President Volodymyr Zelensky has shut down suggestions that Ukraine should cede control of territory and make concessions to end the war with Russia, comparing the idea to attempts to appease Nazi Germany in 1938.
The refusal to give up territory in areas occupied by Russian forces comes as Ukrainian troops face a renewed offensive in two eastern regions that Russian-speaking separatists seized part of in 2014.
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger this week suggested at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Ukraine should let Russia keep Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
While the New York Times editorial board said on May 19 in order for negotiated peace to occur, Kyiv might need to make some hard decisions, given that a decisive military victory was not realistic.
“It seems that Mr Kissinger’s calendar is not 2022, but 1938, and he thought he was talking to an audience not in Davos, but in Munich of that time,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Wednesday.
“Perhaps The New York Times in 1938 also wrote something similar. But now, let me remind you, it is 2022.
“Those who advise Ukraine to give something to Russia, these ‘great geopolitical figures’, never see ordinary people, ordinary Ukrainians, millions living on the territory they are proposing to exchange for an illusory peace.”
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05:31 AM
Russia’s VDV failures reflect ‘strategic mismanagement’
The misemployment of Russia’s airborne forces – the VDV – in Ukraine shows how Vladimir Putin’s significant investment in the armed forces over the past 15 years has “resulted in an unbalanced overall force”, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said.
The VDV has been heavily involved in several notable tactical failures since the start of Russia’s invasion, including the attempted advance on Kyiv via Hostomel Airfield in March, the stalled progress on the Izium axis since April, and the recent failed and costly crossings of the Siverskyi Donets River.
The 45,000-strong VDV is mostly comprised of professional contract soldiers, with its members enjoying elite status and attracting additional pay.
“The VDV has been employed on missions better suited to heavier armoured infantry and has sustained heavy casualties during the campaign,” the ministry said.
“Its mixed performance likely reflects a strategic mismanagement of this capability and Russia’s failure to secure air superiority.”
05:17 AM
G7 scrambles to keep climate agenda on track amid Ukraine war
Ministers from around the world are set to wrangle over how to keep climate change goals on track as they meet in Berlin on Thursday for talks amid spiralling energy costs and fuel supply concerns sparked by the war.
Energy, climate and environment ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) countries want to reaffirm a commitment to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius and protect biodiversity at the May 25-27 meeting.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered a scramble among some countries to buy more non-Russian fossil fuels and burn coal to cut their reliance on Russian supplies, raising fears the energy crisis triggered by the war could undermine efforts to fight climate change.
Campaigners urged the ministers of the G7 to make clear commitments that the fallout of the Ukraine war would not derail their targets.
“We have a new reality now. The G7 need to respond to that, and they should respond through renewables, and not through fossil fuel infrastructure,” David Ryfisch, climate policy expert at non-profit Germanwatch, said.
02:55 AM
Five civilians killed, 12 injured in Donbas shelling
Russian forces have shelled more than 40 towns in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, killing five civilians and injuring 12, Ukraine’s military said.
The bombardment threatens to shut off the last main escape route for civilians trapped in the path of the invasion, which continues into its fourth month.
Russia has poured thousands of troops into the Donbas region, attacking from three sides in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian forces holding out in the city of Sievierodonetsk and its twin Lysychansk.
“The occupiers shelled more than 40 towns in Donetsk and Luhansk region, destroying or damaging 47 civilian sites, including 38 homes and a school,” the Joint Task Force of Ukraine’s armed forces said on Facebook.
The statement said 10 enemy attacks were repelled, four tanks and four drones destroyed, and 62 “enemy soldiers” were killed.
01:51 AM
Battle for Donbas shows Russia has finally got its act together
Russia looking poised to close the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the battle for the northern half of the Donbas should not come as a surprise.
The surprise is that it has taken this long for a once-upon-a-superpower to get its act together.
Following the unceremonious ejection of his forces from the north of the country, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, tried to convince the world his main objective all along had been the “liberation” of Russian-speaking people in the Donbas. Few were convinced.
01:17 AM
Hundreds of families get answers on fate of loved ones
The International Committee of the Red Cross has been able to give answers to 300 families in Russia and Ukraine about the fate of their loved ones.
ICRC Director-General Robert Mardini said the organisation’s work trying to determine the fate of missing persons was “very much on track”.
He did not disclose the fate of the Russians and Ukrainians, but said their families had provided “very concrete questions about their loved ones”.
Progress has also been made on the right of the ICRC to visit prisoners of war, which is part of the Geneva conventions.
“There is agreement on both sides … which is good news,” Mr Mardini said.
12:33 AM
Liz Truss: Vladimir Putin must be defeated, not appeased
Liz Truss will on Thursday warn against appeasing Vladimir Putin and tell Western allies there can be no backsliding in ensuring Russia is defeated in its war against Ukraine.
The Foreign Secretary will demand more weapons for Kyiv and more sanctions against Moscow in a speech to Bosnia and Herzegovina armed forces in Sarajevo’s Army Hall.
“Russia’s aggression cannot be appeased. It must be met with strength,” Ms Truss will say.
“We must not allow a prolonged and increasingly painful conflict to develop in Ukraine.”
12:29 AM
Fighting outside Severodonetsk ‘very difficult’
Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday described the fighting outside of the industrial city of Severodonetsk, a key military goal for Russia, as “very difficult,” as Russian troops shelled the city from the outskirts with mortars.
“The coming week will be decisive,” Mr Gaiday said in a video posted on Telegram.
He said he believes Russia’s goal is to “capture the Lugansk region no matter what cost”.
“There is a colossal amount of shelling,” he added.
12:20 AM
Today’s top stories
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Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces reached the limits of the key eastern city of Severodonetsk, as the governor of the region described the combat as “very difficult”
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President Volodymyr Zelensky is strongly rebuffing those in the West who suggest Ukraine cede control of areas occupied by Russia
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Liz Truss will on Thursday warn against appeasing Vladimir Putin
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Russian troops are outnumbering Ukraine’s forces by seven to one across the eastern Donbas region, it was warned, as pockets of resistance fought to keep their grip on the last Ukrainian-held cities
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Vladimir Putin signed a decree simplifying the process for residents of Ukraine’s occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to acquire Russian citizenship and passports
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Russia’s parliament also approved a law removing the upper age limit for contractual service in the military amid heavy casualties
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Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Nato of “doing literally nothing” in the face of the Russian invasion, while praising the EU for its “revolutionary” decisions to back Kyiv