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Russia-Ukraine war latest: Putin has lost nearly 200,000 troops in war, US officials say

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Boris Johnson criticises Rishi Sunak decision not to give Ukraine fighter jets

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Russian troops who have either died or were left wounded in the continuing war in Ukraine is nearing 200,000, according to the US and Western officials.

Senior US officials and Western diplomats said the number has climbed above the 100,000 figure given in November last year, The New York Times reported.

This week, senior US officials said they believed the number for Russia was closer to 200,000, according to the report.

This comes as Vladimir Putin marked the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi forces in the battle of Stalingrad, and invoked the battle as justification for the conflict in Ukraine.

Mr Putin evoked the spirit of the Soviet army that defeated Nazi German forces at Stalingrad 80 years ago to declare that Russia will defeat Ukraine.

Lambasting Germany for helping to arm Ukraine, he said: “Unfortunately we see that the ideology of Nazism in its modern form and manifestation again directly threatens the security of our country.

Key pointsShow latest update

1675438737KEY POST: Ukraine will fight to hold eastern ‘fortress’ city Bakhmut, says Zelensky

President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that Ukraine would fight to hold on to the eastern “fortress” city of Bakhmut for as long as it could, and urged the West to supply long-range weapons to help Kyiv push Russian forces out of the Donbas region.

“Nobody will give away Bakhmut. We will fight for as long as we can. We consider Bakhmut our fortress,” Zelenskiy told a news conference with top European Union officials following a summit in Kyiv.

“Ukraine would be able to hold Bakhmut and liberate occupied Donbas if it received long-range weapons,” he said.

The city of Bakhmut has become the focal point of Ukrainian resistance to Russia’s invasion and of Moscow’s drive to regain battlefield momentum.

Russian officials have said Russian forces are encircling Bakhmut from several directions and battling to take control of a road which is also an important supply route for Ukrainian forces.

Zelenskiy said Russia would continue to push in the east but that Ukrainian forces would be able to hold out until more Western weapons arrived.

Joe Middleton3 February 2023 15:38

1675510205Medvedev warns Russia ready to use all types of weapons – including nuclear

With the first anniversary of the invasion approaching on February 24, Russian forces have been on the back foot for the last eight months, and do not fully control any of the four Ukrainian provinces that Moscow has unilaterally declared part of Russia.

President Vladimir Putin casts Russia’s campaign in Ukraine as an existential defence against an aggressive West and has, like Medvedev, several times brandished the threat of a nuclear response, saying Russia will use all available means to protect itself and its people.

Asked what would happen if the weapons that Washington has promised Ukraine were to strike Crimea – which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 – or deep into Russia, Medvedev said Putin had addressed the matter clearly.

“We don’t set ourselves any limits and, depending on the nature of the threats, we’re ready to use all types of weapons. In accordance with our doctrinal documents, including the Fundamentals of Nuclear Deterrence,” he said. “I can assure you that the answer will be quick, tough and convincing.”

Russia’s nuclear doctrine allows for a nuclear strike after “aggression against the Russian Federation with conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is threatened”.

Sam Rkaina4 February 2023 11:30

1675508405Former Russian President warns Ukraine ‘will burn’

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said the supply of more advanced US weaponry to Ukraine will only trigger more retaliatory strikes from Russia, up to the extent of Russia’s nuclear doctrine.

“All of Ukraine that remains under Kyiv’s rule will burn,” journalist Nadana Fridrikhson quoted him as saying in a written interview with her.

Fridrikhson asked Medvedev, who as deputy chairman of the Security Council has become one of Russia’s most hawkish pro-war figures since its invasion of Ukraine, whether the use of longer-range weapons might force Russia to negotiate with Kyiv.

“The result will be just the opposite,” Medvedev replied, in comments that Fridrikhson posted on her Telegram channel.

“Only moral freaks, of which there are enough both in the White House and in the Capitol, can argue like that.”

The Pentagon said on Friday that a new rocket that would double Ukraine’s strike range was included in a $2.175 billion U.S. military aid package.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (centre)

(Sputnik)

Sam Rkaina4 February 2023 11:00

1675506605Portugal to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

Portugal will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Saturday, without specifying how many will be shipped.

Costa added that Portugal is in talks with Germany to obtain parts needed for the repair of a number of inoperable Leopard tanks in Portugal’s inventory of the weapon.

“We are currently working to be able to dispense some of our tanks,” Costa told Lusa news agency during a trip to the Central African Republic. “I know how many tanks will be (sent to Ukraine) but that will be announced at the appropriate time.”

Costa’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Admiral Antonio Silva Ribeiro, the head of the Portuguese armed forces, said last month Portugal had 37 Leopard 2 tanks but it has been widely reported by local media that most are inoperable.

Portugal is working with Germany to get the parts needed to repair the tanks that are not operational, Costa said, adding he hoped to deliver them to Ukraine by the end of March.

The defence ministry said it would not comment on the “operability of weapons and equipment systems” for security reasons.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said earlier this week the country would receive 120 to 140 Western tanks in a “first wave” of deliveries from a coalition of 12 countries.

Kyiv secured pledges from the West to supply main battle tanks to help fend off Russia’s full-scale invasion, with Moscow mounting huge efforts to make incremental advances in eastern Ukraine.

Sam Rkaina4 February 2023 10:30

1675504953War crimes claims come after von der Leyen said centre for prosecution would be set up

Ukraine is pushing for the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russian military and political leaders it holds responsible for starting the war.

The International Criminal Court has launched its own investigation into alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes days after Moscow’s invasion, but it does not have jurisdiction to prosecute aggression in Ukraine.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who is visiting Kyiv, said on Thursday that an international centre for the prosecution of the crime of aggression in Ukraine would be set up in The Hague.

Moscow has rejected allegations by Kyiv and Western nations of war crimes.

Sam Rkaina4 February 2023 10:02

1675501346German has eence of war crimes in Ukraine ‘in three digit range’

Germany has collected eence of war crimes in Ukraine, the country’s prosecutor general said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday, adding that he saw a need for a judicial process at international level.

“Currently, for example, we are focusing on the mass killings in Bucha or attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure,” Peter Frank told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

So far, prosecutors have pieces of eence in the “three-digit range”, he added, without elaborating.

Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian forces of committing atrocities in Bucha, a satellite town of Kyiv, soon after launching their invasion last February. Moscow has denied the charge. Russia has also targeted key infrastructure in Ukraine but denies deliberately targeting civilians.

Germany began collecting eence in March 2022 to prosecute possible war crimes, including by interviewing Ukrainian refugees and evaluating publicly available information, Frank said, adding that German prosecutors were not yet investigating specific indiuals.

“We are preparing ourselves for a possible later court case – be it with us in Germany, be it with our foreign partners, be it before an international court,” he added.

Asked who should be tried, Frank said Russian state leaders and those implementing decisions at the highest military level should be held accountable.

Sam Rkaina4 February 2023 09:02

1675497753’Sixty three Russian POWs released’

Sixty-three Russian prisoners of war were released as a result of a complex negotiation process with Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported, citing Moscow’s defence ministry.

The group of released Russian servicemen includes “sensitive category” persons, whose exchange was made possible through the mediation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the agencies added.

Sam Rkaina4 February 2023 08:02

1675494060Shell company directors earned enough in 2021 to pay 390 nurses, as firm sees record profits

Rishi Sunak’s government has been accused of letting fossil fuel giants “off the hook” by failing to target the “proceeds of war”, after Shell announced record profits this week.

While Shell is due to publish its 2022 pay data in March, the company’s declared figures for 2021 show that Shell paid the 12 members of its non-executive board at the time a total of €2,631,000, including taxable benefits (£2,345,000 at Friday’s exchange rate).

This is equivalent to 70 nurses, based on an average nursing salary estimate of £33,384 in 2021 by the Royal College of Nurses.

However, when including Shell’s two executive directors at the time, both of whom have now left the company, the total paid out by the firm to its board in 2021 rises to €14,638,000 (£13,049,376) – enough to employ 390 nurses.

The Independent has taken a look at who Shell’s directors are and what they are paid:

Andy Gregory4 February 2023 07:01

1675486260Watch: Cats and dogs rescued from frontline by Ukrainian volunteers

Cats and dogs rescued from frontline by Ukrainian volunteers

Andy Gregory4 February 2023 04:51

1675482120US imposes sanctions on directors of Iranian drone-making firm

The United States has imposed sanctions on the board of directors of Iranian drone maker Paravar Pars, alleging that Iranian drones are being used by Russia to attack Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.

The US Treasury Department’s office of foreign assets control designated eight senior executives of Paravar Pars.

The drone maker was previously sanctioned by the US and EU for making drones for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“Iranian entities continue to produce UAVs for Iran’s IRGC and military. More broadly, Iran is supplying UAVs for Russia’s combat operations to target critical infrastructure in Ukraine,” said Brian Nelson, the Treasury’s top sanctions official.

Andy Gregory4 February 2023 03:42

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