jonathan Yerushalmy

Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine has reported that Russia is in talks with a Chinese manufacturer about buying 100 drones for use in the war, with a delivery date of April, but has not cited any specific sources.

Over the past week the US has suggested China may be considering supplying weapons to Russia, while warning that any such move would have severe consequences. Beijing has denied this, saying they would continue to take “an objective and impartial stance” on the conflict.

Der Spiegel said a Chinese drone manufacturer was prepared to make 100 prototypes of a model that they claim could carry a 35-50kg warhead.

It claims the drone is similar to Iran’s Shaheed-136, which Russia has used to launch countless attacks on Ukraine, claiming hundreds of lives and damaging civilian infrastructure.

Moldova’s government has dismissed an accusation by Russia’s defence ministry that Ukraine is planning to invade the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria after staging a false-flag operation.

“We call for calm and for information to be received [by the public] from official and credible sources of the Republic of Moldova,” the government said in a statement.

“Our institutions cooperate with foreign partners and in the case of threats to the country, the public will be promptly informed,” adding that the government “do not confirm” the Russian defence ministry’s allegations.

On Thursday, Russia’s defence ministry claimed Ukraine – which borders Moldova – posed “a direct threat” to Russian troops in the Russian-speaking region.

At least 137,780 Russian military personnel have died in the war so far, according to the Ukrainian military, with around 824Russian soldiers dying a day this month, a marked increase from recent months and a figure not seen since the start of the war.

A recent estimate by the US military said that each side had probably suffered about 100,000 deaths and injuries, putting the total number of deaths and casualties for Russia and Ukraine at 200,000.

Russia’s own figure for casualties is far lower than the Ukrainian estimate, with The Conversation pointing out this month that Russia has provided only two official reports since the start of the war.

“The most recent was on 21 September 2022, when defence minister Sergei Shoigu said that 5,937 Russian troops had been killed. Mediazona, an independent Russian publication which is working with the BBC News Russian service to monitor the death toll, puts the figure at 12,538 deaths. So the numbers vary wildly from source to source.”

Ukraine has also refrained from providing casualty figures, but in August last year, the armed forces’ commander-in-chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said that 9,000 have died.

As security studies expert Lily Hamourtziadou explains in the conversation:

Casualty reporting is a powerful tool of war propaganda, seen most starkly in the tit-for-tat accounts of two incidents around the new year. Ukraine claimed that its rocket attack on a Russian army barracks in Makiivka near Donetsk in the east of Ukraine on New Year’s Eve killed 400 Russian soldiers.

Russia countered that the attack, while deadly, had killed only about 60 troops (although prominent pro-Moscow blogger and former military leader Igor Girkin reportedly claimed the death toll was in the hundreds).

Patrick Wintour

Here is more on the clash between Germany and China the UN on Thursday.

The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, clashed with Chinese diplomats on Thursday, passionately rejecting their claim that the west was adding fuel to the fire by arming Ukraine.

Baerbock said it was time for China to tell Russia to stop its aggression.

The deputy Chinese envoy to the UN, Dai Bing, insisted the west was worsening the situation by arming Ukraine, saying: “Adding fuel to the fire will only exacerbate tensions”.

His remarks provoked Baerbock into a powerful rebuttal rejecting his claim that the west was indulging in military spending at the expense of other priorities more important to ordinary people.

She asked: “Why on earth would we do that?”, adding: “We did not want this war. We did not choose this war.” She said her government “would much rather focus every bit of our energy and money in fixing our schools, in fighting the climate crisis and strengthening social justice”, adding: “The truth is that if Russia stops fighting, the war will end, If Ukraine stops this fighting, Ukraine ends.”

She said the suffering, including “abduction, rape and torture”, would continue every day, and that the world’s gaping wounds, caused by hunger, inflation and energy shortages, would not end.

China abstains from UN vote on Russian withdrawal

Patrick Wintour

The UN has overwhelmingly voted to call for Russia to immediately and unconditionally withdraw from Ukraine, marking one year since Moscow’s invasion by calling for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace”.

The resolution on Thursday night saw 141 countries in favour with seven against and 32 abstentions, including China.

The Chinese deputy envoy to the UN, Dai Bing, said the west was throwing fuel on to the fire by arming Ukraine. That would only exacerbate tensions, he said.

Leading the abstention camp, he claimed: “One year into the Ukraine crisis, the conflict is still grinding on and growing in scale, wreaking havoc to countless lives. A spillover effect is intensifying. We are deeply worried about this. China’s position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected. The purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be observed. The legitimate security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously.”

His remarks provoked a powerful rebuttal from Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, rejecting his claim that the west was indulging in military spending at the expense of other priorities more important to ordinary people. She said it was specious to claim the military aid was worsening the crisis since if the west did not supply aid, the aggressor would be free to capture Ukraine and destroy the UN Charter.

The military situation in Ukraine’s south is quite dangerous in some places while conditions in the east are very difficult, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in a video address early on Friday.

Zelenskiy, speaking on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, said pro-Moscow forces had again shelled the southern city of Kherson, this time cutting off heat for 40,000 people.

“As for the south – in some places the situation is quite dangerous but our troops have the means to respond to the occupiers,” he said, summarising events on the various fronts.

“In the east – it’s very difficult, painful. But we are doing everything to withstand it,” he continued, in reference to repeated attacks by Russian forces seeking to capture the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Zelenskiy said repair work in Kherson, which is being shelled on a daily basis, would continue until heat was restored.

“And we will rebuild. No matter what these Russian terrorists and bastards may do, we will rebuild and restore everything,” he said.

On Friday morning, Ukrainians will wake up to an anniversary like no other: a year since Russia invaded their country and began a campaign of terror, striking civilian areas, targeting critical infrastructure and weaponising the freezing cold. Russia has been accused of war crimes including torture, raping women and children and carrying out mass executions.

At least 8,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, though the true number is likely much higher. This figure includes 487 children. The war has turned more than eight million Ukrainians into refugees.

Today, we will be looking back at the first year of the war in Ukraine, as well as reporting the day’s news and analysis on what might come next.

My name is Helen Sullivan, and I’ll be bringing you news, photos and analysis throughout the day.

If you would like to get in touch, the best place to find me is on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Here are the key recent developments in the war:

• Ukraine is bracing for possible fresh Russian attacks on key cities amid fears that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, intends to mark the anniversary with a series of strikes. Ukraine’s general staff said Russian forces had stepped up attacks along the eastern frontline and its forces had repelled 90 assaults in the east and north-east in the past 24 hours.

• The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said the alliance has seen signs that China is considering supplying arms to Russia and warned Beijing against taking any such step. Stoltenberg said potential Chinese assistance would amount to providing direct “support to a blatant violation of international law, and of course [as] a member of the UN security council China should not in any way support violation of the UN charter or international law.”

• Vladimir Putin has said Russia will deploy its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, nicknamed “Satan 2”, as well as roll out hypersonic missiles and new nuclear submarines. In an address to mark the “Defender of the Fatherland” holiday on Thursday, Putin said Russia would “pay increased attention” to boost its nuclear forces on land, sea and in the air.

• Spain will send Ukraine six Leopard tanks and is willing to increase that number to 10 if necessary, the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, confirmed during a visit to Kyiv on Thursday. “We will stay by Ukraine’s side until peace returns to Europe,” he said, adding that Spain had offered to train Ukrainian soldiers in how to use the tanks.

• Finland will send three Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, the country’s defence ministry has said. The announcement comes after Sweden’s defence minister said it was open to sending some of its Leopard battle tanks. The Czech government has also announced a further military aid shipment to Ukraine.

• A US army official has said it could take up to two years for M1 Abrams tanks to be delivered to Ukraine. The US announced in January that it would supply Ukraine with 31 advanced M1 Abrams tanks worth $400m in a matter of months. But plans were still being drawn up on how and when they would be delivered, the US army secretary, Christine Wormuth, said.

• The EU’s top diplomats have failed to finalise the bloc’s tenth round of sanctions against Russia, which would ban the sale of more military-critical technologies. Talks are understood to be stuck on the question of rubber trade with Russia. The US president, Joe Biden, will meet virtually on Friday with G7 leaders and Volodymyr Zelenskiy to announce new sanctions against those aiding Russia’s war effort, the White House says.