Russia-Ukraine war news – latest: Blinken meets Lavrov for first time since invasion
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for the first time since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.
US officials said Mr Blinken and Mr Lavrov chatted for roughly 10 minutes on the sidelines of the G20 conference in New Delhi.
A senior US official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation, said Blinken had “disabused” Lavrov of any idea they might have that US support for Ukraine is wavering.
Russia had no immediate comment on the substance of the conversation.
It comes as Ukraine has rejected claims by Vladimir Putin that “saboteurs” are carrying out a “terrorist act” in the Russian region of Bryansk.
Kremlin officials are claiming that its forces are battling a Ukrainian “sabotage group” alleged to have infiltrated Russian territory and taken hostages, with Mr Putin said to be receiving updates on the situation.
But Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential aide to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, rejected Russia’s claims as “a classic deliberate provocation” by Moscow.
Key Points
Blinken meets Lavrov for first time since Russian invasion of Ukraine
Kyiv rejects Vladimir Putin’s claim of ‘terrorist act’ in Bryansk
Kherson torture chambers ‘planned and funded by Russia’, investigators say
Russia says it repelled ‘massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea'
Putin bans Russian officials from using foreign words: ‘Degenerate West’
Bakhmut and other frontlines a ‘grinding slog’, says US
US Attorney General makes unannounced visit to Ukraine
19:22 , Joe Middleton
US Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unannounced visit to Lviv, Ukraine, on Friday at the invitation of the Ukrainian prosecutor general, a Justice Department official said.
“The attorney general held several meetings and reaffirmed our determination to hold Russia accountable for crimes committed in its unjust and unprovoked invasion against its sovereign neighbor,” the official said.
US announces new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine
18:17 , Joe Middleton
The United States announced a new military aid package for Ukraine on Friday worth $400 million on Friday.
It will primarily be comprised of ammunition, but for the first time will include tactical bridges to move tanks and armored vehicles.
The bridges could be used by Ukrainian troops who have been training in “combined arms maneuver” warfare, which is the coordinated use of artillery shelling, alongside tank and armored vehicle attack movements.
“Assault bridging is essential for combined arms operations. It allows armored vehicles to cross narrow rivers and ditches that would otherwise cause a whole force to slow down,” said Jack Watling, a Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare at the London-based Royal United Services Institute.
“Importantly, assault bridges are only critical for offensive operations showing that the US is preparing Ukraine to continue retaking its territory,” Watling added.
In January, Berlin agreed to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine and said it would work with allies to send more.
German aid for Ukraine was expected to be a major topic when U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met at the White House on Friday. Several NATO allies have pledged a range of armored fighting vehicles.
Bridge in central Bakhmut destroyed as Russians say Ukrainian city is surrounded
17:30 , Joe Middleton
His brother was kidnapped and murdered by the Russians, his mother left to die. Now he wants answers
16:34 , Joe Middleton
In the village of Kamianka, Kim Sengupta sees a Ukrainian commander confront the neighbours he suspects betrayed his family.
His brother was kidnapped and murdered by the Russians. Now he wants answers
Putin urges Security Council to discuss further ‘anti-terrorism’ measures
14:45 , Joe Middleton
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Security Council that they needed to discuss additional “anti-terrorism measures” to safeguard facilities controlled by law enforcement bodies.
Putin said on Thursday Russia had been hit by a “terrorist attack” in the southern Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, and vowed to crush a sabotage group that had fired at civilians.
Ukraine accused Russia of staging a false “provocation”.
Putin signs decree to ensure defence contracts are met
13:55 , Joe Middleton
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree today enabling the state to suspend the directors and shareholders of any companies that fail to meet state defence contracts under conditions of martial law.
The decree would allow the industry ministry to name a new external administrator to take over the running of such companies.
Putin said in October he was introducing martial law in four regions of Ukraine that Moscow has partly seized control of and claimed as its own territory, a move condemned as illegal by most countries.
Martial law has not been extended across Russia but he has effectively placed the economy on a war footing, with defence factories working around the clock in three shifts to meet the needs of the army.
The new decree would apply to companies that “violate their obligations under a state contract, including failing to take measures to guarantee production deliveries”.
Asked earlier at his daily news briefing if martial law could be introduced in certain regions of Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that was the president’s prerogative, but did not say whether Putin planned such a move.
Russia launches Kalibr missile in Sea of Japan, hits dummy target almost 650 miles away
13:13 , Joe Middleton
A year into Ukraine war, bodies dug up in once occupied town
12:41 , Joe Middleton
The freshly exhumed remains of three men lie in black body bags on the edge of the small cemetery in a town not far from Ukraine’s capital, waiting to be taken to a morgue. None has yet been identified.
Ukrainian authorities are still unearthing people who were hastily buried in makeshift graves during Russia‘s brief but brutal occupation of villages and towns near Kyiv. Almost 200 bodies remain unidentified, while 280 people are listed as missing.
Oleksander Pinchuk’s mother, Halyna, is among them. They never found her body in the wreckage of her apartment building, which took a direct hit from an airstrike a year ago. Pinchuk had walked out of the building just eight hours earlier, and has not seen his mother since, he said.
Germany will not send tanks to Ukraine if Switzerland agrees to send them
11:44 , Joe Middleton
Germany would not send Leopard 2 tanks onwards to Ukraine if Switzerland agreed to send them as requested by Berlin, a German defence ministry spokesperson said on Friday.
“There are existing and assessed contractual regulations,” the spokesperson said when asked at a regular news conference how Berlin could guarantee this.
Germany wants Switzerland to sell some of the tanks back to arms maker Rheinmetall, which would allow the company to backfill gaps in the armaments of European Union and NATO members.
Lavrov says Russia will ‘no longer rely’ on West for energy trade as Moscow pivots to India and China
10:33 , Thomas Kingsley
Russia will no longer rely on partners in the West for its energy trade and its new energy policy will be oriented towards more reliable partners such as India and China, foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister who was in Delhi for the foreign ministers’ G20 meeting was speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, a multilateral conference, in capital New Delhi on Friday.
Mr Lavrov was asked how the war affected Russia’s strategy on energy and whether it will pivot to Asia for its energy trade.
Read the full story below:
Russia says it will move to stop further incursions after incident near Ukraine border
10:11 , Thomas Kingsley
Russia said on Friday it would take measures to prevent new border incursions, a day after accusing Ukraine-backed nationalists of killing two people in a cross-border raid in southern Russia.
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia had been hit by a “terrorist attack” in the southern Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, and vowed to crush what he said was a Ukrainian sabotage group that had fired at civilians.
A Ukrainian presidential adviser accused Russia of staging the incident as a false “provocation” to justify aggression against Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that additional measures were being taken to protect the border.
“Of course, yesterday's terrorist attack will be investigated and measures will be taken to prevent similar events in the future,” he said.
The FSB security service released video and photos of Thursday's incident showing two shot-up cars with their drivers slumped dead inside.
Putin was due to hold a regular meeting of his Security Council later on Friday.
Bakhmut practically surrounded, announces Wagner chief
08:26 , Arpan Rai
The contested Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been “practically surrounded” by Russian forces, claimed Russian mercenaru force Wagner’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Ukrainian forces had access to only one road out, indicating that the soldiers will need to exit the war-marred mining city.
The Wagner chief also called on Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky in the video to withdraw his forces from the city which Wagner has been trying to capture for months at the cost of high attrition rate.
Moscow won’t let West blow up gas pipelines again, claims Lavrov
08:08 , Arpan Rai
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has remarked that Russia “will not let the West blow up gas pipelines again” in an unbacked claim of attack on Nord Stream pipelines and said that Moscow would no longer rely on the West as an energy partner.
Moscow has suggested that Western countries were responsible for the blasts that damaged the Nord Stream pipelines in September, an assertion they have dismissed, and has called for an international investigation.
Lavrov was speaking at an event in New Delhi, a day after attending a meeting of G20 foreign ministers.
Air raid sirens blare across Ukraine
07:35 , Arpan Rai
Officials have sounded air raid alert sirens in all Ukrainian regions, reported The Kyiv Independent.
The country-wide sirens were sounded around 9am.
Kremlin ‘weaponising fears of nuclear escalation'
07:32 , Arpan Rai
The Kremlin is “very probably weaponising fears of nuclear escalation” in order to stop the West from aiding Ukraine in the continuing war, according to a US-based think tank.
Moscow announced the suspension of New START nuclear treat “in hopes of deterring Western support for Ukraine and slowing down pledged Western military aid transfers”, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest intelligence assessment.
“The Kremlin remains extremely unlikely to use nuclear weapons but routinely makes low-credibility threats of nuclear escalation in an effort to intimidate the West and appeal to its ultranationalist base,” it added.
Russian threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine ‘inadmissible’, says Quad group
07:04 , Arpan Rai
Foreign ministers of the Quad group from the US, India, Japan and Australia gathered in New Delhi denounced Russian threats to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war, deeming such constant warnings from Moscow as “inadmissible”.
“We continued to discuss our responses to the conflict in Ukraine and the immense human suffering it is causing, and concurred that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible,” the foreign ministers said in a joint statement today.
They pushed the need for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter”.
We emphasised that the rules-based international order must respect sovereignty, territorial integrity, transparency and peaceful resolution of disputes, the ministers said.
Russia displays high-level battle arms but not using them in Ukraine – MoD
06:45 , Arpan Rai
Russian defence firms are continuing to display their products at major international arms fairs despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, the British defence ministry said today.
But these arms are not being used in the conflict, the ministry pointed out, saying this shows Moscow’s production deficiencies.
“The Arena-E active protection system (APS), designed to improve the survivability of armoured vehicles, was displayed at a recent event,” the ministry said.
The Arena-E promises 360-degree circular protection of armoured vehicle from anti-tank weapons, such as grenades, artillery cumulative projectiles and anti-tank guided missiles, including those activated the moment they fly over the tank, making it a revered military artillery in wars.
The protection system can be placed on almost any vehicle, including T-72, T-72B, T-90 tanks and others, reported TASS agency.
This high-grade weapon protection system was displayed at the international weapons show IDEX-2023 last month in Abu Dhabi.
“Its promotional literature states that it ‘defeats the threats that are most dangerous for armoured vehicles…if you value your armour and crews you need Arena-E’,” the ministry said.
But there has been no evidence of Arena-E systems being installed on Russia’s own vehicles in Ukraine, where it has lost over 5,000 armoured vehicles, the MoD pointed out.
“This is likely due to the Russian industry’s inability to manufacture high-tech systems at scale; a problem which is exacerbated by the effect of international sanctions,” it added.
Biden, Scholz to discuss Ukraine war at White House today
06:12 , Arpan Rai
German chancellor Olaf Scholz is visiting the White House today for a private meeting with president Joe Biden as the two leaders are set to discuss their countries’ assistance to war-hit Ukraine.
The high-level meeting will be intimate, according to a senior German official and a US official.
Rather than being constantly flanked by advisers, the officials said, Mr Biden and Mr Scholz are likely to be the only people in the room for much of the time.
Both allies have become increasingly vocal about their concerns that China may step off the sidelines and supply weapons to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Such a step could dramatically alter the war’s trajectory by allowing Moscow to replenish its depleted stockpiles.
Biden, Scholz to huddle on Ukraine war at White House
Blinken warns against Russia’s impunity
04:18 , Arpan Rai
US secretary of state Antony Blinken has warned against Russia’s display of impunity in Ukraine and said that nations beyond the European bloc are united to end it.
“If we allow Russia to do what it is doing with impunity in Ukraine, that’s a message to everyone that they will be able to get away too,” he said in New Delhi today.
He added that the countries way beyond Europe are also focussed on the Ukraine war as they know it could have effect here, without naming any nations on the Asian continent facing territorial threats from their former administrators.
Ukraine successfully repelling attacks on Bakhmut, digging trenches
04:07 , Arpan Rai
The fierce fighting “is going on in Bakhmut round the clock” and the situation is “critical,” said Volodymyr Nazarenko, a deputy commander in the National Guard of Ukraine, told Ukrainian NV Radio.
The general staff of Ukrainian armed forces said that the country’s troops are successfully repelling attacks on Bakhmut and two settlements to the critical salt mining city – Khromove and Ivanivske.
Russia has relentlessly shelled Bakhmut and several nearby towns like Chasiv Yar and two towns south of Bakhmut.
New trenches have been dug on the roadside 20-40 metres (65-130 feet) apart in nearby towns and villages confirming that Ukrainian forces are strengthening their defensive positions.
Several areas in central Zaporizhzhia and Kherson region also came under shelling as more than 40 towns and villages were targeted, the Ukrainian military said in a statement.
Russia, which lost territory in the second half of 2022, says taking Bakhmut would be a step towards seizing the rest of the surrounding industrial region known as the Donbas. Ukraine says the city has limited strategic value but wants to exhaust Russian forces.
Anna Netrebko concert canceled by Taiwan national orchestra
03:58 , Joe Middleton
Taiwan‘s National Symphony Orchestra canceled a March 5 concert scheduled to feature soprano Anna Netrebko in a decision the orchestra said it made “due to public concerns.”
Netrebko had been scheduled to perform with her husband, tenor Yusif Eyvazov, and mezzo-soprano I-Chiao Shih.
Netrebko, a 51-year-old who was born in Russia and lives in Vienna, was among classical music’s top draws until last year, when New York’s Metropolitan Opera dropped her after she refused to distance herself from Russian President Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Anna Netrebko concert canceled by Taiwan national orchestra
More than 170 attacks repelled on Ukraine’s front lines
03:34 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov has said that the war-hit country repelled more than 170 attacks on its front lines yesterday.
“In the past 24 hours, our forces have repelled more than 170 attacks, an unprecedented number over a 24-hour period for the five principal sectors of the front line,” he said last night.
The prominent military analyst described Russians trying to encircle Bakhmut from the north, east and south and he said that on western approaches to the city “this is probably the only part of the Bakhmut sector where our forces, rather than the Russian occupiers, have the initiative.”
War, anger cloud Ukrainian athletes' path to Paris Olympics
03:20 , Joe Middleton
Ukrainian diver Stanislav Oliferchyk proudly bears the name of his late grandfather, who died in brutalized Mariupol. Russia‘s troops turned the Ukrainian port city into a killing zone in the process of capturing it. The elder Stanislav could no longer get the cancer treatment he needed in the ruins, his grandson says. He was 74 when he died last October.
Another victim of the months-long Russian siege of Mariupol was its gleaming aquatic center. Oliferchyk had planned to use the refurbished sports complex as his training base for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
But it was bombed the same day last March as the city’s drama theater. The theater airstrike was the single deadliest known attack against civilians to date in the year-old Russian invasion. An Associated Press investigation determined that close to 600 people died.
War, anger cloud Ukrainian athletes' path to Paris Olympics
ICYMI: Multiple armoured Russian vehicles destroyed in battle near Maryinka
02:20 , Joe Middleton
Hungary further delays vote on Sweden, Finland joining NATO
01:20 , Joe Middleton
Hungary has further delayed a vote on ratifying Sweden and Finland‘s NATO accession bids, according to an updated schedule published Thursday on the National Assembly’s website, the latest in a series of postponements that have frustrated Western allies.
The delay, which pushes the vote back by two weeks to the parliamentary session beginning March 20, comes as Hungary remains the only NATO member country besides Turkey that hasn’t yet approved the two Nordic countries’ bids to join the Western military alliance.
Hungary’s populist prime minister, Viktor Orban, has said that he is personally in favor of the two countries joining NATO, but alleged that the governments in Stockholm and Helsinki have “spread blatant lies” about Hungary which have raised questions among lawmakers in his party on whether to approve the bids.
Hungary further delays vote on Sweden, Finland joining NATO
EU to speed up deliveries of howitzer shells for Ukraine
00:20 , Joe Middleton
European Union officials and countries from the 27-nation bloc are discussing plans to dedicate an extra billion euros as well as setting up a joint procurement scheme to speed up the delivery of howitzer artillery rounds that Ukraine says are crucial to countering Russian forces.
With Ukraine facing shortages of ammunition to fight Russia, the idea of setting up a plan of action similar to the one devised during the coronavirus pandemic to buy vaccines was first brought to the table last month by Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
According to an EU official with direct knowledge of the project who briefed reporters Thursday, the priority now is to guarantee the swift delivery to Ukrainian armed forces of 155mm artillery rounds. The official was not authorized to speak publicly because the plan is still being finalized.
EU to speed up deliveries of howitzer shells for Ukraine
Putin accuses Ukrainians of attack inside Russia – but Kyiv calls it ‘provocation’
23:20 , Joe Middleton
Vladimir Putin claimed Russia had been hit by a “terrorist attack” on civilians inside its territory near Ukraine and vowed to crush what he said was a Ukrainian sabotage group.
In a televised address, Putin accused the group of opening fire on occupants of a car, including children. “They won’t achieve anything. We will crush them,” the Russian president said.
Ukraine accused Russia of staging a false “provocation” – but also appeared to acknowledge an operation had been carried out.
Putin accuses Ukraine of attack inside Russia but Kyiv calls it ‘provocation’
Indian prime minister urges G20 gathering to look beyond Ukraine war in talks
22:20 , Joe Middleton
We’ve passed the first anniversary of the Ukraine war – there won’t be a second
21:20 , Joe Middleton
As of now any end to the war is unlikely to be on better terms for Ukraine than were on offer before Russia invaded, writes Mary Dejevsky.
Will there be a second anniversary for the war in Ukraine? | Mary Dejevsky
Scholz asks China to refrain from sending weapons to Russia
20:20 , Joe Middleton
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday called on China to refrain from sending weapons to Russia and instead use its influence to press Moscow for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
“My message to Beijing is clear: use your influence in Moscow to press for the withdrawal of Russian troops, and do not supply weapons to the aggressor Russia,” Scholz said in a speech to German parliament.
The chancellor also vowed that Germany would continue to support Ukraine with humanitarian and military aid to help the country defend itself against Russia’s invasion.
Scholz asks China to refrain from sending weapons to Russia
Italy PM urges India to play key role in ending Ukraine war
19:59 , Joe Middleton
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday urged India to play a central role in facilitating a negotiating process to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
India, with the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries, could represent the vulnerabilities and needs of less-developed nations in such a process, Meloni said in a statement following talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and underscored its adverse impact on developing countries in terms of food and energy security.
Italy PM urges India to play key role in ending Ukraine war
Russian strike on Ukraine apartment block kills 3, injures 6
19:20 , Joe Middleton
Three people were killed and six others were injured when a Russian missile hit a five-story apartment building in a city in southeastern Ukraine on Thursday, police said, as the war extended into its second year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said several floors of the building were destroyed in the strike, which occurred while it was still dark.
The State Emergency Service said in an online statement that it had rescued 11 people so far.
Russian strike on Ukraine apartment block kills 3, injures 6
New IAEA monitors reach Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
17:20 , Joe Middleton
A new team of monitors from the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has taken up its post at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station after a delay of almost a month, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi announced today.
Russia has accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of disrupting the latest monthly staff rotation, which had been put back three times.
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, with six reactors, was occupied by Russian troops early in their invasion of Ukraine and remains near the front line.
With each side accusing the other of shelling it and risking a nuclear accident, IAEA monitors have been posted at the station since September.
In a statement, Grossi said their presence was “indispensable to help reduce the risk of a nuclear accident”.
Renat Karchaa, adviser to the general director of the Russian nuclear agency Rosenergoatom, told the state-run TASS news agency that three IAEA monitors had arrived along with four UN security personnel.
Reuters
Blinken meets Lavrov but G20 ends without agreed joint statement
16:19 , Joe Middleton
A meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Delhi ended without agreement over the conflict in Ukraine on Thursday, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken briefly met Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in their first encounter since the war.
Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said there would be no communique agreed by all nations “because there were differences on the Ukraine issue which we could not reconcile”.
Blinken blamed Russia for derailing the meeting and urged the G20 to call on Moscow to withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
Shweta Sharma reports.
Blinken meets Lavrov but G20 nations fails to agree joint statement
EU to speed up deliveries of howitzer shells for Ukraine
15:25 , Joe Middleton
European Union officials and countries from the 27-nation bloc are discussing plans to dedicate an extra billion euros as well as setting up a joint procurement scheme to speed up the delivery of howitzer artillery rounds that Ukraine says are crucial to countering Russian forces.
With Ukraine facing shortages of ammunition to fight Russia, the idea of setting up a plan of action similar to the one devised during the coronavirus pandemic to buy vaccines was first brought to the table last month by Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
According to an EU official with direct knowledge of the project who briefed reporters Thursday, the priority now is to guarantee the swift delivery to Ukrainian armed forces of 155mm artillery rounds. The official was not authorized to speak publicly because the plan is still being finalized.
EU to speed up deliveries of howitzer shells for Ukraine
Indian prime minister urges G20 gathering to look beyond Ukraine war in talks
15:13 , Joe Middleton
Moldova parliament condemns Russian invasion of Ukraine
14:21 , Joe Middleton
Moldova’s parliament adopted a declaration today condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine which has contributed to a rise in tensions between Moscow and Chisinau.
A narrow majority of 55 lawmakers in the 101-seat assembly voted for the declaration, which stated that Moscow’s invasion began with the seizure of the Crimea peninsula in February 2014 and demanded the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine.
The declaration said Russia was waging an illegal, unprovoked and unfounded war of aggression in Ukraine that violated the principles of international law, and echoed calls by Kyiv for an international tribunal to prosecute war crimes.
Tensions between Russia and Moldova, which borders Ukraine and Moldova, have grown sharply since the war began.
The tiny former Soviet republic has protested to Moscow that Russian missiles aimed at Ukraine have entered Moldovan airspace, and that missile debris has landed inside Moldova, and has accused Moscow of plotting to topple the pro-European government in Chisinau.
Russia has denied the allegation and accused Ukraine and other countries of stoking instability in Moldova’s breakaway Transdniestria region, where around 1,500 Russian troops are based. Chisinau and Kyiv have dismissed the accusation.
Russia did not immediately comment on the Moldovan parliament’s declaration.
Reuters
Blinken meets Lavrov for first time since Russian invasion of Ukraine
13:24 , Joe Middleton
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talked briefly today at a meeting of top diplomats from the G20.
The last time Blinken and Lavrov met in person was in Geneva, Switzerland, in January 2022 on the eve of Russia’s invasion.
US officials said Blinken and Lavrov chatted for roughly 10 minutes on the sidelines of the G-20 conference in New Delhi.
A senior US official said Blinken used the discussion to make three points to Lavrov: that the US would support Ukraine in the conflict for as long as it takes to bring the war to an end, that Russia should reverse its decision to suspend participation in the New START nuclear treaty and that Moscow should release detained American Paul Whelan.
The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation, said Blinken had “disabused” Lavrov of any idea they might have that US support for Ukraine is wavering.
Russia had no immediate comment on the substance of the conversation, but Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Blinken had asked to speak to Lavrov.
Hungarian delegation to visit Sweden to discuss Nato bid
13:06 , Andy Gregory
A delegation of Hungarian politicians plans to visit Sweden next week to discuss the Nordic country's bid to join Nato.
The delegation, led by Deputy Speaker Csaba Hende, will meet with among others Swedish Speaker Andreas Norlen, the spokesperson said.
Finland said earlier this week that it also expects a Hungarian delegation to visit.
On Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party said it would back the ratification, as politicians in the Central European country began the process after a months-long delay.
Kyiv rejects Russia’s claims of ‘sabotage group’ in Bryansk
12:42 , Andy Gregory
Ukraine has rejected Moscow’s claims of “sabotage” in the Russian region of Bryansk.
Vladimir Putin claimed on Thursday that a Ukrainian sabotage group had knowingly fired at civilians on Thursday, in what he called a “terrorist act”, following claims by Kremlin officials that hostages had been taken in the region.
But Ukrainian officials denied any responsibility and rejected the validity of Russia’s claims, with presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak describing the allegations as a “classic deliberate provocation” by Moscow.
My colleague William Mata has more in this report:
Ukraine calls out ‘provocation’ as Moscow says forces are battling ‘saboteurs’
Russia will not be first to test nuclear device, says deputy foreign minister
12:24 , Andy Gregory
Russia will not move first to test a nuclear device, Moscow’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has said, following the Kremlin’s suspension of the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States.
Addressing reporters at the Russian mission in Geneva after a disarmament conference, Mr Ryabkov said Moscow would not carry out tests if Washington also refrained, but that Russia still had to prepare for the worst.
Mr Ryabkov also accused the United States of providing intelligence on the location of strategic sites inside Russia to Ukraine, for it to attack them with drones.
In December, Russia’s Engels air base near the city of Saratov, home to part of its nuclear-capable strategic bomber fleet and at least 600 km from Ukrainian territory, was hit by drone attacks. Ukraine did not claim responsibility for the attacks, but celebrated them.
G20 meeting fails to agree joint statement due to Ukraine differences
11:56 , Andy Gregory
A meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Delhi has ended without a joint statement because of “divergences” of opinion on the conflict in Ukraine, host nation India has said.
Addressing a media briefing at the end of the two-day gathering, Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said a “chair’s summary” would be issued rather than a communique agreed by all nations gathered “because there were differences on the Ukraine issue which we could not reconcile”.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken blamed Russia for derailing the meeting and urged the G20 to call on Moscow to withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
My colleague Shweta Sharma reports from New Delhi:
India says G20 meeting ends with no joint statement due Ukraine differences
Russian central bank to extend capital controls on foreign currency withdrawals
11:24 , Andy Gregory
Russia’s central bank will extend capital controls on cash withdrawals of foreign currency and transfers abroad, its governor Elvira Nabiullina has announced.
Ms Nabiullina told a press conference outside Moscow that the economy needs significant additional resources at the moment.
Kremlin claims Russian troops battling Ukrainian ‘sabotage group’ in Bryansk
10:58 , Andy Gregory
The Kremlin has claimed that measures are being taken to destroy “Ukrainian terrorists” who had mounted a cross-border attack and were reported by Russian officials to have taken hostages.
State news cited Russian officials as claiming that Russian forces were battling a Ukrainian sabotage group which had infiltrated the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said president Vladimir Putin was receiving regular updates from security agencies and defence minister Sergei Shoigu about the situation.
Mr Peskov denied reports that Mr Putin planned to hold an emergency Security Council meeting on Thursday, but said he would hold a meeting of the council on Friday when it convenes regularly.
Claims of Ukrainian sabotage attack in Russia are ‘deliberate provocation’, says Zelensky aide
10:56 , Andy Gregory
Reports of a sabotage attack by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Bryansk region are a “deliberate provocation”, a senior adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“The story about [a] Ukrainian sabotage group in RF [Russian Federation] is a classic deliberate provocation,” Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
“RF wants to scare its people to justify the attack on another country & the growing poverty after the year of war.”
Germany’s Scholz urges China not to arm Russia
10:54 , Andy Gregory
Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged China not to send weapons to help Russia fight its war in Ukraine and has pleaded with Beijing to exert pressure on Moscow to pull back its troops.
In a speech to the German parliament, Mr Scholz said it was disappointing that Beijing had refrained from condemning the Russian invasion – though he welcomed its efforts towards nuclear de-escalation.
China has denied any intention to arm Russia and one of its senior diplomats told the United Nations on 23 February that “sending weapons will not bring peace” but add “fuel to the fire”.
Global divisions have reared their head at a series of G20 meetings in India which descended into wrangling over the war. Germany has said it planned to counter Russian “propaganda” at this week’s talks, while Russia has accused Western countries of turning the event into a “farce”.
“My message to Beijing is clear: use your influence in Moscow to urge the withdrawal of Russian troops,” Mr Scholz said, to resounding applause from fellow politicians. “And don’t deliver any weapons to the aggressor Russia.”
Kherson torture chambers were planned and financed by Russia, war crimes investigators allege
10:14 , Andy Gregory
A network of at least 20 torture chambers uncovered in recently liberated Kherson was “planned and directly financed by the Russian State,” war crimes investigators have alleged.
The Mobile Justice Team, funded by Britain, the EU and the US, has been working with Ukrainian war crimes prosecutors across Ukraine and in Kherson since the city was reclaimed from Russian forces in November after more than eight months of occupation.
“New evidence collected from recently liberated Kherson reveals torture chambers were planned and directly financed by the Russian State,” the team established by British lawyer Wayne Jordash said in a statement.
Witnesses described the use of electric shock torture and waterboarding by Russian forces. At least 1,000 torture chamber survivors have submitted evidence to investigators and more than 400 people had been reported as missing from Kherson, it said.
Funding a network of torture facilities was part of a Russian state plan to “subjugate, re-educate or kill Ukrainian civic leaders and ordinary dissenters,” the team said.
Torture centres were operated by different Russian security agencies, including the Russian Federal Security Services (FSB), local Kherson FSB and the Russian Prison Service, it said.
Moscow ‘not contemplating’ use of nuclear weapon, says top Russian diplomat
09:56 , Andy Gregory
Moscow is “not contemplating” using a nuclear weapon and doing so would make no sense militarily, a top Russian diplomat has said.
Russia does not intend to use nuclear weapons over the situation in Ukraine, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said in an interview with the Maverick News portal aired on Wednesday.
"First and foremost, we have a nuclear doctrine,” Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, told the Maverick News channel. “And it is said that we will not use this nuclear weapon first, it can be used only if there is an existential threat to Russia.”
He added: “This is something that we are not contemplating in terms of the situation in Ukraine.”
