WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
War in Ukraine drags into second year
The war in Ukraine entered its second year with no end in sight and Russia isolated at the United Nations in a vote demanding its forces withdraw, while G7 leaders are set to coordinate more support for Ukraine on Friday.
As fighting raged on in Ukraine's east and south, Kyiv's allies around the world showed their support on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion on Feb. 24.
Paris lit up the Eiffel Tower in the Ukrainian flag colours of blue and yellow and people draped in Ukrainian flags gathered at a vigil in London. In Brussels, European Union buildings were similarly lit up in those colours.
The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution on Thursday marking the war's anniversary and demanding Moscow pull out and stop fighting.
There were 141 votes in favour and 32 abstentions. Six countries joined Russia to vote no - Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua and Syria. Russia's close ally China abstained on the U.N. vote.
Russia's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy dismissed the action at the United Nations as "useless".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted on Twitter: "This resolution is a powerful signal of unflagging global support for Ukraine".
On the battlefield, the Ukraine military reported increased Russian activity in the east and south as the anniversary approached, with at least 25 towns and villages in three northern regions along the Russian border under fire.
Reuters was not able to verify battlefield reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year to seize Kyiv quickly and topple the pro-European government, but those hopes were dashed by a fierce defence and military blunders that embarrassed Moscow.
Ukraine had success with counter-offensives in late 2022 to grab back much of the territory it lost early on. Russia now controls around a fifth of Ukraine.
TRENCH WARFARE
The war, which Moscow calls a "special military operation" to protect Russian sovereignty, has settled into attritional trench warfare, with rising losses on both sides, particularly this year in fighting in and around the eastern town of Bakhmut.
Some U.S. and Western officials estimate Russia's casualties at nearly 200,000 dead or wounded, while in November the top U.S. general said more than 100,000 troops on each side had been killed or wounded.
It is impossible to independently verify casualties in what has become the worst conflict in Europe since World War Two.
Millions of Ukrainians have fled their country and tens of thousands of civilians have been killed.
The village of Bucha in the north near Kyiv, where mass graves were discovered, and the bombed out southern city of Mariupol became symbols of what Ukraine and its allies described as Russian brutality.
Kyiv and the West have accused Russia of war crimes, but Moscow denies targeting civilians.
Far from the military campaigns on the frontlines of Ukraine, the war has damaged the world economy and a Cold War chill has set into international relations, with Putin raising the spectre of nuclear weapons.
With Putin signalling a desire to double down on a conflict that prompted tough Western sanctions against Russia, and Zelenskiy insisting on his country's sovereignty and Moscow's withdrawal, the prospects of peace appear bleak.
"We don't know when the war will end. But what we do know is that when the war ends, we need to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters on Thursday.
"We need to ensure that we break the cycle of Russian aggression. We need to prevent Russia from chipping away at European security," he said.
SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet virtually on Friday with G7 leaders and Zelenskiy to mark the anniversary and announce new sanctions against those aiding Russia's war effort, the White House said.
"We must do everything to make sure they produce results for Ukraine, ones that are truly significant and not just symbolic, given that it is Feb. 24, but also in terms of real value for our defence," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
Washington has said China is considering providing weapons for Russia's war in Ukraine, a move that could intensify the conflict into a confrontation between Russia and China on one side and Ukraine and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance on the other.
Beijing's top diplomat visited Moscow this week and pledged a deeper relationship between the countries and Putin on Thursday hailed "new frontiers" in ties with Beijing and signalled China's leader Xi Jinping would visit.
Xi is expected to deliver a "peace speech" on Friday, though some analysts have cast doubt on whether Beijing's efforts to act as peacemaker will go beyond rhetoric.
Reflecting the Kremlin's increasingly hawkish narrative, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Thursday cast it as an existential fight against a hostile West.
Ukraine and its allies say the invasion is an unjustified land grab aimed at subjugating a sovereign state.
Further ratcheting up tensions, Putin announced plans on Thursday to deploy new Sarmat multi-warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles this year. Earlier this week, he suspended Russia's participation with the United States in the New START, or Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, on nuclear arms control.
Russia's military focus after a year of fighting is now on seizing the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which together form the strategic industrial area known as the Donbas near the Russian border.
Close to a Ukrainian tank park near Bakhmut, which has become Russia's main target, constant explosions could be heard echoing in the distance on Thursday.
"If we give up Bakhmut, everything else will get even more complicated. We can't give it up, under any circumstance. We will hold through," Junior Sergeant Oleh Slavin, a tank operator, told Reuters.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Russia-China trade to hit $200 billion target early – Putin
Trade between Russia and China soared last year and the $200 billion turnover goal set by Moscow and Beijing for 2024 could be achieved earlier than expected, President Vladimir Putin stated on Wednesday. The Russian leader was speaking at a meeting in Moscow with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi.
“We set a goal of reaching the level [of trade turnover] of $200 billion in 2024. Last year, it was already $185 billion, there is every reason to believe that we will reach our goals in terms of trade turnover, maybe even earlier than we planned,” Putin said, adding that the expansion of mutual trade is important for both countries.
“I would like to note that Russian-Chinese relations are developing the way we planned in previous years. Everything is progressing, developing. We are reaching new milestones,” the Russian leader stated.
Last year, trade turnover between the two nations grew by nearly a third. According to data from China’s Customs Administration, the country exported $76.1 billion worth of goods to Russia in 2022, an increase of 12.8% compared to the previous year, while shipments from Russia to China surged by 43.4% to $114.1 billion.
The figures also showed that Russia was the leader among China’s 20 largest partners in terms of trade growth in 2022. China has been competing with India as Russia’s biggest buyer of oil, and has overtaken the EU as the top importer of Russian agricultural products.
Wang asserted that relations between Moscow and Beijing are strong and are successfully withstanding outside pressure, while noting that crises had offered opportunities to both.
“Our relations are not aimed at third countries, are not subject to pressure from third parties. We have a strong foundation in the economy, politics, and culture… Together we support multi-polarity and democratization in international relations,” the diplomat said. Wang added that China is ready to strengthen strategic cooperation with Russia in any spheres that the two nations deem necessary.
** Future belongs to Russia — Putin
The future, like the truth, belongs to Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a conversation with combat veterans on Defender of the Fatherland Day on Thursday.
"I see a group of young men standing behind us. When I delivered address to the Federal Assembly the day before yesterday, my final remarks were that the truth belongs to us. But looking at those guys I want to add - the future, without a doubt, also belongs to us," the president said.
"It is a sacred duty of the state to take care of those who defend the nation," Putin pointed out during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
** Russian forces wipe out six Ukrainian ammo depots
Russian forces destroyed six Ukrainian ammunition depots in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Thursday.
"Six ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army were destroyed in areas near the settlements of Razdolnoye, Bogatyr, Ugledar, Razliv and Vodyanoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and the railway station Uglesborochnaya," the spokesman said.
** Russian forces struck Ukrainian manpower in the Kupyansk area, eliminating over 50 enemy troops in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kupyansk area, army aviation and artillery of the western battlegroup inflicted damage on the enemy manpower in areas near the settlements of Krakhmalnoye, Peschanoye and Berestovoye in the Kharkov Region and Novosyolovskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
The strikes eliminated enemy manpower and equipment, the general said.
"The enemy’s losses in that area amounted to 55 personnel, two pickup trucks and a D-20 howitzer," Konashenkov reported.
** Russian forces inflicted damage on Ukrainian manpower and equipment in the Krasny Liman area, eliminating roughly 85 enemy troops over the past day, he said.
"In the Krasny Liman area, active operations by units of the battlegroup Center, air strikes, artillery and heavy flamethrower fire inflicted damage on the Ukrainian army personnel and equipment in areas near the settlements of Yampolovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Stelmakhovka and Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
Russian forces eliminated enemy manpower and equipment during the battles, the general said.
"About 85 Ukrainian personnel, an infantry combat vehicle, two armored combat vehicles, a Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer and a D-30 howitzer were destroyed in that area in the past 24 hours," Konashenkov reported.
** Russian forces eliminated over 210 Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk area in the past day, the general said.
"In the Donetsk area, over 210 Ukrainian personnel, six armored combat vehicles, four motor vehicles, a Grad multiple rocket launcher and a D-20 howitzer were destroyed in the past 24 hours as a result of offensive operations by assault volunteer teams with the support of units of the Pskov Airborne Force formation and strikes by aircraft and artillery of the southern battlegroup," the spokesman said.
In the area of the community of Avdeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, a Ukrainian ammunition depot was obliterated, the general added.
** Russian forces eliminated over 100 Ukrainian troops in the southern Donetsk area in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the southern Donetsk area, operational/tactical aircraft and artillery of the battlegroup East delivered a massive strike on the Ukrainian army units in areas near the settlements of Vodyanoye, Ugledar and Dobrovolye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and the railway station Uglesborochnaya. The enemy’s losses in that area in the past 24 hours totaled 105 Ukrainian personnel," the spokesman said.
Russian forces also destroyed a Ukrainian tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, three armored combat vehicles and also Msta-B, D-20 and D-30 howitzers, the general specified.
Russian forces destroyed two Ukrainian Msta-B howitzers and a D-30 howitzer in the Kherson area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kherson area, two Msta-B howitzers and a D-30 howitzer were destroyed in counter-battery fire," the spokesman said.
** Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian air defense radar in the Donetsk People’s Republic over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the area of the settlement of Krasnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, a 35D6 low-altitude air target detection radar was destroyed," the spokesman said.
Missile troops and artillery of the Russian group of forces struck 97 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions and also "manpower and equipment in 128 areas" in the past day, the general said.
** Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 ground attack aircraft in the Kherson Region and destroyed nine enemy drones over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"Air defense capabilities shot down a Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 plane near the settlement of Kizomys in the Kherson Region. In addition, nine unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed in the past 24 hours," the spokesman said.
In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 387 Ukrainian combat aircraft, 210 helicopters, 3,222 unmanned aerial vehicles, 405 surface-to-air missile systems, 7,994 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,038 multiple rocket launchers, 4,189 field artillery guns and mortars and 8,501 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov reported.
Reuters/RT/TASS
