Russia-Ukraine war live: Zelenskiy fears war could be hampered by Washington divisions; Moscow starts drills with new ICBM

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Moscow begins drills to trial caller ICBM

Russia began exercises with the Yars intercontinental ballistic rocket strategy and respective 1000 of troops, its defence ministry said connected Wednesday, successful what is apt to beryllium seen arsenic different effort by Moscow to amusement disconnected its atomic strength, Reuters reports.

President Vladimir Putin has aimed to marque the Yars rocket system, which replaced the Topol system, portion of Russia’s “invincible weapons” and the mainstay of the ground-based constituent of its atomic arsenal.

In this record photograph taken from a video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, connected 9 December 2020, a rocket launches from rocket strategy arsenic portion of a ground-based intercontinental ballistic rocket test. Russia began exercises with a caller intercontinental ballistic rocket strategy called Yars, connected Wednesday Photograph: AP

“In total, much than 3,000 subject unit and astir 300 pieces of instrumentality are progressive successful the exercises,” the defence ministry said successful a connection connected Telegram.

The drills impact the Strategic Missile Forces broad power checking of the Omsk rocket enactment unneurotic with a bid and unit workout with the Novosibirsk rocket enactment equipped with the Yars systems.

Zelenskiy fears warfare could beryllium hampered by Washington divisions

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said successful an interrogation that helium he worries the warfare could beryllium impacted by shifting governmental forces successful Washington. In an interrogation with AP, published a abbreviated portion ago, Zelenskiy said:

“The United States truly understands that if they halt helping us, we volition not win”.

Following its agelong interrogation with Ukraine’s leader, AP reports:

Zelenskiy is good alert that his country’s occurrence has been successful large portion owed to waves of planetary subject support, peculiarly from the United States and Western Europe. But immoderate successful the United States — including Republican Donald Trump, the erstwhile American president and existent 2024 campaigner — person questioned whether Washington should proceed to proviso Ukraine with billions of dollars successful subject aid.

Trump’s apt Republican rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, besides suggested that defending Ukraine successful a ‘territorial dispute’ with Russia was not a important US nationalist information priority. He aboriginal walked that connection backmost aft facing disapproval from different corners of the GOP.

Zelenskiy didn’t notation the names of Trump oregon immoderate different Republican politicians — figures helium mightiness person to woody with if they prevailed successful 2024 elections.

Opening summary

Welcome backmost to our continuing sum of the warfare successful Ukraine. This is Helen Sullivan bringing you the latest.

Our apical communicative this morning: Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, says that helium he worries the warfare could beryllium impacted by shifting governmental forces successful Washington. In an interrogation with AP, published a abbreviated portion ago, Zelenskiy said:

“The United States truly understands that if they halt helping us, we volition not win”.

And Russia began exercises with the Yars intercontinental ballistic rocket strategy and respective 1000 troops, its defence ministry said connected Wednesday, successful what is apt to beryllium seen arsenic different effort by Moscow to amusement disconnected its atomic strength.

We’ll person much connected these stories shortly. In the meantime, present are the cardinal caller developments.

• The United States has not seen immoderate indications that Vladimir Putin is getting person to utilizing tactical atomic weapons successful his warfare connected Ukraine, aft the Russian person said helium was moving specified weapons into Belarus. Belarus confirmed it would big Russian tactical atomic weapons, saying the determination was a effect to years of occidental pressure. Poland’s premier minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said Belarus would look further EU sanctions.

• Russia said it changeable down a US-supplied GLSDB guided astute weaponry fired by Ukrainian forces, the archetypal clip Moscow has claimed to person intercepted 1 of the weapons that could treble Ukraine’s battlefield firing range.

• Ukraine’s frontline metropolis of Avdiivka “is being wiped disconnected the look of the Earth” amid intensifying Russian shelling, according to its apical section official. Russian forces person been making caller gradual gains connected the flanks of Avdiivka, and the Ukrainian subject said past week that the metropolis could go a “second Bakhmut”. Russia’s 10th vessel regiment has borne the brunt of the battle of Avdiivka and has apt mislaid a “large information of its tanks” portion attempting to situation the municipality from the south, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said successful its latest quality update.

• Ukraine is aiming to exhaust and inflict dense losses connected Russian forces trying to seizure the tiny eastbound metropolis of Bakhmut, the commandant of Ukrainian crushed forces has said. In a video showing him addressing soldiers successful what appeared to beryllium a ample concern warehouse, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russia was continuing to absorption connected the Bakhmut area aft months of battle.

• Germany’s much-awaited shipment of 18 Leopard 2 conflict tanks has arrived successful Ukraine, the German defence ministry has confirmed. Berlin archetypal promised 14 but accrued that to 18 arsenic portion of a woody nether which respective EU states would lend to a shipment of 2 Leopard 2 battalions and 31 American-made M1A2 Abrams tanks from the US.

• The archetypal British Challenger 2 main conflict tanks person besides arrived successful Ukraine and volition soon statesman combat missions, Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has said. The UK said successful January it would nonstop 14 of the tanks to Ukraine. Reznikov wrote connected Twitter that the tanks had “recently arrived successful our country” and posted a video that showed him sitting successful 1 of a agelong enactment of tanks successful an unfastened field, each of them flying Ukraine’s yellowish and bluish flag.

• The US supports the instauration of a peculiar tribunal to prosecute the transgression of aggression against Ukraine, officials person said. The US ambassador-at-large for planetary transgression justice, Beth Van Schaak said the tribunal mightiness also beryllium located elsewhere successful Europe, astatine slightest astatine first, successful bid “to reenforce Ukraine’s desired European orientation”.

• A Russian antheral who was investigated by constabulary after his 12-year-old girl drew a picture depicting Russian bombing a household successful Ukraine has been sentenced to 2 years successful a penal colony, according to a rights group. Alexei Moskalyov has been separated from his girl Maria since helium was placed nether location arrest, and she was taken into a state-run structure past month. Court officials said connected Tuesday that the 54-year-old had fled location arrest and his whereabouts were unknown.

• The International Olympic Committee has recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to vie successful planetary sporting events nether a neutral flag. A determination regarding adjacent year’s Olympics successful Paris and the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics successful 2026 would beryllium taken “at the due time”, it said. Germany’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, said the committee’s determination was “a slap successful the look for each Ukrainian athletes”.