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Vladimir Putin could still claim victory if he were to retain conquered land, Boris Johnson has warned.
The former prime minister said while Russia was “running pitifully low” on technical equipment, “it remains all too possible that Putin can still achieve something that he can call a victory”.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Johnson said: “All that he needs to do is to hang on to the land he has conquered and the signal will go around the world that aggression can pay and borders can be changed by force.
“The story of the last 12 months is that sooner or later having exhausted all the other options we give them what they need from anti-tank missiles to Himars to tanks. And if that is the choice, sooner or later, then for heaven’s sake, let’s give these weapons sooner.”
It came as the United States warned Russia “hours” ahead of President Joe Biden’s “risky” surprise trip to Kyiv to avoid any chance of conflict, a senior White House aide has said.
Mr Biden’s visit to Kyiv was organised in conditions of strict secrecy, with White House Staff saying they cannot yet divulge how Mr Biden got to the Ukrainian capital.
06:47 PM
Liz Truss joins calls for fighter jets
Liz Truss, the former prime minister and foreign secretary, told MPs: “Let’s all be honest, we should have done more earlier. The reason that Putin took the action he took is because he didn’t believe we would follow through. And we didn’t take him at his word… We didn’t do enough, we collectively turned far too much of a blind eye.
“As my Right Honourable friend commented earlier, we signed the 1994 Budapest Memorandum which guaranteed the security of Ukraine. So we should have provided more weapons to Ukraine and I believe we should have allowed Ukraine to join Nato.
“I believe we need to learn the lessons from what has happened. Because frankly we were complacent about freedom and democracy after the Cold War.
“We need to do all we can to make sure Ukraine wins this war as soon as possible. Every extra day are lives lost, women violated, towns destroyed. We need to do all we can as fast as we can. My view is that does include fighter jets. And you know we’ve had a discussion today about which are the best possible options. Having spoken to the Ukrainians about this months and months ago, I know what they want is an option. So let’s work with our allies to get them an option to be able to use because otherwise they won’t be able to prevail.”
06:41 PM
Liz Truss: I can’t wait to see fighter jets in Ukraine
Liz Truss said Britain and the West had “pushed back the Russian economy by decades” through sanctions.
“We also supplied weapons to Ukraine and many around this chamber have commented that maybe should have supplied weapons earlier.
“But I can tell you from working inside the Government that we did all we could as quickly as we could to persuade allies and we have built up now an alliance of countries supplying those weapons. And I can’t wait to see the tanks and I can’t wait to see the fighter jets in Ukraine to help those brave Ukrainians.”
06:39 PM
Liz Truss: Invasion was ‘devastating’ but not unexpected
Liz Truss has recalled getting a call at 3.30am on February 24, 2022 informing her of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“As well as being devastating, it was not unexpected,” she told MPs. “We had very good intelligence showing us exactly what Putin’s plans had been. We tried for months to forestall that invasion.”
Ms Truss referred to Russia being threatened with sanctions and Britain unveiling intelligence for the first time ever that showed what the regime was planning.
“Fundamentally he went ahead because [Putin] didn’t believe the Ukrainians would fight and he didn’t believe that the free world would have the resolve to stand up to him. Now he was proved wrong in both cases and from day one, we saw sheer bravery on the part of Ukrainians defending their country. And we saw an administration in Kyiv who many people had expected to leave their posts… They didn’t. They stayed there.”
06:30 PM
Boris Johnson: Give Ukraine what it needs to win this year
Boris Johnson wrapped up his speech by calling to “designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, placing that country where it now rightly belongs in the list that includes Cuba, North Korea and Syria”.
“And by the way we should designate the infamous and bloodthirsty Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organisation. It is a badge that is now richly deserved and long overdue,” he added.
“But above all, we must give the Ukrainians what they need to win this war this year. By ensuring that Ukraine wins and that Putin fails, we are making the best and the most financially efficient investment not just in the security of the Euro-Atlantic area but the whole world. We said we would come to their aid in the event of an attack. Now is the time finally to do what we can to honour that promise.
“The Ukrainians are not just fighting for their freedom, but for the cause of freedom around the world. We should give them what they need not next month, not next year, but now.”
06:29 PM
Boris Johnson: We must tighten oil and gas sanctions where possible
Boris Johnson said the West’s “collective weakness in 2014, the effective acquiescence in Putin’s aggression, that helped to convince him he could launch an attack last year”.
“And whatever the good intentions of the Normandy format, we cannot say that process, that format was a success, nor frankly can we say that the UK was right to absent ourselves from that format and those discussions. And we must not make that mistake again.
“After a year of slaughter we need to be doing more collectively to show the people of Russia what they are losing by Putin’s mislaw. We should be tightening the sanctions on oil and gas wherever we can and I hear the arguments that members are making about frozen assets. Whatever the complexities, I think the House deserves to hear those arguments properly thrashed out.
“We should be making it clear to Putin’s entire war machine as well as the regime in the Kremlin that they will be held to account for their crimes, the torture, rape and indiscriminate killing that they have sponsored. We must show them the mills of justice grind slowly but they grind small.”
06:23 PM
‘For heaven’s sake, let’s give these weapons sooner’
Boris Johnson told MPs: “The story of the last 12 months is that sooner or later having exhausted all the other options we give them what they need from anti-tank missiles to Himars to tanks. And if that is the choice, sooner or later, then for heaven’s sake, let’s give these weapons sooner.
“It’s absurd for Western supporters to keep asking the Ukrainians as they were pressed at the Munich security conference how long is this going to take. The answer to that question is to a large extent determined by us. It is a fine thing that we’ve finally promised tanks but there is no conceivable ground for delay in getting them to Ukraine.”
Mr Johnson said tanks must be sent “in the next few weeks” and not next year, and added: “Let’s cut to the chase and give them the planes too. And if the House was in any doubt about the urgency of supplying our equipment to the Ukrainians, it is becoming ever clearer that China is preparing to arm the Russians.”
06:20 PM
Putin has failed in ‘almost all of its objectives’
Vladimir Putin has failed in “almost all his objectives”, Boris Johnson has told the Commons, producing “gains that could be measured in yards” despite the firepower used.
“He is running pitifully low on the technically advanced weaponry that he technically used. The seemingly irresistible force of the Russian military is breaking on the immovable object of Ukrainian resistance.
“It remains all too possible that Putin can still achieve something that he can call a victory. All that he needs to do is to hang on to the land he has conquered and the signal will go around the world that aggression can pay and borders can be changed by force.”
Mr Johnson said unless Putin was “purged from Ukrainian territory, he will twist his knife in the wound”.
“Unless he is finally defeated in Ukraine, Putin’s revanchist ambitions will be unchecked and that is why it is so crucial that we now accelerate our support for Ukraine and give them the tools to finish the job. We can all be job of what the government, successive governments have done to help the Ukrainians and their armed forces continue to fight like lions.”
06:17 PM
‘Ukraine stands tall, Putin stands condemned and isolated’
The war “in fact begun in 2014”, David Lammy said, as he remembered that this time last year “one year ago we hoped for the best yet we faced what seemed to be the unsurmountable worst.
“The price Ukrainians have paid for the continued freedom is immense. Tens of thousands of lives lost, cities destroyed, families shattered while Ukraine stands tall, Putin stands condemned isolated.
“We cannot become complacent. In the coming weeks and months Ukraine will yet again face new challenges and hardships designed by Putin to test her resolve and the resolve of us all. It is our duty to the people of Ukraine to do all we can to ensure the country overcomes these challenges in the same way it has overcome all the others.”
06:06 PM
‘New and dangerous’ phase of war imminent in Ukraine
David Lammy said a “new and dangerous phase” of the war in Ukraine was imminent, with Vladimir Putin adopting a new approach to conflict.
He insisted if Ukraine was going to prevail, the UK and its allies should “set aside individual announcements and instead set out a long-term strategy” to provide the support required by Volodymyr Zelensky and his country.
Mr Lammy also called for a “new diplomatic drive to sustain and broaden the diplomatic coalition against this war”.
06:01 PM
David Lammy: Putin ‘was wrong on every count’
David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, said the outbreak of war this time last year seemed “both inconceivable and yet imminent”.
“Putin believed this would be a short war, he thought it would be an easy war, he thought Ukraine would fold without a fight. He thought the West weak and divided – he was wrong on every count.
“Instead, Putin’s folly has been met with unity and strength. The Ukrainians have paid a bitter price for this war, but they have defended their land with courage, ingenuity and the relentless commitment that comes with a righteous cause.”
05:48 PM
Britain has ‘enhanced duty’ to ensure Ukrainian success
James Cleverly spoke of Britain’s “enhanced duty” to ensure Ukrainian success on the battlefield.
“If anyone in the international community or amongst our allies was thinking about holding back their stocks for a rainy day, this is a rainy day.”
05:39 PM
More military support ‘quickest and most humane’ way to end Ukraine war
Increased military support is the “quickest and most humane” way to end the war in Ukraine, James Cleverly has argued.
He praises the bravery he saw for himself when he visited Kyiv, and said Ukrainians “will never give in, they will never surrender – so Russia’s untrained conscripts… will never, ever be able to match Ukraine’s Marshall spirit.
“This is why Ukraine is going to win. And this is why we should make sure that they win as quickly as possible.”
05:33 PM
James Cleverly: Justice must be served
“Freedom will win”, James Cleverly has told MPs as he said the UK and Ukraine “stand side by side in the face of this aggression”.
Mr Cleverly hailed the heroism and resilience of the Ukrainian people, noting a “common purpose” between the two countries.
“Today, the Russian army is on the defensive, morale is pitiful, casualties are immense and their troops are running out of key weapons and ammunition.
“So this is exactly the right moment for Ukraine to seize the advantages. That is why we and our allies must step up our effort to make sure Ukraine wins this war and secures a lasting peace. Justice must be served on those responsible for war crimes and atrocities in accordance with international law.”
05:30 PM
Putin ‘blundered into a war he will not win’
James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, said that in the last year Russia had targeted hospitals, schools and energy supplies in its war on Russia.
He noted some of the world’s poorest people were paying “higher prices for food, for energy and the means of survival” as a result of Vladimir Putin’s “economic blackmail”.
Mr Cleverly told the Commons: “He blundered into a war that he cannot and will not win. Ukrainians were always going to resist a hostile attack aimed at wiping out their country.”
05:13 PM
Coming up in the Commons
James Cleverly will lead a general debate on Ukraine in the Commons, expected to start within the hour.
Liz Truss, the former prime minister, is expected to speak in her first intervention in Parliament as a backbencher.
04:45 PM
King Charles praises ‘amazing’ Ukrainian recruits
King Charles praised Ukraine’s “amazing” raw recruits currently being trained within the space of five weeks by the UK and international forces in Wiltshire (see 4.30pm).
The King stood a few hundreds away as he watched the men, some of whom have had no prior military experience, storm a trench as part of a mock gun battle.
He told one senior officer: “You are amazing, I don’t know how you do it. I am full of admiration.”
04:30 PM
King visits Ukrainian troops being trained by British forces
The King has visited Ukrainian military recruits undergoing training in Wiltshire.
The monarch watched a short defensive training exercise and met some of the recruits training with British and international partner forces.
The five-week mission delivers basic combat training to Ukrainians, who will then return to fight in their country.
The King, accompanied by General Sir Patrick Sanders, the Chief of General Staff, also met other international military personnel who are helping the Army with the Ukrainian recruits.
Victoria Ward, our Royal Editor, has the full story
04:00 PM
China may win Putin’s war in Ukraine for him
Vladimir Putin is calling in his few remaining international allies in his latest push for victory in Ukraine, Robert Clark writes for The Telegraph this afternoon.
Foremost among these is China, which last year proclaimed that its friendship with Moscow had “no limits” and “no forbidden areas of cooperation”. Now that cooperation may extend to the military equipment necessary for a Russian victory.
US intelligence indicates that Beijing is preparing to supply Russia with lethal military aid, described by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken as “everything from ammunition to the weapons themselves”.
With the war in Ukraine turning into a battle of attrition of ammunition supplies, this could mark an extremely dangerous escalation if the vast Chinese military complex swings into action to help its struggling junior partner – and, potentially, an eventual end to the war on Putin’s terms.
Robert Clark: Why the West must counter Putin’s trump card
03:53 PM
The Biden in Kyiv memes have started (naturally)
03:30 PM
Weapons of Ukraine: Your essential guide
Since the outbreak of war in February 2022, The Telegraph has been tracking donations and deliveries of weapons to Ukraine.
Our correspondents have reported on their use on the battlefield as our experts analysed their effectiveness.
Conor James Ibbetson, Louis Emanuel, Arthur Scott-Geddes and Dominic Nicholls have now put together a must-read project, with an essential guide to the Weapons of Ukraine.
03:20 PM
Five things Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv shows ahead of war’s first anniversary
When the world believed he was in Poland to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Joe Biden slipped into Kyiv undetected in perhaps his most vital show of support yet, writes Joe Barnes.
Officials close to Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the moment as a “symbolic and strategic” victory for Ukraine, at a time when Russia is attempting to ratchet up the pressure in the east.
For the US president, it presented him with the perfect opportunity to face down the naysayers that are claiming Washington’s support for Kyiv is reaching its limits.
Read more: How Biden caught the world by surprise
03:01 PM
Good afternoon
Dominic Penna here, The Telegraph’s Political Reporter, guiding you through the rest of today’s Ukraine news.
In today’s episode of our Ukraine: The Latest podcast, David Knowles is joined by Danielle Sheridan, our Defence Editor, Dominic Nicholls, our Associate Editor (Defence), and Francis Dearnley, our Assistant Comment Editor.
Have a listen in full below:
02:46 PM
Olena Zelenska: Together we will win!
02:30 PM
US notified Russia about Biden’s Ukraine visit ‘hours before’
The United States warned Russia “hours” ahead of President Joe Biden’s “risky” surprise trip to Kyiv on Monday to avoid any chance of conflict, a senior White House aide has said.
Jake Sullivan, a National Security Advisor, said: “We did notify the Russians that President Biden will be traveling to Kyiv. We did so some hours before his departure for deconfliction purposes.
“Because of the sensitive nature of those communications, I won’t get into how they responded or what the precise nature of our message was,” he continued.
Mr Biden’s visit to Kyiv was organised in conditions of strict secrecy, with White House Staff saying they cannot yet divulge how Mr Biden got to the Ukrainian capital.
“We are holding back on some of those mode of transportation details and other specific logistical details until the trip is fully complete,” communications director Kate Bedingfield said.
02:25 PM
In pictures: Biden and Zelensky
02:20 PM
The Ukrainian refugees invoking Britain’s Blitz spirit
Anna Pisliariuk is reading law at the University of Westminster and is the model of a hard-working student. She has reason to be so well motivated: she dreams of bringing the Russian war criminals who have terrorised her homeland to justice.
It’s been almost a year since the then 18-year-old awoke to a chorus of car sirens and bombs, and saw tanks lining the streets of Kyiv.
“The neighbours were screaming,” said Ms Pisliariuk, recalling the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “We lived on the fourteenth floor of a tower block, and the lifts started going up and down, up and down.”
Read more from Harriet Barber and Simon Townsley here
02:02 PM
China’s top diplomat urges end to hostilities ahead of Moscow visit
China and Hungary are ready to work with other countries to bring current hostilities to a halt, Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi said in Budapest on Monday ahead of a visit to Moscow.
“China and Hungary are peace-loving countries, therefore, I am glad to meet you again,” Wang Yi said in a Facebook video during a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
“Let me echo what we have just heard (from you) and jointly declare to the world that China and Hungary gladly work together with other peace-loving countries to bring the current hostilities to a halt as soon as possible.”
01:45 PM
White House: Biden felt it was key to send message of support to Ukraine
Jake Sullivan, the White House National Security Adviser, has said that President Joe Biden felt it was important to send a message of enduring support for Ukraine in making a trip there.
Mr Sullivan said the US president spoke with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky about the war and its needs in terms of energy, infrastructure, and economic and humanitarian support.
Mr Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday, promising to stand with Ukraine for as long as necessary.
01:43 PM
Pictured: King Charles III meets with Ukrainian recruits in Wiltshire
01:27 PM
Russia’s elite units sustaining ‘high losses’ in Vuhledar
Russia’s elite units have sustained “very high losses” in Vuhledar and are likely “combat ineffective”, the Ministry of Defence has said.
“Russia continues to pursue several offensive axes in eastern Ukraine: Vuhledar, Kremina, and Bakhmut,” the MoD said.
“Casualties reportedly remain high, particularly in Bakhmut and Vuhledar,” it said, adding that, “specifically, the ‘elite’ 155th and 40th Naval Infantry Brigades have sustained very high losses in Vuhledar and are likely combat ineffective.”
01:11 PM
Russian officials are denying ammunition to Wagner fighters, claims Prigozhin
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia’s mercenary group Wagner, accused unspecified officials of deliberately denying his fighters sufficient ammunition as part of an ongoing rivalry between himself and parts of the Russian elite.
In a seven-minute long audio message published on Monday by his press service, Prigozhin said he was required to “apologise and obey” in order to secure ammunition for his troops.
He said: “I’m unable to solve this problem despite all my connections and contacts.”
Prigozhin said Russia’s military production was now sufficient to supply the forces fighting at the front, and that the supply difficulties his fighters were experiencing were the result of conscious decisions.
“Those who interfere with us trying to win this war are absolutely, directly working for the enemy”, he said.
01:07 PM
Navalny says Russia’s military defeat in Ukraine ‘inevitable’
Russia’s jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny said Moscow’s military defeat in Ukraine is “inevitable” even if the Kremlin sends more troops to the pro-Western country.
“The lives of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have been senselessly ruined,” Navalny said in a statement released ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.
“The final military defeat can be delayed at the cost of the lives of hundreds of thousands additional reservists, but on the whole it is inevitable.”
12:35 PM
Watch: Joe Biden makes surprise visit to Kyiv
12:33 PM
‘Slava Ukraini’
12:26 PM
Zelensky says Macron is ‘wasting his time’ over dialogue with Vladimir Putin
Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday attacked Emmanuel Macron after the French president said Russia should not be “crushed”.
The Ukrainian president accused his French counterpart of “wasting” his time trying to end the war through diplomacy and not a military victory for Kyiv.
It came after Mr Macron talked down the prospect of a “total defeat of Russia”, in comments that echoed his suggestion Vladimir Putin should not be humiliated over the invasion.
Read the full story from Joe Barnes here
12:18 PM
Ukraine-Russia in pictures
12:08 PM
Biden has left Kyiv
Joe Biden has departed Kyiv after making a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital.
The US president spoke with Volodymr Zelensky and pledged long-term support for Ukraine, saying that “freedom is priceless. It’s worth fighting for for as long as it takes.”
Speaking about the visit, the Ukrainian president said: “Our negotiations were very fruitful.”
12:01 PM
Zelensky: There would be a ‘world war’ if China allied itself with Russia
There would be a world war if China allied itself with Russia, Volodymr Zelensky has warned.
The Ukrainian president warned China in a newspaper interview on Monday against supporting Russia in its war on Ukraine and said doing so would bring on a world war.
“For us, it is important that China does not support the Russian Federation in this war. In fact, I would like it to be on our side,” he told German daily Die Welt. “At the moment, however, I don’t think it’s possible.”
“But I do see an opportunity for China to make a pragmatic assessment of what is happening here,” he added.
“Because if China allies itself with Russia, there will be a world war, and I do think that China is aware of that.”
11:41 AM
Moldova urges EU sanctions on oligarchs aiding Russia
Moldova has urged the EU to impose sanctions on oligarchs it accuses of helping Russia to destabilise the country, after allegations Moscow was plotting to overthrow the pro-Western government.
The former Soviet republic, wedged between Ukraine and Romania, is facing multiple crises aggravated by the Kremlin’s year-old war against Kyiv.
Last week Moldova accused Russia – which has forces in the country’s breakaway Transnistria region – of conspiring to carry out a coup that would see “saboteurs” attack state institutions.
“It is not the first time Moldova faces such situations in the last year,” Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said on Monday at a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
“There have been several instances of such concerns, it is just this time they are more public.”
He added that “the risks are there, but Moldova has a good record in fending them off.”
11:30 AM
Biden: ‘Brutal’ and ‘unjust’ war far from won
“I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about US support for Ukraine in the war,” Joe Biden said in his first visit to Kyiv since the war began.
The US president recalled speaking with Volodymr Zelensky on the night of the invasion, saying, “That dark night one year ago, the world was literally at the time bracing for the fall of Kyiv. Perhaps even the end of Ukraine.”
Mr Biden warned that the “brutal and unjust war” is far from won. “The cost that Ukraine has had to bear has been extraordinarily high. And the sacrifices have been far too great,” Mr Biden said. “We know that there’ll be very difficult days and weeks and years ahead. But Russia’s aim was to wipe Ukraine off the map. Putin’s war of conquest is failing.”
“He’s counting on us not sticking together,” Mr Biden said of the Russian leader. “He thought he could outlast us. I don’t think he’s thinking that right now. God knows what he’s thinking, but I don’t think he’s thinking that. But he’s just been plain wrong. Plain wrong.”
11:07 AM
Zelensky: Russia has ‘no chance’
Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia did not stand a chance of winning its war after Joe Biden promised additional arms supplies on a surprise visit to Kyiv.
“This is an unequivocal signal that Russian attempts to win will have no chance,” the Ukrainian president said, referring to the US leader’s visit and new pledges of military support.
“Together we will protect our cities, our people from the terror of Russia,” he said.
11:00 AM
Pictured: Biden in Kyiv
10:57 AM
Germany welcomes Biden’s visit to Ukraine
Joe Biden’s visit to Ukraine is a “good signal”, a German government spokesperson has said.
Steffen Hebestreit said during a government press conference that the visit was a “good signal,” but declined to provide further comment.
10:50 AM
‘Security concerns’ mean Biden’s real-time movements not shared
“Security concerns” mean that Joe Biden’s real-time movements in Kyiv are not being shared, it has emerged.
“Due to security concerns, pool has agreed not to share real-time updates on the president’s movements,” the pool travel report says.
“Full details of how he got here and methods of transportation are also being held until the president is safely out of the country,” it says.
10:23 AM
Biden: ‘One year later, Kyiv stands’
“I’m here to show our unwavering support for the nation’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” President Biden tells Volodymr Zelensky in Kyiv.
Speaking at Mariinsky Palace, Joe Biden said: “One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands.”
10:18 AM
Biden will announce new military aid package worth $500million
Joe Biden will announce a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $500 million on Tuesday.
The package will include more military equipment including artillery ammunition, more javelins and Howitzers, CNN reported.
Volodymr Zelensky said that he discussed “long-range weapons and the weapons that may still be supplied to Ukraine even though it wasn’t supplied before.” during the US president’s visit to Kyiv on Monday.
10:14 AM
Biden meets Zelensky
Welcoming Joe Biden to Kyiv, Volodymr Zelensky has posted a picture of the pair of them together on Instagram.
He wrote: “Joseph Biden…welcome to Kyiv! Your visit is an extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians.”
10:01 AM
Biden walking about Kyiv
09:56 AM
Breaking: Joe Biden has arrived in Kyiv
09:43 AM
China supplying Russia arms would be ‘red line’ for EU, says Borrell
The EU’s foreign policy chief on Monday warned China against providing Russia weapons for its war on Ukraine, after Beijing slammed US claims it could make the move.
Josep Borrell said he told China’s top diplomat Wang Yi that “for us, it would be a red line in our relationship. He told me that they are not going to do it, that they don’t plan to do it. But we will remain vigilant.”
09:41 AM
Delivering ammunition to Ukraine could determine outcome of war, Borrell says
The European Union needs to ensure that Ukraine has enough ammunition to continue its fight against the Russian invasion, the EU’s top diplomat said on Monday.
“It is the most urgent issue. If we fail on that, the result of the war is in danger,” Josep Borrell said before a meeting with foreign affairs ministers from the EU countries in Brussels.
“The Russian artillery shoots about 50,000 shots a day, and Ukraine needs to be at the same level of capacity. They have cannons but they lack ammunition.”
09:00 AM
Beijing slams ‘false’ US claims that China may arm Russia
Beijing has slammed what it called “false” claims by the United States that China is considering arming Russia in its war against Ukraine.
“We do not accept the United States’ finger-pointing on China-Russia relations, let alone coercion and pressure,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing, accusing Washington of “spreading false information”.
08:59 AM
Pictured: A Ukrainian officer stands amid snow-covered trenches along the frontline in Druzhba
08:30 AM
Your essential guide to the weapons of Ukraine
Since the outbreak of war in February 2022, The Telegraph has been tracking donations and deliveries of weapons to Ukraine.
Our correspondents have reported on their use on the battlefield and our experts have analysed their effectiveness.
We look at game-changing American weapons, high precision modern weapons, the weapons Russia fears most, and more.
This is not a comprehensive list of all weapons in Ukraine.
Read more about this guide from Connor James Ibbetson, Louis Emanuel, Arthur Scott-Geddes & Dominic Nicholls, here.
08:14 AM
China’s top diplomat arrives in Moscow for talks on Ukraine
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, has arrived in Moscow for talks on a possible peace plan for Ukraine, the Kommersant newspaper reported.
“The main purpose of his trip is to increase the role of Beijing in the Ukrainian settlement,” Kommersant said.
At the annual Munich Security Conference, Wang accused the United States of violating international norms with “hysterical” behaviour.
Wang reiterated a call for dialogue and suggested European countries “think calmly” about how to end the war.
Wang also said there were “some forces that seemingly don’t want negotiations to succeed, or for the war to end soon,” without specifying to whom he was referring.
07:57 AM
Zelensky: Ukraine will defend Bakhmut ‘but not at any price’
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine would maintain its months-long defence of the eastern city of Bakhmut “but not at any price and not for everyone to die”.
He told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera: “It is not a particularly big town.
“In fact, like many others in Donbas, [it’s been] devastated by the Russians. It is important for us to defend it, but not at any price and not for everyone to die.”
His comments come as debate rages over whether Kyiv’s outnumbered forces should remain in the eastern Ukraine city, which Russian shelling has all but destroyed.
Bakhmut, in the frontline Donetsk region, had a pre-war population of 70,000 but now Ukrainian officials estimate fewer than 5,000 civilians remain.
07:43 AM
The first phase of Putin’s war is over – now the West needs a new strategy
A swift Russian victory, with its troops parading in victory through the streets of Kyiv. A collapse of power in the Kremlin, with Vladimir Putin despatched in a palace coup.
Or perhaps even a quickly negotiated peace settlement, with small parcels of land changing hands as the borders were redrawn.
When Russian troops moved across the frontier a year ago this week, there were plenty of different possible outcomes to the war. There was one, however, that we did not expect. An endless war of attrition.
Read the full story from Matthew Lynn here
07:34 AM
Bakhmut in pictures
07:31 AM
Zelenksy: Russian losses in Vuhledar ‘extraordinarily significant’
Russia suffered “extraordinarily significant” losses near the town of Vuhledar in the eastern Donbas region, Volodymr Zelensky has claimed.
The Ukrainian president said: “The situation is very complicated. And we are fighting. We are breaking down the invaders and inflicting extraordinarily significant losses on Russia.
Referring to several towns where fighting has been focused for months, he said “the more losses Russia suffers there, in Donbas – in Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Marinka, Kreminna – the faster we will be able to end this war with Ukraine’s victory”.
07:29 AM
Latest MoD update
07:28 AM
Good Morning
Good morning and welcome to today’s Ukraine liveblog.
We will be guiding you through all the latest updates on Ukraine.
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