Sabtu, 19 Maret 2022

Boris Johnson accused of being 'threat to national security' over reports he attended Tory fundraiser on night Putin launched Ukraine invasion - Sky News

Boris Johnson was accused of being a "threat to national security" following reports he was at a Tory party fundraising event on the night Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine.

According to The Sunday Times, the prime minister was at a Conservative Party fundraising dinner attended by at least one donor with links to Russia on the night Vladimir Putin launched his war in Ukraine.

The paper reports that the PM gave a short speech at the event in central London as it became clear the Russian invasion was imminent, telling the 75 guests he had to leave early to deal with the crisis.

The Russian donor at the fundraising event was Lubov Chernukhin, wife of a former Russian deputy finance minister, who has given almost £2m to the Conservative Party since 2012.

The event began on 23 February at about 8pm, according to the paper, and was held at an 18th century aristocratic mansion, Spencer House, a Grade I listed building just a mile from Downing Street.

Two of the PM's most senior cabinet colleagues, the defence secretary Ben Wallace and the levelling up secretary Michael Gove, were also present, The Sunday Times reports.

It took place despite warnings - including from Mr Johnson personally - that the invasion appeared imminent, and only hours before Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an address in a last-ditch attempt to avert the war.

More on Boris Johnson

Other key developments from Ukraine:

Russia fires 'hypersonic missile' for first time since invasion
Dozens of troops feared dead in attack on barracks as they slept
Russian cosmonauts wear Ukraine colours while boarding ISS
Extraordinary survival as man rescued after hours under debris
Boris Johnson claims Putin in a 'panic' over revolution in Moscow

Russia claims use of 'apocalyptic weapon' - live Ukraine updates

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Putin 'frightened of Ukraine'

Responding to The Sunday Times report, Anneliese Dodds, chair of the Labour Party, said: "Boris Johnson is a threat to national security.

"On the eve of war the prime minister should have been completely focused on national security - not trying to get cash from the wife of Putin's former finance minister.

"Boris Johnson's party has accepted over £6.5m from donors linked to Putin's murderous regime. He should be cleaning up our politics, not courting these people for more money."

But a Downing Street spokesperson told Sky News: "The Prime Minister briefly attended this event which was a longstanding diary engagement.

"Fundraising is a legitimate part of our democratic process and it is not unusual for the Prime Minister, or any political leader, to attend such an event."

According to Tory sources, the PM attended the event for around 20 minutes and was not aware that Russia was going to invade Ukraine at the time of the event. He was informed around 4am on 24 February.

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Why Russia hasn't advanced on Kyiv

Labour's attack came after the PM accused Labour of "running up the white flag" over the war in Ukraine, in his speech at the Conservative spring conference in Blackpool.

"When the Labour Party and the current leader were trying with might and main to install a leader who wanted - I'm sorry, I'm serious - to abolish NATO, we were already training Ukrainian troops to fight," he said.

"And it's an absolutely incredible fact - and it's true - at a time when Russia is being led by a president who is capable of bullying and threats who's plainly capable of making dangerous and irrational decisions, we have a Labour Party whose shadow cabinet is stuffed with people who only recently voted to abolish the UK's independent nuclear deterrent. That's right. Eight of them.

"Do we want them in charge, my friends, at this moment? Do we want them running up the white flag? Do you see them standing up to Putin's blackmail?"

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2022-03-19 21:53:46Z
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Ukraine war: Thousands evacuated from Mariupol as city being 'wiped off face of earth' by Russian shelling - Sky News

Thousands more people have been successfully evacuated from besieged Ukrainian cities, including the port of Mariupol which authorities say is being "wiped off the face of the earth" by Russian shelling.

Some 6,623 people were moved out via humanitarian corridors on Saturday, but this was substantially down on the 9,145 who managed to leave yesterday.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office, said in an online post that 4,128 more people had left the devastated southeastern city of Mariupol as Russian forces continue their advance.

More than 350,000 people have been sheltering there with no access to food or water, as the Kremlin said its forces were "tightening the encirclement" after bombarding and cutting it off from the Sea of Azov.

The fall of Mariupol would mark a major battlefield advance for Vladimir Putin's troops, who are mostly bogged down outside major cities in what is now the fourth week of the war.

It would mean Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, could be linked in a land bridge to territories controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in the east.

Other key developments from Ukraine:

Russia fires 'hypersonic missile' for first time since invasion
Dozens of troops feared dead in attack on barracks as they slept
Russian cosmonauts wear Ukrainian colours while boarding space station
Extraordinary survival as man rescued after hours under debris
Boris Johnson claims Putin in a 'panic' over revolution in Moscow

Russia claims use of 'apocalyptic war weapon' - live updates from Ukraine

Service members of pro-Russian troops drive an armoured vehicle in Mariupol
Image: Service members of pro-Russian troops drive an armoured vehicle in Mariupol

'The city is destroyed'

Mariupol has been left unrecognisable by brutal Russian tactics, with buildings from apartment blocks to shopping centres having been completely destroyed.

"Children, elderly people are dying," Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said, as he pleaded for more Western assistance to arrive.

"The city is destroyed, and it is wiped off the face of the earth."

Mariupol Theatre 
no Credit needed
Image: The theatre was bombed in the reported Russian airstrike
Mariupol Theatre 
no Credit needed
Image: At least 130 people are thought to have survived but there is 'no information' about 'more than 1,300' others

Rescuers have continued searching for survivors in the ruins of a Mariupol theatre destroyed three days ago by what Ukrainian officials said was a Russian airstrike.

The basement was being used by families as a bomb shelter in the besieged city, with more than 1,300 people said to have been inside at the time of Wednesday's attack, which Moscow denies carrying out.

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Remains of bombed Mariupol theatre

So far, at least 130 people are reported to have survived, but there is "no information" about the others.

The theatre was struck, despite the word "children" being written in Russian outside in letters large enough to be read from the air.

A satellite image shows the theatre before the attack - with the word 'children' written in Russian in giant letters at both ends of the building. (pic Maxar)
Image: A satellite image shows the theatre before the attack - with the word 'children' written in Russian in giant letters at both ends of the building. Pic: Maxar

Read more: Inside the devastated city of Mariupol

Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian parliament's human rights commissioner, said: "According to our data, there are still more than 1,300 people in these basements, in this bomb shelter.

"We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them."

The situation in Ukraine as of Saturday
Image: The situation in Ukraine as of Saturday

Ukrainian and Russian forces have been battling over the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, according to Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister.

"I can say that we have lost this economic giant. One of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe is actually being destroyed," he said.

And Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the nearest forces that could help Mariupol's defenders were already struggling against "the overwhelming force of the enemy" at least 60 miles (100km) away.

"There is currently no military solution to Mariupol."

Videos posted online of Mariupol - subjected to weeks of siege and shelling which the Red Cross says has caused "apocalyptic" destruction - show civilian areas left unrecognisable by the attacks.

In its latest intelligence assessment of the war, the UK's Ministry of Defence said the Kremlin "has been surprised by the scale and ferocity of Ukrainian resistance" and "is now pursuing a strategy of attrition" likely to involve indiscriminate attacks.

Russian forces were blockading the biggest cities with the aim of wearing Ukrainians down so much they will cooperate, according to Mr Zelenskyy, who accused Moscow of creating a "humanitarian catastrophe".

He said Russia was preventing supplies from reaching surrounded cities in central and southeastern Ukraine.

But he warned the Kremlin strategy will fail and Moscow will lose in the long run if it does not end the war, as he appealed for President Vladimir Putin to meet him.

The Great Debate airs on Sky News at 9pm on Monday

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2022-03-19 17:15:00Z
1333000611

Biden and Xi fail to bridge differences over Ukraine war - Financial Times

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping failed to bridge their differences over the Ukraine war, with the US president warning of “consequences” if Beijing provided military aid to the Kremlin and China’s leader lashing out at “sweeping and indiscriminate sanctions” imposed on Russia by the west.

The presidents held a two-hour call on Friday, at the end of a week in which Washington raised fears that China would aid the struggling Russian military, which has seen its advance in Ukraine largely come to a halt in the face of fierce resistance.

The White House said Biden raised those concerns during the conversation, saying he “described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia”.

In Beijing’s account of the call, it said Xi criticised the economic punishment the US and its allies have imposed on Russia in response to the invasion, which could be extended to other countries, including China, if they side with Moscow.

“Sweeping and indiscriminate sanctions would only make the people suffer. If further escalated, they could trigger serious crises in global economy and trade, finance, energy, food and industrial and supply chains, crippling the already languishing world economy and causing irrevocable losses,” Xi said, according to the Chinese account.

Beijing said Xi asked Biden for a “cool-headed and rational” approach, stressed that “the Ukraine crisis is not something we want to see” and said the US and China “must shoulder our share of international responsibilities and work for world peace and tranquility”.

The call between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies was the latest diplomatic effort to end Russia’s war against its neighbour.

Biden offered a lengthy description of both the invasion and the western response in his call with Xi, according to US officials.

The Financial Times reported this week that Moscow had requested several categories of weapons, including drones, from Beijing.

US officials did not offer any details of the potential punishment for China following the call, or provide an assessment of whether Xi had already decided whether to support Russia.

But Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said the US had a “range of tools” at its disposal, including sanctions, and that the potential western response would probably be discussed when Biden travels to Europe next week for meetings with Nato, EU and G7 leaders.

“We will see . . . what decision China makes in the days and weeks ahead,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters, adding that the call was intended to ensure that Xi and Biden could have a “direct, candid, detailed and very substantive conservation”.

China has been Putin’s most important supporter, both in the run-up to the invasion and in the first weeks of the conflict.

Beijing has publicly claimed to have a neutral stance and has avoided describing the war as an “invasion”, referring instead to the Ukraine “issue” or “crisis”.

Beijing has also consistently blamed Nato and the EU for pressuring Putin ahead of the war. Chinese diplomats and state media have also repeated Russia’s disinformation reports that the US was using Ukraine to research dangerous biological weapons.

The Biden administration is also paying close attention to whether China helps Russia circumvent sanctions.

“The pressing priority is to keep the dialogue and negotiation going, avoid civilian casualties, prevent a humanitarian crisis, and cease hostilities as soon as possible,” Xi told Biden, according to Beijing’s account of their call.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called on Moscow to engage in “meaningful negotiations” in a video address early on Saturday morning, warning that a failure to do so would result in losses “so huge that several generations will not be enough to rebound”.

Zelensky made the comments hours after Vladimir Putin attended a massive rally in Moscow in support of the war. The Russian president vowed that the country would “realise all the plans we have set for ourselves” as he addressed a crowd that state media said exceeded 200,000 people in the stadium that hosted the 2018 World Cup final. Putin said Russia had invaded Ukraine to protect Russian speakers from “genocide”.

In an earlier call with Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, Putin accused Ukraine of “trying to drag out” settlement talks with “new unrealistic proposals”.

Putin has also shown little sign of letting up military pressure. Russia’s assault has reached the outskirts of Lviv, according to local authorities, in an attack that signalled Moscow’s willingness to expand its bombardment to the country’s west.

Andriy Sadovyy, the city’s mayor, said missiles had struck an area near the airport but that no casualties were reported. The Ukrainian air force said Russia had fired six cruise missiles at the area from the Black Sea, two of which were destroyed by anti-aircraft missiles.

Western officials say Putin’s forces have made little progress in capturing territory this week, as troops have been diverted to defend strained supply lines from what UK intelligence services described as “incessant Ukrainian counter-attacks”.

With Ukraine’s biggest cities still out of Russian control, Putin’s forces have increasingly relied on heavy weapons and missile attacks to grind down resistance and destroy swaths of civilian infrastructure. About 3.2mn Ukrainians have fled the country, representing roughly 7 per cent of the population.

Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, told Putin in a telephone call of his “extreme worry” over the city of Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of civilians remain besieged by Russian forces. Zelensky said 130 people had been rescued from the rubble of a bombed theatre in the city but hundreds more remained trapped and 9,000 people had been evacuated from the city on Friday.

Additional reporting by William Langley in Hong Kong

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2022-03-19 06:52:24Z
1338169323

Ukraine war: President Zelenskyy calls for 'substantial' peace talks - but Liz Truss warns Russia could use them as 'smokescreen' for war crimes - Sky News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for meaningful peace talks with Moscow - but UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has warned Russia could use them as a "smokescreen" for war crimes.

In a video address, Mr Zelenskyy said this was Russia's only chance to limit the damage from its mistakes in the wake of the invasion.

He said Ukraine has always offered solutions to resolve the conflict and urged Moscow to engage in negotiations on peace and security that are "fair, substantial and without delays".

US accuses Russia of preparing false flag attack - Ukraine war latest

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Mariupol reduced to a burned shell

Key developments:
• Biden tells China's Xi of 'consequences' if Beijing gives Russia material support for invasion
• Former PM David Cameron driving van to Poland with nappies and first aid kits for Ukrainian refugees
• Russian attempts to take Kyiv stall, says Ukrainian military
• Putin hails 'special operation' in Ukraine at massive celebration party

'The time has come'

"I want everyone to hear me now, especially in Moscow," he said.

More on Russia

"The time has come for a meeting, it is time to talk.

"The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine.

"Otherwise, Russia's losses will be such that it will take you several generations to recover."

Peace talks between the two sides have failed to yield a breakthrough in the past few weeks.

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Rescue from collapsed building in Kharkiv

Russia using peace talks as 'smokescreen'

But UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told The Times that she is concerned Russia is using the pretence of negotiations to cover up an attempt to regroup troops for a fresh offensive.

"The Russians have lied and lied and lied," she said.

"I fear the negotiation is yet another attempt to create a diversion and create a smokescreen from the appalling [atrocities]... I mean, if a country is serious about negotiations, it doesn't indiscriminately bomb civilians that day."

She said Ukraine is "fully entitled to undertake any negotiation process it sees fit" - but said she is "very sceptical" about the talks.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson offered his support yesterday for Ukraine's position in negotiations during a call with President Zelenskyy.

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A call for help under rubble

He also said he was "more convinced than ever" Russian President Vladimir Putin's military venture would fail, as he said he had pledged to send more defensive weapons to Ukraine.

In an interview with Sky's FYI programme, he also said Mr Putin sees himself as heir to the brutal Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, adding that his threat of using nuclear weapons is a "complete distraction" and part of a plot to "get away with it".

Putin fighting 'war of attrition'

Britain's chief of defence intelligence said Mr Putin had wrongly assumed that the conflict would be over quickly and was now fighting a "war of attrition".

Lieutenant General Sir Jim Hockenhull said the Kremlin still has not achieved any of its initial objectives, adding: "It has been surprised by the scale and ferocity of Ukrainian resistance and has been bedevilled by problems of its own making."

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'Putin's trying to kill us'

He said Russia has been forced to switch strategies, turning to the "reckless and indiscriminate" use of firepower which will result in more civilian casualties.

Western officials have warned that the Russians have "enormous" supplies of artillery ammunition which would allow them to continue bombarding Ukrainian cities for weeks.

More than two million medical items donated amid increased civilian casualties

Ukraine has said thousands of its civilians have died since the invasion began.

Mr Zelenskyy said there was no information about how many people had died after a theatre in Mariupol, where hundreds had been sheltering, was hit by an airstrike on Wednesday.

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Ukraine War: 'No where is safe'

He said more than 130 people have been rescued so far, some of them seriously injured.

The UK has also donated more than two million medical items to help Ukraine, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.

After Russia expanded its military strikes to Lviv in the west of the country on Friday, Britain dispatched a truck to the region carrying insulin injections and drugs critical for surgery.

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Mr Putin has continued to hail the country's "special operation" in Ukraine - this time at a rally marking the anniversary of the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Moscow's Luzhniki stadium, which hosted the World Cup final in 2018, was packed for the event, with patriot songs and crowds waving Russian flags, shouting: "Russia! Russia! Russia!"

The Great Debate airs on Sky News at 9pm on Monday

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2022-03-19 05:38:59Z
1310515787

Jumat, 18 Maret 2022

Biden and Xi fail to bridge differences over Ukraine war - Financial Times

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping failed to bridge their differences over the Ukraine war, with the US president warning of “consequences” if Beijing provided military aid to the Kremlin while China’s leader lashed out at “sweeping and indiscriminate sanctions” imposed on Russia by the west.

The diplomatic stand-off came during a two-hour call between the two leaders on Friday, held at the end of a week in which Washington raised fears that China would aid the struggling Russian military, which has seen its advance in Ukraine largely come to a halt in the face of fierce resistance.

The White House said Biden raised those concerns during the call, saying he “described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia”.

In Beijing’s account of the call, it said Xi criticised the economic punishment the US and its allies have imposed on Russia in response to the invasion, which could be extended to other countries, including China, if they side with Moscow.

“Sweeping and indiscriminate sanctions would only make the people suffer. If further escalated, they could trigger serious crises in global economy and trade, finance, energy, food and industrial and supply chains, crippling the already languishing world economy and causing irrevocable losses,” Xi said, according to the Chinese account.

Still, Beijing said Xi asked Biden for a “cool-headed and rational” approach to the conflict; stressed that “the Ukraine crisis is not something we want to see”; and said that the US and China “must shoulder our share of international responsibilities and work for world peace and tranquility”.

The call between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies was the latest diplomatic effort to end Russia’s war against its neighbour — and US officials said Biden offered a lengthy description of both the invasion and the western response.

The Financial Times reported this week that Moscow had requested several categories of weapons, including drones, from Beijing.

US officials did not offer any further details of the potential punishment for China following the call, or provide an assessment of whether Xi had already decided whether to support Russia.

But Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said the US had a “range of tools” at its disposal, including sanctions, and that the potential western response would probably be discussed when Biden travels to Europe next week to meet with Nato, EU and G7 leaders.

“We will see . . . what decision China makes in the days and weeks ahead,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters, adding that the call was intended to ensure that Xi and Biden could have a “direct, candid, detailed and very substantive conservation”.

China has been Putin’s most important supporter in both the run-up to the invasion and in the first weeks of the conflict. In Beijing’s account of the Biden call, Xi told the US president: “The pressing priority is to keep the dialogue and negotiation going, avoid civilian casualties, prevent a humanitarian crisis, and cease hostilities as soon as possible.”

As the two leaders spoke, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued on its 23rd day and Putin attended a massive rally at a stadium in Moscow in support of the war.

He vowed that Russia would “realise all the plans we have set for ourselves” as he addressed a crowd that state media said exceeded 200,000 people in the venue that hosted the 2018 World Cup final. He said Russia had invaded Ukraine to protect Russian speakers from “genocide”.

In a call on Friday with Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, Putin accused Ukraine of “trying to drag out” settlement talks with “new unrealistic proposals”.

While China publicly claims to have a neutral stance, the US is concerned that it is moving closer to supporting Russia with military equipment. Beijing has also avoided describing the war as an “invasion”, referring instead to the Ukraine “issue” or “crisis”.

Putin has shown little sign of letting up military pressure. Russia’s assault on Ukraine has now reached the outskirts of Lviv, according to local authorities, in an attack that signalled Moscow’s willingness to expand its bombardment to the country’s west.

Andriy Sadovyy, the city’s mayor, said missiles had struck an area near the airport but that no casualties were reported. The Ukrainian air force said Russia had fired six cruise missiles at the area from the Black Sea, two of which were destroyed by anti-aircraft missiles.

Western officials say Putin’s forces have made little progress in capturing territory this week, as troops have been diverted to defend strained supply lines from what UK intelligence services described as “incessant Ukrainian counter-attacks”.

With Ukraine’s biggest cities still out of Russian control, Putin’s forces have increasingly relied on heavy weapons and missile attacks to grind down resistance and destroy swaths of civilian infrastructure. About 3.2mn Ukrainians have fled the country, representing roughly 7 per cent of the population.

Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, told Putin in a telephone call on Friday afternoon of his “extreme worry” over the city of Mariupol where hundreds of thousands of civilians remain besieged by Russian forces. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said 130 people had been rescued from the rubble of a bombed theatre in the city but hundreds more remained trapped.

The Biden administration is paying close attention to whether China helps Russia circumvent the sanctions that the west has imposed on Putin and his regime.

Xi and Putin issued a statement last month in which the leaders described their growing partnership as having “no limits”.

China has called for talks between Kyiv and Moscow, and Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, signalled in early March that Beijing could play a role as a mediator after speaking with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

But Beijing has consistently blamed Nato and the EU for pressuring Putin ahead of the war. Chinese diplomats and state media have also repeated Russia’s disinformation reports that the US was using Ukraine to research dangerous biological weapons.

Additional reporting by William Langley in Hong Kong

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2022-03-18 20:50:22Z
1338169323

Biden and Xi fail to bridge differences over Ukraine war - Financial Times

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping failed to bridge their differences over the Ukraine war, with the US president warning of “consequences” if Beijing provided military aid to the Kremlin while China’s leader lashed out at “sweeping and indiscriminate sanctions” imposed on Russia by the west.

The diplomatic stand-off came during a two-hour call between the two leaders on Friday, held at the end of a week in which Washington raised fears that China would aid the struggling Russian military, which has seen its advance in Ukraine largely come to a halt in the face of fierce resistance.

The White House said Biden raised those concerns during the call, saying he “described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia”.

In Beijing’s account of the call, it said Xi criticised the economic punishment the US and its allies have imposed on Russia in response to the invasion, which could be extended to other countries, including China, if they side with Moscow.

“Sweeping and indiscriminate sanctions would only make the people suffer. If further escalated, they could trigger serious crises in global economy and trade, finance, energy, food and industrial and supply chains, crippling the already languishing world economy and causing irrevocable losses,” Xi said, according to the Chinese account.

Still, Beijing said Xi asked Biden for a “cool-headed and rational” approach to the conflict; stressed that “the Ukraine crisis is not something we want to see”; and said that the US and China “must shoulder our share of international responsibilities and work for world peace and tranquility”.

The call between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies was the latest diplomatic effort to end Russia’s war against its neighbour — and US officials said Biden offered a lengthy description of both the invasion and the western response.

The Financial Times reported this week that Moscow had requested several categories of weapons, including drones, from Beijing.

US officials did not offer any further details of the potential punishment for China following the call, or provide an assessment of whether Xi had already decided whether to support Russia.

But Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said the US had a “range of tools” at its disposal, including sanctions, and that the potential western response would probably be discussed when Biden travels to Europe next week to meet with Nato, EU and G7 leaders.

“We will see . . . what decision China makes in the days and weeks ahead,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters, adding that the call was intended to ensure that Xi and Biden could have a “direct, candid, detailed and very substantive conservation”.

China has been Putin’s most important supporter in both the run-up to the invasion and in the first weeks of the conflict. In Beijing’s account of the Biden call, Xi told the US president: “The pressing priority is to keep the dialogue and negotiation going, avoid civilian casualties, prevent a humanitarian crisis, and cease hostilities as soon as possible.”

As the two leaders spoke, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued on its 23rd day and Putin attended a massive rally at a stadium in Moscow in support of the war.

He vowed that Russia would “realise all the plans we have set for ourselves” as he addressed a crowd that state media said exceeded 200,000 people in the venue that hosted the 2018 World Cup final. He said Russia had invaded Ukraine to protect Russian speakers from “genocide”.

In a call on Friday with Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, Putin accused Ukraine of “trying to drag out” settlement talks with “new unrealistic proposals”.

While China publicly claims to have a neutral stance, the US is concerned that it is moving closer to supporting Russia with military equipment. Beijing has also avoided describing the war as an “invasion”, referring instead to the Ukraine “issue” or “crisis”.

Putin has shown little sign of letting up military pressure. Russia’s assault on Ukraine has now reached the outskirts of Lviv, according to local authorities, in an attack that signalled Moscow’s willingness to expand its bombardment to the country’s west.

Andriy Sadovyy, the city’s mayor, said missiles had struck an area near the airport but that no casualties were reported. The Ukrainian air force said Russia had fired six cruise missiles at the area from the Black Sea, two of which were destroyed by anti-aircraft missiles.

Western officials say Putin’s forces have made little progress in capturing territory this week, as troops have been diverted to defend strained supply lines from what UK intelligence services described as “incessant Ukrainian counter-attacks”.

With Ukraine’s biggest cities still out of Russian control, Putin’s forces have increasingly relied on heavy weapons and missile attacks to grind down resistance and destroy swaths of civilian infrastructure. About 3.2mn Ukrainians have fled the country, representing roughly 7 per cent of the population.

Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, told Putin in a telephone call on Friday afternoon of his “extreme worry” over the city of Mariupol where hundreds of thousands of civilians remain besieged by Russian forces. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said 130 people had been rescued from the rubble of a bombed theatre in the city but hundreds more remained trapped.

The Biden administration is paying close attention to whether China helps Russia circumvent the sanctions that the west has imposed on Putin and his regime.

Xi and Putin issued a statement last month in which the leaders described their growing partnership as having “no limits”.

China has called for talks between Kyiv and Moscow, and Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, signalled in early March that Beijing could play a role as a mediator after speaking with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

But Beijing has consistently blamed Nato and the EU for pressuring Putin ahead of the war. Chinese diplomats and state media have also repeated Russia’s disinformation reports that the US was using Ukraine to research dangerous biological weapons.

Additional reporting by William Langley in Hong Kong

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2022-03-18 19:41:48Z
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Ukraine war: Cruise missiles used to destroy building near airport in Lviv, military says - Sky News

Several missiles have struck and destroyed a building near the airport in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, according to the city's mayor.

Ukraine's military said the aircraft repair plant was struck by cruise missiles fired from the direction of the Black Sea, which it said were likely Kh-555 weapons launched from heavy strategic bombers.

The plant was not in operation at the time of the strike and there were no casualties after at least three blasts, mayor Andriy Sadovy said.

Similar long-range cruise missiles are thought to have been used in an airstrike on Yavoriv military base in western Ukraine on Sunday.

Sky's Alistair Bunkall in Lviv said air raid sirens went off at 6.15am and he heard around three to four explosions 15 minutes later "just as the city was waking up, just as the curfew had lifted".

Ukraine map

Key developments
• Air raid sirens heard in port city of Odesa
Russian ambassador to UN denies Putin's forces bombed Mariupol theatre
• US President Joe Biden to warn Chinese President Xi Jinping against backing Russia in phone call
• Turkey offers to host talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• More than 150,000 British people register interest in housing refugees as Homes for Ukraine scheme launches

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'This is a war against civilians'

Kyiv mayor: 'It is a war against civilians'

More on Russia

Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said Russian shelling in the district of Podil hit a school and pre-school which were luckily not occupied at the time, adding that the morning's attack was another example this is "a war against civilians".

"I don't see any military people here. It's no military base, just apartments," he told reporters in one of the many residential areas in the capital destroyed by unrelenting Russian attacks.

He pointed to other cities such as Mariupol, Kharkiv and Chernihiv facing similar heavy Russian bombardment in civilian areas.

Asked by Sky's Alex Crawford if he thought it was a mistake or if he believed civilians are being deliberately targeted, he replied: "How many civilians have to be killed?... We have to stop the war, the killing of people, of children."

He said 19 people had been taken to hospital, including four children, following Friday's attack, and one person had died.

Crews battle a fire at the Barabashova market in Kharkiv, Ukraine
Image: Crews battle a fire at the Barabashova market in Kharkiv, Ukraine
Buildings set ablaze by Russian shelling in Kyiv
Image: Buildings set ablaze by Russian shelling in Kyiv

Russian forces 'tightening the noose' around Mariupol

Russia's defence ministry said on Friday that separatists in eastern Ukraine with help from Russian armed forces were "tightening the noose" around the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Rescuers have been digging survivors out of the rubble of a theatre which was bombed in a Russian airstrike in the besieged city - which Moscow has denied attacking.

Up to 1,000 men, women and children were thought to have been sheltering in the theatre's basement for safety after their homes were destroyed during the invasion - and the word "children" had reportedly been displayed in large letters at the site, prior to the attack, warning warplanes to those inside.

Britain's Armed Forces minister James Heappey told Sky News there are concerns about the "barbaric tactics" being used by the Russians.

"The evidence that is being gathered points very much to war crimes and the culpability lies with the leader of the Russian government - the man who decided to do this in the first place," he said.

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Devastation in Mariupol

Ukrainian forces continue to 'frustrate' Russians - UK MoD

Russian forces "have made minimal progress this week", the UK's Ministry of Defence said in its latest update on the war in Ukraine.

"Ukrainian forces around Kyiv and Mykolaiv continue to frustrate Russian attempts to encircle the cities. The cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol remain encircled and subject to heavy Russian shelling.

"The UN now states that the number of refugees fleeing the conflict in Ukraine has already surpassed 3.2 million. This number will continue to rise as a result of ongoing Russian aggression."

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Russia 'indiscriminately' attacking city

Warning 'Putin cannot accept defeat'

General Sir Richard Shirreff, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, warned "Putin cannot accept defeat" and therefore "in typical KGB-style, if he's facing trouble in one direction he could cause even greater trouble in another".

He told Sky News: "What we have seen is an extraordinarily brave, tenacious, courageous Ukrainian defence - fired by the spirit to defend their country. They have been well-supported by the West with anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft missiles and the like, and they are showing they can use them.

"But we've also seen extraordinary incompetence and lack of professionalism by the Russian armed forces. They spread their forces too thin, they've failed to support them logistically - they have forgotten that fundamental maxim of war that 'amateurs talk tactics and professionals talk logistics'. Morale by all accounts among the Russian soldiers is absolutely rock bottom. They were expecting to be greeted by flag-waving crowds and they have been greeted by ferocious defence."

Asked where Russian President Vladimir Putin's focus may move to next, Sir Richard replied: "We must be absolutely on our guard, for example, a chemical attack, quite potentially the use of tactical nuclear, and quite potentially some sort of attack against NATO territory."

"All bets should be on the table. We should be very clear about what might happen and take the necessary measures to guard against it," he said, adding the ramping up of NATO troops on the eastern flank as a deterrent force should continue.

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2022-03-18 07:59:49Z
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