Vladimir Putin has urged Russia’s FSB security service to step up its efforts to counter what he described as growing espionage and sabotage operations against Russia by Ukraine and the West.
Speaking to FSB officials on Tuesday, the Russian president said Western intelligence agencies “have thrown additional personnel, technical and other resources against us. We need to respond accordingly”.
Mr Putin said the agency had to stop “sabotage groups” entering Russia from Ukraine, step up protection of key infrastructure, and prevent any attempts by Western security services to revive what he called terrorist or extremist cells on Russian territory.
He instructed the FSB to prevent illegal weapons flows into Russia, and to strengthen security in four regions of Ukraine that Moscow has partially seized and claimed as part of its own territory.
02:36 PMUS to target Chinese companies if Beijing provides lethal aid to Russia, says Blinken
Washington will not hesitate to target Chinese companies and individuals with sanctions if Beijing violate US sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war, Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State said on Tuesday.
If China provides lethal aid to Moscow for the conflict, it will be a serious problem for Beijing in its relationship with countries around the world, Mr Blinken told reporters during a trip to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
02:14 PMPictured: A resident smokes near a buildings damaged by a Russian military strike
China has “very clearly” taken Russia’s side in the Ukraine war by providing diplomatic, political and economic support, the US department of state spokesperson Ned Price said.
He told a news briefing: “There are countries around the world that, if they sought to bring this war to an end, would have a significant amount of leverage with the Russian Federation, with other key countries. The People’s Republic of China [PRC] certainly falls within that category.
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“But to date, at least, despite the PRC’s protests to the contrary, we have seen them very clearly take a side in this war.”
It comes as Mao Ning , the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Monday: “The U.S. has no right to point fingers at China-Russia relations. We will by no means accept the US pressure and coercion.”
01:09 PMListen to Ukraine: the latestThis content is not available due to your privacy preferences.Update your settings here to see it.12:47 PMPutin tells FSB to step up anti-terrorist and intelligence activity
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has told the FSB security agency on Tuesday to step up its activity to counter operations against Russia by Ukraine and the West.
In a speech to FSB officials, Putin said the agency must stop “sabotage groups” entering Russia from Ukraine, step up protection of key infrastructure, and prevent any attempts by Western security services to revive what he called terrorist cells on Russian territory.
12:05 PMKremlin: Russia open to Ukraine talks, but won’t give up annexed regions
The Kremlin has repeated its position that Russia was open to negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict, but that new “territorial realities” could not be ignored.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told reporters Russia would never renounce its claims to four Ukrainian regions that Moscow declared it had annexed last year following referendums that Kyiv and the West slammed as bogus and illegal.
“There are certain realities that have already become an internal factor. I mean the new territories. The constitution of the Russian Federation exists, and cannot be ignored. Russia will never be able to compromise on this, these are important realities,” Mr Peskov said on Tuesday.
Russia proclaimed it had annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions last September in a grand ceremony in Moscow.
11:46 AMRussian defence ministry statement on alleged Ukranian drone attack
In a statement, the Russian defence ministry said:
“The Kyiv regime attempted to use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to attack civilian infrastructure in the Krasnodar region and the Adygea Republic. The UAVs were neutralised by electronic warfare units.”
Moscow said its forces downed two Ukrainian drones that had targeted civilian infrastructure in southern Russia, the latest in a series of drone incidents inside Russia that Moscow blamed on Kyiv.
11:24 AMPictured: A Ukrainian infantryman attends on his position on the frontline with Russian troops near Ugledar, Donetsk
Russia’s defence ministry said that Ukraine had launched attempted drone attacks against two southern Russian regions overnight.
The defence ministry said the attacks – in the southern Krasnodar and Adygea regions – had been suppressed and failed to inflict any damage.
10:54 AMZelensky: ‘Ukraine has always been Europe’This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.Update your settings here to see it.10:39 AMUkraine will join NATO but in ‘long- term’, says Stoltenberg
Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance in the “long-term”, but stressed that the immediate issue is it remaining an independent nation in the face of Russia’s invasion.
“Nato allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member of our alliance, but at the same time that is a long-term perspective,” Stoltenberg told reporters during a visit to Finland’s capital Helsinki.
10:13 AMFrance spent 630 million euros hosting Ukrainian refugees in 2022
France spent more than 630 million euros last year hosting almost 115,000 refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country’s top audit body said Tuesday.
The state auditor, the Cour des Comptes, said in a report that Ukrainians seeking shelter had enjoyed “satisfactory” conditions under a never-before-seen “temporary protection” scheme in 2022.
The scheme has allowed them access to rights denied to other asylum seekers, including the ability to work, health services, schooling for children and emergency accommodation.
Costs for the comparatively generous programme reached 634 million euros ($673 million), with most spent on housing (250 million euros) and cash payouts (220 million euros).
Per person, Paris spent around twice as much on Ukrainian refugees as on “classic asylum seekers”, the auditor found.
09:34 AMBelarus President Lukashenko to arrive in Beijing for talks with Xi
Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian President, will arrive in Beijing on Tuesday, kicking off a three-day trip in which he will meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The state visit by Lukashenko – a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin – comes after Beijing released a position paper on Russia’s war in Ukraine insisting it is a neutral party and calling for dialogue between the two sides.
It also follows allegations by the United States and Nato that Beijing could be mulling sending arms to Russia as the conflict enters its second year. China has strenuously denied the claims.
Ahead of Lukashenko’s visit, Beijing hailed its “all-weather and comprehensive” strategic partnership with Minsk.
09:24 AMPictured: Destroyed armored vehicles sit on the bank of the Siverskiy-Donets river
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday vowed US support for Kazakhstan’s independence as he sought greater engagement in Central Asia, where traditional alliances with Russia have been rattled by the Ukraine invasion.
Blinken will also visit Uzbekistan and meet foreign ministers of all five former Soviet republics of Central Asia on his first trip to the region where neighbouring China also plays a key role.
“As you know well, the United States strongly supports Kazakhstan’s sovereignty, its independence, its territorial integrity,” Blinken said in talks at the foreign ministry in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana.
“Sometimes we just say those words and they actually have no meaning. And of course, in this particular time, they have even more resonance than usual,” Blinken said, referring to Russia’s assault on Ukraine a year ago.
08:49 AMPutin’s £274m spy plane blown up by Belarusian partisans
A Russian spy plane worth £274 million has been severely damaged by partisans in Belarus.
The A-50 aircraft, which is used to identify and track targets for military operations, was rendered non-operational after local resistance members used drones to drop explosives on it, according to reports.
The Belarusian regime has let its airfields and land be used by Moscow to stage attacks on Ukraine.
Read the full story from Nataliya Vasilyeva here
08:37 AMRheinmetall to supply Ukraine with automated reconnaissance systems
Germany’s Rheinmetall has won an order in the double-digit million-euro range to supply Ukraine with automated reconnaissance systems, the industrial group said in a statement on Tuesday.
Rheinmetall is cooperating with the Estonian company DefSecIntel to provide the SurveilSPIRE systems, which consist of mobile surveillance towers with day and night-capable camera equipment, autopiloted mini drones and a control system.
Delivery has already commenced, the company added.
08:16 AMLatest MoD updateThis content is not available due to your privacy preferences.Update your settings here to see it.07:52 AMUkraine in pictures:
Ukraine’s head of military intelligence has brushed aside claims that China is considering furnishing arms to Russia, telling US media that he saw no “signs that such things are even being discussed”.
Senior US officials have said as recently as Sunday that they were “confident” China was considering providing lethal equipment to Moscow, with a diplomatic pressure campaign underway to discourage it from doing so.
But when asked about the possibility in a lengthy interview with Voice of America published on Monday, Kyrylo Budanov, Ukrainian military intelligence chief, said: “I do not share this opinion.”
“As of now, I do not think that China will agree to the transfer of weapons to Russia,” he said. “I do not see any signs that such things are even being discussed.”
Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken aired Washington’s concerns about potential arms shipments in a tense meeting with his Chinese counterpart, and the director of the CIA said in an interview on Sunday that he believed Beijing was still weighing the possibility.
07:46 AM’Extremely tense’ situation in Bakhmut
The situation in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was “extremely tense” on Tuesday, the commander of Ukrainian ground forces said, as Russian troops besieging it stepped up their assault in a bid to encircle it.
Russia is trying to cut the Ukrainian defenders’ supply lines to the city, the scene of some of the war’s toughest fighting, and force them to surrender or withdraw. That would give Russia its first major prize in more than half a year and open the way to the capture of the last remaining urban centres in the Donetsk region.
“Despite significant losses, the enemy threw in the most prepared assault units of Wagner, who are trying to break through the defences of our troops and surround the city,” Ukraine’s Colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi was quoted as saying on a military messaging platform.
Ukraine’s military said earlier Russia had strengthened its forces in the Bakhmut area and was shelling settlements around the city.
“Over the past day, our soldiers repelled more than 60 enemy attacks,” the military said early on Tuesday referring to Bakhmut and nearby eastern areas, adding that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks on the villages of Yadhidne and Berkhivka, on the northern approaches to Bakhmut.
07:44 AMGood Morning
Good morning and welcome to today’s Ukraine liveblog.
We will be guiding you through all the latest developments on Ukraine.