Proof of the unity of the European heads of state and government in Munich for the security conference with a focus on Ukraine. “We are the free world. We have to win against Goliath,” Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said via video link. “Anyone who can send tanks to Ukraine should do so now,” Federal Chancellor Olaf Schoz demanded that the countries that had announced it in Kiev and are now hesitating deliver the Leopards.
“This is not the time for a dialogue with Putin, we are ready to make an effort, but we are also ready for a longer war,” said French President Macron, who said he did not believe in Putin’s fall. Also in Munich were NATO Secretary Stoltenberg and Chinese Communist Party chief of diplomacy Wang Yi, who met Minister Tajani and President Mattarella in Rome. Meanwhile, the Russian government has summoned the Italian ambassador to Moscow, laments the “discrimination against Russian artists” and criticizes the “constant deliveries of weapons and military equipment to the Kiev regime.”
However, the decision of the European People’s Party to “cancel the study days planned in Naples after Silvio Berlusconi’s comments on Ukraine” caused discussions, as EPP Group leader Manfred Weber explained. And another political controversy about Berlusconi is served. He replies: “I only asked to open a table for peace”.
The war in Ukraine, global tensions: what is there to know?
file – War tracks
Live news from the Ukraine-Russia conflict
02:34
Harris meets Macron: Born stronger than ever
“It was nice to meet President Macron again today. Our commitment to Ukraine continues and NATO remains as strong as ever,” US Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on Twitter after meeting the French President on the sidelines of the Monaco Security Conference.
02:29
Sunak: “Double military support”
While our joint efforts are making a difference on the ground, “now is the time to redouble support for Kiev’s armed forces,” Sunak said in anticipation of his speech in Munich. “When Putin started this war, he bet that our resolve would fail. Even now he’s betting that we won’t have the nerve – adds Sunak –. But then we proved him wrong and we will prove it again.” It is not only the fate of Ukraine that is at stake. “The stakes in this war are even greater than the security and sovereignty of any nation, it is about the security and sovereignty of any nation – Sunak stresses – because Russia’s invasion, its heinous war crimes and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric are symptomatic of a greater threat to everything we believe in.”
02:24
Sunak today in Munich: NATO changes the guarantee agreement for Kiev
Britain proposes an amendment to the NATO Atlantic Treaty to protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression and guarantees Kiev “long-term” support. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirms this in his speech, which is planned for today at the Munich Security Conference, as a note from Downing Street anticipates. “We must show that we stand by their side, willing and able to help them defend their country time and time again,” the prime minister added. Sunak also appealed to allied countries to “double” military support to Kiev.
Interview with Ben Wallace, British Defense Secretary: “Ukraine must attack, stalemate favors Russia. Jet to Kyiv? Not now”
by Antonello Guerrera February 09, 2023
(handle) 01:12
Wagner: “Conquered strategic village north of Bachmut”
Russian Wagner militiamen have “completely taken under their control” the settlement of Paraskovievka, located immediately north of Bakhmut on the M-03 highway, the only major supply route left so far for the remaining Ukrainian troops to defend the city . This was stated by the head of the private militia Yevgeny Prigozhin in a statement published by his press service.
01:01
Kiev: Iranian instructors in Lugansk for training with new drones
“Another team of instructors from Iran has recently arrived in Lugansk to train the Russian army in the use of drones,” Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Facebook, explaining that the Russian army had recently started to conduct missile and drone launches over the Ukraine to calculate positions of Ukrainian air defense. “In addition, the Russians have recently begun to use modified drones – the new warheads have a radial cumulative effect.” According to Ukrainian media, “in addition to the more well-known Shahed 131 and 136 drones, ie attack drones capable of firing air-to-surface missiles and dropping bombs, Iran has secretly transferred advanced bomber drones to Russia.”
The drone films the anti-aircraft missiles trying to shoot them down
00:49
USA: Biden-Meloni call next week
Joe Biden is set to hold phone calls over Ukraine next week with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a press conference.
00:39
Biden’s speech marking the anniversary of the conflict on Tuesday 21st, like Putin
Joe Biden will address the first anniversary of the start of the “brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine” on February 21 at 5:30 p.m. local time at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The White House made it known. It’s the same day that Vladimir Putin’s speech is scheduled, a kind of long-distance battle. Biden will address “how the United States has mobilized the world to support the Ukrainian people in defending their freedom and democracy, and how we will stand by the Ukrainian people for as long as is needed.”
(afp) 00:34
Wang: Finding a solution acceptable to everyone
In the face of a complicated situation like the war in Ukraine, we must insist on finding a “solution acceptable to all”. The Chinese Communist Party’s chief of diplomacy, Wang Yi, said this during his talks with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Rome. “What China has always done is promote peace and negotiations,” Wang said, according to a statement by Chinese diplomats. The more complicated the situation is, “the more political and diplomatic efforts must be made to find a solution acceptable to all parties”.
00:29
007 Gb: 50% of the prisoners recruited by Wagner died in the war
According to British intelligence, those recruited by the Wagner mercenary group from among the Russian prisoners suffered 50% casualties: one of two of them was reportedly killed in action in Ukraine. Let’s read in the daily report of the British Ministry of Defense published on Twitter. “The soldiers of the Russian army and private contractors (Wagner) suffered between 175 and 200,000 killed and wounded, of which about 60,000 died”. “Typically, these numbers represent a high proportion of deaths compared to injuries: this is due to extremely rudimentary medical care,” the report said.
00:19
Moscow: NATO involvement in the conflict is at its maximum
The involvement of NATO countries in the conflict in Ukraine is at its maximum, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing. “The NATO countries are playing innocent and trying to prove that they are not part of the conflict. The participation of the NATO countries is maximum, they have been conducting provocative activities for many years. Now they directly control the leadership of the Kiev regime.”
Maria Zakharova (grip) 00:09
Tajani: Xi will give a peace speech in view of February 24
Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a “peace speech” on the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. This was announced by the head of the Bureau of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Wang Yi, to Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. “He insisted on peace – said Tajani – he said that China wants peace, I hope that China will put real pressure on Moscow.”
00:00
Secret service NATO: “Moscow is fighting for the offensive”
The Russians are facing “enormous difficulties” in preparing the February offensive on the first anniversary of the conflict. The NATO secret service reports to him on the latest developments. In Bakhmut, the Ukrainians are “under pressure”, but the Russians are paying “astronomical costs” in terms of human lives. Last weekend alone, around “2,000 soldiers” died to wrest “a few meters”. In addition, the offensive does not unravel along the entire front, but at “small pressure points”. Russian troops are “poorly equipped and badly trained” and the Ukrainians seem to have the situation “under control” at the moment.
(Portal) 00:00
Kiev: “10,000 Russian soldiers on the Sumy border”
Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers are concentrated on Russian territory on the border with Sumy in north-eastern Ukraine. The Times reports, citing Ukrainian soldiers on guard duty in the region. “There are 10,000 Russian soldiers concentrated on the other side of the Sumy border. It’s the largest concentration there has ever been here,” reports the Times, citing Ukrainian Defense Forces Lieutenant Andrii Gulakov. Gulakov added that the Russians have built a field hospital on their compound, suggesting the Russians are planning offensive actions.
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