Ukraine-Russia war – live: Macron urges Xi to ‘bring Putin to his senses’ on nuclear weapons

France’s president Emmanuel Macron has urged his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to bring Russia “back to its senses” over its war in Ukraine.

The conflict – and need to avoid a nuclear escalation – was notable on the agenda as Mr Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen visited Beijing, days after Moscow vowed to station part of its arsenal in Belarus. The United States has nuclear weapons stationed with several European Nato partners.

China’s leader agreed that all countries should abide by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, with a French diplomatic source claiming that Mr Macron and Mr Xi had agreed to “work hard” to bring both parties to the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said it believed that Vladimir Putin has fired Colonel-General Rustam Muradov as commander of the Eastern Group of Forces (EGF) in Ukraine, marking the most senior Russian military dismissal of 2023 so far.

The group has “suffered exceptionally heavy casualties in recent months as its poorly conceived assaults repeatedly failed to capture” the Donetsk town of Vuhledar, the ministry said.

Key Points

• Macron urges Xi to ‘bring Putin to his senses’ on war and nuclear threats ...

• ... As Chinese president says all countries should respect nuclear non-proliferation

• Putin claims West helped Kyiv mount acts of ‘terror and sabotage’

• Bakhmut epicentre of fight with ‘no let-up’, 20 attacks repelled

• Putin responsible for Finland’s ‘historic’ accession to Nato, says alliance chief

• Paranoid Putin stays in bunker because he 'fears for his life', says ex-security guard

Pentagon investigating leak of secret US and Nato war plans for Ukraine

06:20 , Arpan Rai

The Biden administration is investigating the leak of classified war documents about secret American and Nato plans for bolstering the Ukrainian military ahead of an anticipated spring salvo against Russian forces, senior officials said.

“We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the department is reviewing the matter,” said Sabrina Singh, the deputy press secretary at the Pentagon, reported The New York Times.

The five-weeks-old documents reportedly reveal details of Ukraine’s requirements ahead of a planned counteroffensive to reclaim territory taken by Russia since the full-scale invasion last year, as well as how the US and Nato might meet them.

Pentagon investigating leak of secret US and Nato war plans for Ukraine

Street battles in Bakhmut as Wagner says fighting continues in western pocket

06:54 , Arpan Rai

The months-long battle for Bakhmut has continued to flare up in the salt-mining city this week.

“(Battles) are underway in the streets, enemy attempts to encircle the city are failing. Our command fully control the situation,” said Andriy Yermak, a senior adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The leader of Russia’s private Wagner militia, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said fighting was continuing in the west of the city.

“It must be said clearly that the enemy is not going anywhere,” he said on his Telegram channel.

The Wagner chief has often complained of a lack of ammunition for his fighters in Bakhmut but there are signs of revival of ammunition supply to the mercenary group.

But Ukrainian border guard Levko Stek, speaking in a video clip amid explosions, said Ukrainian forces did not sense any “ammunition hunger” on the Russian side.

Russian media mocks Trump over arrest days after he defended Putin: ‘We’re getting lots of popcorn!’

06:00 , Emily Atkinson

Donald Trump’s indictment in New York City has been met with ridicule by state TV in Russia, where hosts have enjoyed themselves by showcasing artwork depicting the former president wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and speculating about future jail time.

Mr Trump appeared at Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon to plead not guilty to 34 felony charges relating to the falsification of business records to conceal a series of hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal and a former Trump Tower doorman on his behalf in exchange for their silence about his alleged extramarital affairs.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

Russian media mocks Trump over arrest: ‘We’re getting lots of popcorn!’

Watch: Defecting Russian protection officer labels Vladimir Putin 'war criminal'

05:00 , Emily Atkinson

Bakhmut grinds on as Ukrainian forces wait for mud to clear

04:41 , Arpan Rai

The Ukrainian forces are using their counteroffensive abilities in Bakhmut to bleed Russian forces and inflict maximum losses possible in a dogged defence as they wait for the sludgy terrain to clear and make way for an expected spring assault.

“Bakhmut is performing the key task of inflicting as many losses on Russia as possible and, most importantly, to prepare for a counter-attack to take place in late April-May,” Pavlo Narozhniy, a Ukrainian military analyst, told NV Radio.

Even as Western analysts play down the strategic significance of Bakhmut, the Ukrainian side has persisted with protecting the town despite its own heavy casualties.

A 21-year-old commander outside Bakhmut said: “We are ready, we have to do it, the sooner the better. The enemy must be chased away. At the moment we are waiting for the weather to change, the mud is an obstacle.”

Speaking from close to the frontline, the commander of Ukraine‘s 5th separate assault brigade, who gave his name as Ivan, said: “Those service members that are not on the frontline are training.”

Ukrainian military expert Vladyslav Selezniov said Ukraine would be able to defend positions in the more heavily built-up west of Bakhmut as long as their route to the west, the “road of life” for getting supplies in and wounded out, remained open.

Russia has defended its “special military operation” in Ukraine by claiming it was necessary to protect its security against what it sees as a hostile and aggressive West.

ICYMI: Putin ‘sacks one of Russia’s most senior commanders in Ukraine’

04:00 , Emily Atkinson

The Russian ministry of defence has reportedly fired Colonel-General Rustam Muradov as commander of the Eastern Group of Forces (EGF) after Moscow’s heavy losses in eastern Ukraine.

The British defence ministry had cited claims on Russian social media in its latest intelligence update on Thursday and pointed out that it is the most high-profile dismissal in the Russian military so far this year.

The ministry said more dismissals are likely to follow as Russia continues to fail to achieve its objectives in the Donbas.

My colleague Arpan Rai has the details:

Putin ‘sacks one of Russia’s most senior commanders in Ukraine’

Russia’s refusal to give consular access to WSJ reporter is ‘inexcusable’, says US

03:55 , Arpan Rai

The White House has called Russia’s refusal to give consular access to detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich “inexcusable”.

“We need to get consular access to Evan,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in a White House briefing last night.

On being asked why Russia is refusing the journalist consular access, Mr Kirby said: “We still haven’t been able to get consular access. And that’s a — that’s an issue that we continually bring up through our — our embassy in Moscow with the Russians”.

On being asked about a potential prisoner swap with Russia, Mr Kirby said that the situation is at a “very early stage” right now.

“I won’t get ahead of where we are. And I think you can understand why we would certainly not want to talk about potential negotiations here from the podium. We’re at a very early stage here,” he said.

He added: “Main goal is to get consular access to him so we can have that contact and that connectivity — we’re — and doing what we can to keep him his employer and the family informed. Our focus is squarely on that right now.”

Key images from Lukashenko’s trip to Moscow

03:00 , Emily Atkinson

Russia continues information crackdown with new Wikimedia fine

02:00 , Emily Atkinson

The Wikimedia Foundation, owner of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, was fined by a Russian court on Thursday for failing to delete content considered extremist as Moscow pursues a drive to crack down on independent sources of information.

Wikipedia, which says it offers “the second draft of history”, is one of the few surviving fact-checked sources of information in Russian since the crackdown intensified after Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine in February 2022.

The Tagansky district court said it had fined Wikimedia 800,000 roubles ($9,900). Russian news agencies in the courtroom said Wikimedia had been charged with failing to remove materials related to a song by the alternative rock band Psychea, or Psyshit, which has been officially designated “extremist”.

Russia has now fined Wikimedia around 9 million roubles ($110,000) in the past year, the agencies said.

Wikimedia said the information that Russian authorities had complained about was well-sourced and in line with Wikipedia standards.

Watch: Smoke rises from fire inside Russian defence ministry in Moscow

01:00 , Emily Atkinson

Greece to send more arms to Ukraine, but sets limits

00:00 , Emily Atkinson

Greece has pledged military assistance to Ukraine for “as long as it takes” but officials cautioned that the country needs to keep much of its Russian-made weaponry for its own defensive needs.

Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov visited Athens on Thursday as part of regular meetings with officials from Nato countries. He was promised more artillery and small arms ammunition shipments, access to Greek hospitals for wounded military personnel and additional Soviet-era BMP infantry fighting vehicles.

Greece “will provide every support to Ukraine at this very important, crucial stage of the war,” Greek defence minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said during a joint appearance with Reznikov. “We will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes — that’s a very clear position that we have taken from the outset.”

Greece to send more arms to Ukraine, but sets limits

Latest images from Ukraine’s Donetsk region

23:00 , Emily Atkinson

World Bank: Improved outlooks for Russia and Ukraine despite ongoing war

22:00 , Emily Atkinson

The World Bank on Thursday lifted its 2023 economic growth forecast for eastern Europe and central Asia to 1.4 per cent from an earlier 0.1 per cent prediction, citing improved outlooks for both Russia and Ukraine despite their ongoing war.

The regional forecast, released just days before the World Bank and International Monetary Fund hold their annual spring meetings, has Ukraine‘s economy growing by 0.5 per cent this year following a staggering contraction of 29.2 per cent in 2022, the year Russia launched its invasion.

“While the economic toll suffered by Ukraine as a result of the invasion is enormous, the reopening of Ukraine‘s Black Sea ports and resumption of grain trade, as well as substantial donor support, are helping support economic activity this year,” the World Bank said in a statement.

Russia’s economy shrank 2.1 per cent last year, considerably less than the 3.5 per cent contraction the World Bank forecast in January.

For 2023, the World Bank forecast Russia’s economy to contract by 0.2 per cent, compared to its previous forecast of a 3.3 per cent contraction.

The World Bank’s regional grouping includes Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

Russian refusal to give consular access to detained reporter is ‘inexcusable’

21:17 , Emily Atkinson

Russia’s refusal to give consular access to detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is “inexcusable,” the White House said on Thursday.

“We need to get consular access to Evan,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

Watch: Putin stands 60ft away from crowd during speech

20:00 , Emily Atkinson

Ukraine sends conflicting signals on Crimea talks idea

19:30 , Emily Atkinson

A top Ukrainian official has ruled out talks with Moscow about territory until it withdraws all troops, pushing back on a colleague who had touted the idea of negotiations to resolve the Russian occupation of the Crimean peninsula.

Andriy Sybiha, deputy head of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, told the Financial Times on Wednesday that Kyiv would be willing to discuss the future of Crimea with Moscow if Ukraine‘s counter-offensive reaches the peninsula.

Russia occupied Ukraine‘s Crimean peninsula in 2014, long before it launched its full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022. It has a huge concentration of forces on the Black Sea territory.

Ukraine, which has vowed to recapture all lost land, plans to launch a counter-offensive in the coming weeks or months to try to wrest back territory in the east and south.

But on Thursday, Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser, appeared to directly contradict Sybiha’s remarks on Twitter.

“The basis for real negotiations with (Russia) is the complete withdrawal of Russian armed groups beyond the internationally recognised borders of Ukraine in 1991. Including #Crimea,” he said.

“There is no question of any territorial concessions or bargaining of our sovereign rights.”

Russia says seven civilians killed in Ukraine shelling attacks

19:00 , Emily Atkinson

Authorities in Russian-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine said a total of seven civilians were killed on Thursday in two separate Ukrainian artillery strikes, Russian news agencies said.

Four civilians died in Donetsk when shells hit a car park, and another six people were injured, Tass said. RIA later said three people died in blasts at a bus stop in Lysychansk, some 120 km (75 miles) to the northeast of Donetsk.

Donetsk, capital of the Ukrainian province of the same name, has been controlled by Russian proxy forces since 2014, but remains close to the front line of Russia’s war with Ukraine and regularly comes under fire from Ukrainian forces.

The Independent was not immediately able to verify reports.

Russia says deputy foreign minister discussed jailed WSJ reporter

18:30 , Emily Atkinson

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov discussed the case of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with the US ambassador to Russia on Thursday, the foreign ministry said, according to the state-run news agency TASS.

Ryabkov repeated the ministry’s position that the question of US consular access to Gershkovich case would be handled according to established procedure.

Gershkovich was charged with espionage last week after being detained in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, and remanded in custody for two months.

The US government and the Wall Street Journal have denied that he was engaged in spying.

What we know about the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia

18:00 , Emily Atkinson

American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a 31-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has been arrested and detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The son of Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union who grew up speaking Russian at home in Princeton, New Jersey, Gershkovich graduated from the prestigious Bowdoin College in Maine before embarking on a career in the media, firstly at The New York Times, then The Moscow Times and then Agence France-Presse before joining WSJ, where he began covering Russian affairs just a month before the invasion of Ukraine last year.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

What we know about arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia

Xi agreed to speak to Zelensky when ‘time is right’, says von der Leyen

17:22 , Andy Gregory

China’s Xi Jinping expressed willingness to speak to Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has claimed, after their meeting in Beijing.

“It was interesting to hear that President Xi reiterated his willingness to speak” to the Ukrainian president, Ms Von der Leyen said, calling his words “positive”.

She added that Mr Xi had told her a conversation with Mr Zelensky could happen when the “conditions and time are right”.

Four civilians ‘killed in artillery strike’ on Donetsk city

16:55 , Andy Gregory

Four civilians have been killed in an artillery strike in the Russian-held city of Donetsk, Russia’s state-owned RIA news agency has said, citing a reporter on the scene.

RIA said a car park in the city’s Kalininsky district had been hit. The city has been controlled by Ukrainian separatist forces since 2014, but remains close to the front line of Russia's war with Ukraine and regularly comes under fire from Ukrainian forces.

Kremlin voices possibility of Russian security guarantees for Belarus

16:18 , Andy Gregory

Russia should consider providing security guarantees for Belarus, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said, according to the Interfax news agency.

“The Russian Federation, of course, should consider the possibility of providing security guarantees for Belarus as an ally and as a country with which we are in the most advanced form of integration,” Mr Peskov told reporters, as he answered questions on president Alexander Lukashenko’s visit to Moscow.

Putin and Lukashenko ‘did not discuss' moving nuclear weapons to Belarus in today’s talks

15:59 , Andy Gregory

Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko did not discuss plans to place Russian strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus in their talks on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

“I can’t tell you to what extent this was discussed in yesterday’s conversation. The conversation was really very long, it went well after midnight. But today there was no talk of this,” Mr Peskov told reporters, according to the Interfax news agency.

The plans mark the first time Russia has said it would station nuclear weapons on the territory of another country since the end of the Cold War three decades ago.

Mr Peskov said the deployment of American nuclear weapons at bases in Europe is of concern to the Russian Federation, adding that Russia would respond “appropriately” to these challenges.

Macron urges Xi to ‘bring Putin to his senses’ on war and nuclear threats

15:06 , Andy Gregory

Emmanuel Macron has urged Xi Jinping to bring Russia “to its senses”, during a visit to Beijing, which is claimed to have seen the two presidents agree to ‘work hard’ to end the war in Ukraine.

Referring to the UN Charter on respecting countries’ sovereignty and an international nuclear weapons treaty, the French president said: “I know I can count on you, under the two principles I just mentioned, to bring Russia to its senses and bring everyone back to the negotiating table.”

Mr Xi responded that China was willing to “jointly appeal with France to the international community to remain rational and calm”, adding: “Peace talks should be resumed as soon as possible, taking into account the reasonable security concerns of all sides with reference to the UN Charter … seeking political resolution and constructing a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework.”

A French diplomatic source did not say whether China had indicated any change in its position during the 90-minute meeting, but told Reuters that “the President and Xi agreed to ‘work hard’ in order to accelerate the end of the war and to obtain that a negotiation opens in the full respect of international law”.

Lukashenko threatens that ‘ if necessary’ Belarus and Russia will ‘use all we have to protect our countries’

14:29 , Andy Gregory

On the second day of the Belarusian president’s visit to Moscow, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko discussed expanding their economic cooperation and boosting their defence links, which include a plan to station Russia’s nuclear weapons in Belarus.

In opening remarks at Thursday’s talks at the Kremlin, which involved senior officials, following Wednesday’s one-on-one meeting between the two presidents, Mr Lukashenko warned that “if necessary, we will use all we have to protect our countries and peoples.”

“We aren’t blackmailing anyone. It will be so,” he added.

The Belarusian leader cited the importance of close cooperation on defence and asserted that Belarusian factories have developed the expertise to replace Western companies as a source of electronic components for Russian weapons.

“We oriented ourselves toward the West in the past, but now we have come to realise that they aren’t our friends and we need to produce all that ourselves,” Mr Lukashenko said.

Von der Leyen says she encouraged Xi to contact Zelensky

14:20 , Andy Gregory

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said that she encouraged China’s Xi Jinping to reach out to Volodymyr Zelensky, during their talks as part of her visit to Beijing.

Ms Von der Leyen was responding to a question from reporters on whether it was realistic that China might pressure Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

Full report: Macron tells Xi world is counting on China ‘to bring Russia to reason’

13:28 , Andy Gregory

French president Emmanuel Macron has said he can “count on China” to reason with Russia and bring everyone to the negotiating table, after a meeting between the two leaders in Beijing.

“The Russian aggression in Ukraine has dealt a blow to (international) stability,” Mr Macron told Chinese president Xi Jinping. “I know I can count on you to bring back Russia to reason and everyone back to the negotiating table,” he said.

The French president is currently on a three-day joint trip to Beijing, accompanied by Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission.

My colleague Stuti Mishra has the full report:

Macron tells Xi world is counting on China ‘to bring Russia to reason’

Wagner chief says no sign Ukraine leaving Bakhmut

12:59 , Andy Gregory

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s private Wagner militia, has warned that Ukrainian forces are not abandoning the city of Bakhmut and that his army needed more support from Moscow before trying to advance further.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has raised the prospect of a withdrawal from the city, saying on Wednesday that Kyiv would take the “corresponding” decisions if its forces risked being encircled by Russian troops.

Wagner forces are leading the battle for the city, which has become the bloodiest of the 13-month war, and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said its capture would open up the battlefield and allow Russia to advance further into eastern Ukraine.

But Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has accused Russian military chiefs of ineffectiveness bordering on treason in recent months, said this was still some way off. “It must be said clearly that the enemy is not going anywhere,” he said on his Telegram channel.

Ukrainian troops had organised staunch defences inside the city, particularly along railway lines and in high-rise buildings in the west of the city, and if they fell back would take up new positions in the outskirts and in Chasiv Yar to the west, he said. “That’s why, in my opinion, there’s no talk for now of any offensive.”

Eyes turn to Crimea as Ukraine plans counter-offensive

12:30 , Andy Gregory

Dmitry Suslov, an adviser to Vladimir Putin has said that Ukraine’s looming counter-offensive is likely to focus on the Sea of Azov and cutting off the illegally annexed peninsula of Crimea.

“If the Kiev offensive fails, the West will be short of weapons and at that point Russia will be able to mobilise 400,000 men for the final attack,” the Russian presidential aide told Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper.

In comments that seemed to confirm the importance of Crimea in any Ukrainian counter-offensive, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky told the Financial Times that Kyiv would be willing to discuss the future of the Black Sea peninsula if its forces reached the boundary of Crimea.

“If we will succeed in achieving our strategic goals on the battlefield and when we will be on the administrative border with Crimea, we are ready to open [a] diplomatic page to discuss this issue,” Andriy Sybiha said.

State actor involvement in Nord Stream blasts is ‘absolute main scenario’, prosecutor says

11:59 , Andy Gregory

The “absolute main scenario” in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines is that a state actor was involved, the Swedish prosecutor investigating the explosions has said.

The blast in the Swedish zone occurred at a depth of 80 meters, which the Swedish prosecutor said made it complicated to investigate.

“We believe it will be rather difficult to determine who did this,” prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist told Reuters, pointing to the fact that the blast in the Swedish zone of the Baltic Sea occurred 80 metres below sea level.

“The people who did this have probably been aware that they would leave clues behind and probably took care so that the evidence would not point in one direction, but in several directions,” he added. “That makes it difficult to clearly point to one actor.”

Xi Jinping says all countries should respect nuclear non-proliferation

11:27 , Andy Gregory

China’s president Xi Jinping has urged all countries to respect international agreements on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, as he met with France’s Emmanuel Macron in Beijing.

China, France, Russia, the UK and the US have all made commitments under the United Nations treaty which aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, established in 1970.

Russia’s defence minister Sergei Ryabkov was reported as saying on Tuesday that suspending participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States had given Moscow new opportunities to guarantee its security.

Meeting on Thursday, Mr Xi and Mr Macron both agreed that nuclear weapons should not be used in the war in Ukraine, as the French president urged his Chinese counterpart to bring Russia “back to reason”.

The UN treaty demands that all signatories should pursue negotiations in good faith on disarmament measures, and that states which do not have nuclear weapons should not acquire them.

Russia has announced plans to station nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, a move the Kremlin claimed on Tuesday was in response to a growing Nato presence on its borders, after Finland joined the military alliance.

Watch: Smoke pours from fire at Russian defence ministry in Moscow

10:56 , Andy Gregory

Here is footage of the fire which broke out at the Moscow headquarters of Russia's defence ministry yesterday evening. The blaze was put out shortly after it started with no casualties, the TASS news agency reported.

Nuclear deployment to Belarus is response to Nato expansion, claims Kremlin

10:27 , Andy Gregory

Russia has defended its decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, rejecting criticism of the move by Nato’s secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that Nato was the one expanding towards Russia, not the other way round, and therefore Moscow had to take steps to defend its own security.