Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv mayor Klitschko backs army chief on Zelenskyy’s chopping block; Kremlin dodges question on Putin interview with Tucker Carlson

By admin On Feb 5, 2024

Key points

15:45:01 Sunak says war has been ‘strategic failure’ for Putin – and UK in good position to defend against Russia

Rishi Sunak says Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine are a “strategic failure” as he has put the world “in a much stronger position” to resist his “aggression”.

The UK prime minister said the invasion has served to “unite everybody, increase the amount that we are all spending in defence” and see new members join NATO.

He told Piers Morgan Uncensored that “actually, strategically [the war] has already been a failure for him because he has not achieved any of [his] objectives and we are in a much stronger position now”.

Asked if Britain has the capability to defend itself properly if Russia looked to target the country, Mr Sunak said: “Yes, and my first job is to keep everybody safe.

“Unfortunately, the world is becoming less safe and we can see that obviously with the situation in Russia and the Ukraine.”

The UK government has increased investment in defence spending, he said, but added that the split between what’s needing among the British Armed Forces was a “function of them and what they think is the best way to protect ourselves”.

“But, in general, do I think we are well protected, well invested? Yes. We are the second biggest defence spender in NATO,” said Mr Sunak.

15:00:01 Putin to visit Turkey soon – in what would be his first trip to NATO country in two years

Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey soon, the Turkish foreign minister has said this afternoon.

Hakan Fidan said Mr Putin’s meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan would focus on a new way to allow Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea.

He did not mention a date for the visit in his comments to the A Haber private TV channel, but Turkish media has reported that Mr Putin will visit on 12 February.

Why is this significant?

This would be Mr Putin’s first trip to a NATO country since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

The International Criminal Court last year issued an arrest warrant against Mr Putin over the alleged deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, greatly limiting his opportunity to travel abroad.

Turkey, like Russia, is not a party to the court, allowing Mr Putin to visit without fear of arrest.

Turkey has sought to maintain good ties with both Russia and Ukraine, its Black Sea neighbours.

While declining to join Western sanctions on Moscow, it has also backed Ukraine’s territorial integrity and provided arms to Kyiv.

14:15:01 Kyiv mayor backs army chief on Zelenskyy’s chopping block

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko has come out in defence of the Ukrainian army chief after Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was considering sacking him (see post at 9.10am).

Mr Klitschko said he “hopes the government understands the seriousness of the steps it is taking” in deciding whether to dismiss General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi.

The former professional boxer wrote on Telegram that in many ways it was “thanks to Mr Zaluzhnyi that Ukrainians truly believed in our armed forces”.

“Today is the moment when politics can prevail over common sense and the interests of the state,” he wrote.

“I hope the government understands the seriousness of the steps it is taking now and the full extent of its responsibility.”

13:31:33 Kremlin could ‘increase domestic taxes and debt’

It is likely the Kremlin will have to “increase domestic taxes and debt” to fund its planned expenditure, according to the UK defence ministry.

In its latest intelligence update, the ministry said it was “unlikely” Russia’s planned revenue target for 2024 would be met as laid out in its budget plan and the government would need to consider other policy measures.

Plans to increase expenditure by 26% this year meant it was likely “the government will need to reduce its contributions to the National Wealth Fund and increase domestic taxes and debt to fund its planned expenditure”, it said.

This would have “adverse effects” on the economy.

The National Wealth Fund is used to fund the long-term economic welfare of Russians but it is increasingly being used to fund the war in Ukraine.

12:50:01 In pictures: Ukrainian troops ready to launch in Donetsk

In eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, troops have been preparing to fire a multiple launch rocket system towards Russian forces near the frontline.

Fighting is intense in the war-ravaged region and both sides are struggling to advance.

The so-called Donetsk People’s Republic is one of four regions in Ukraine that Moscow illegally annexed last year.

12:13:07 Four killed as Kherson shelled and fire breaks out

Four people have been killed after Russian shelling in the southern port city of Kherson, the head of the city’s administration has said.

Roman Mrochko said on Telegram that at around 12pm local time Russian forces shelled the region from the temporarily occupied left bank.

The shelling caused a fire to break out in the city centre, and rescuers who arrived at the scene found the bodies of two men, aged 45 and 50, in a car.

The shelling also killed a woman who was on the street at the time and another man.

Mr Mrochko also said a 60-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries.

11:24:54 Zelenskyy calls for martial law and mobilisation to be extended

Martial law and general mobilisation in Ukraine could be extended for another 90 days after Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a proposal to lawmakers, The Kyiv Independent reports.

The president first declared martial law and general mobilisation in the country after Russia launched its invasion on 24 February 2022.

The measures have been repeatedly extended since then and last month the Ukrainian government submitted to parliament an amended version of its bill to tighten army mobilisation rules to ensure the country has a sufficient fighting force.

Mr Zelenskyy’s new proposal would extend martial law and general mobilisation until 14 May.

Under martial law, Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are not allowed to leave the country as they may be called up to join the army.

10:37:52 US Senate proposes $60bn for Ukraine in latest bid to break deadlock

A bipartisan US Senate group has unveiled plans for a $118bn (£93.4bn) package for Ukraine, Israel and American border security.

Both Houses of Congress need to pass it – and funding for Ukraine has been stalled thus far by hardline Republicans.

Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell has encouraged his party to back the deal, saying they would not get a better one even under a Republican White House.

But House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson declared it “dead on arrival” if it reached his chamber.

“This bill is even worse than we expected, and won’t come close to ending the border catastrophe the president has created.”

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said he would take steps to hold an initial vote on Wednesday.

The deal includes:

$60.06bn for Ukraine’s war effort$10bn for humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, Gaza and the West Bank$14.1bn in security assistance for Israel$2.44bn to US Central Command and the conflict in the Red Sea$4.83bn for US partners in the Indo-Pacific facing aggression from China$20.23bn for border security

Explained: Ukraine relies heavily on two sources of financial and military assistance – the EU and the US.

As of December, the EU and its countries had committed $143bn in support (which excludes its latest $54bn deal), followed by the US with $76bn, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

The rest of the world donated a little under $40bn.

Most of the aid given by the US is in military support, while the EU has offered the majority of its assistance in financial support.

10:09:25 Kremlin tight-lipped over rumours Tucker Carlson could interview Putin

The Kremlin has declined to say whether or not Vladimir Putin would grant an interview to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson – or if he was in Moscow at all.

“We can hardly be expected to provide information on the movement of foreign journalists,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“Many foreign journalists come to Russia every day, many continue to work here, and we welcome this.

“We have nothing to announce in terms of the president’s interviews to foreign media.”

Rumours had begun to circulate after Mr Carlson was reportedly photographed in Moscow by the local media outlet Mash.

The news site published an image of the right-wing commentator purportedly in the Bolshoi Theatre on Saturday, claiming he had been in the capital since 1 February.

The rumours were stoked by House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who posted on X that Democrats were “spasming at the prospect of Tucker Carlson interviewing Putin”.

Bill Kristol, former chief of staff to the vice president during the Reagan administration, later said: “Perhaps we need a total and complete shutdown of Tucker Carlson re-entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

In September, Mr Peskov said the time for Vladimir Putin to be interviewed by a Western journalist “will come”.

“Whether Carlson will be among those who will be considered for an interview, well, let’s wait and see.”

09:29:14 Anti-war presidential hopeful facing exclusion from election contest with Putin

The campaign of the Russian anti-war presidential hopeful Boris Nadezhdin is in doubt – after the election commission claimed 15% of the signatures he submitted in his bid to get on the ballot paper were invalid.

That figure, if confirmed, is three times higher than the allowable error rate and would provide grounds for the commission to disqualify Mr Nadezhdin from running against Vladimir Putin in March.

Mr Nadezhdin said on Telegram that he would appeal to the Supreme Court if the commission refused to register him.

“We plan to collect signatures. We only need to defend approximately 4,500 signatures out of 9,209 that were declared invalid,” he said.

The commission will make a final ruling on the matter on Wednesday.

Mr Nadezhdin presented the commission with signatures from more than 100,000 supporters across Russia last week as part of his bid to run in the election.

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