3 min agoFormer Russian president says country should push its borders “as far as possible”From CNN’s Anna Chernova
Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev attends a military parade on Victory Day in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, on May 9, 2022. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)Russia should push back its borders “as far as possible,” former Russian President and Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev said on the one-year anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.
“It is so important to achieve all the goals of the ‘special military operation’,” Medvedev said in a Telegram post on Friday, using the term Russia uses to describe its war on Ukraine.“Push the borders of threats to our country as far as possible, even if these are the borders of Poland,” he said, referring to Ukraine’s westernmost demarcations.
Medvedev said that Russia will achieve a victory against Ukraine. He added that “we all want this to happen as soon as possible. And that day will come. We will get back our territories and reliably protect our people.”
1 min agoZelensky tells Ukrainian soldiers: “You will decide whether Ukraine is going to exist”Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a speech at a ceremony dedicated to the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 24. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters)Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a speech to troops in Kyiv on Friday, the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country.
“It is you who will decide whether we are all going to exist. Whether Ukraine is going to exist. Every day. Every hour. It is you – Ukrainian soldiers – which will decide it,” Zelensky told them.Ukraine’s armed forces have mounted a resilient defence of their country in the year since the invasion, turning what many expected to be a lightning-fast Russian assault into a grinding and finely poised conflict.
Earlier on Friday, Zelensky said that 2023 will be the year of Ukraine’s victory on the battlefield.
“On February 24, millions of us made a choice. Not a white flag, but the blue and yellow one. Not fleeing, but facing. Resisting & fighting,” Zelensky said in a tweet.
It was a year of pain, sorrow, faith, and unity. And this year, we remained invincible. We know that 2023 will be the year of our victory,” Zelensky added.
11 min agoUkrainian military says it’s ready to respond to any Russian attacks on war anniversaryFrom CNN’s Olga Voitovych and Radina Gigova
The Ukrainian military is on alert for any attacks by Russian forces on Friday, as the country marks the first anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Air Force said.
“The threat of attacks remains, this is obvious,” Air Force Command Spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on Ukrainian television. “The day that has become symbolic for everyone, for the whole world, has just begun. Today, the whole world expects provocations.”
Ihnat said Russia would be aware that Ukrainian authorities have bolstered security measures across the country ahead of Friday’s anniversary and may adjust their tactics accordingly.
“There is a threat that the enemy may want to make some ‘surprises’ for us this day. But there is no need to expect [attacks],” he said. “They see that we are expecting, that we have been preparing, that we understand the potential threat and can do it [launch an attack] on another day. Any day.”49 min agoChina denies German magazine report that it plans to sell drones to RussiaFrom CNN’s Beijing bureau
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin speaks at a press conference in Beijing, China, on January 11. (Kyodo News/Getty Images)China’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that the country takes a “responsible approach” to military exports and does not provide arms sales to conflict areas, a day after a German media outlet claimed Beijing is negotiating with Moscow to supply drones.
“China has always taken a prudent and responsible approach to military exports and does not provide any arms sales to conflict areas or belligerents,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing. “What I know there has been a great deal of disinformation about the Chinese side in this regard recently, and the intentions behind it are worth being wary of.”Drone claims: Wang’s comments came in response to a question about reporting Thursday by German news magazine Der Spiegel that said Beijing and Moscow are negotiating the purchase of 100 strike drones, which could be delivered as soon as April, according to information the outlet obtained.
Western officials have raised concerns this week that China may be considering providing Russia with lethal military assistance — an accusation denied by Beijing.
1 hr 33 min agoChina says it’s willing to play a “constructive” role in Ukraine crisis, but offers no detailsFrom CNN’s Beijing bureau
China is willing to play a constructive role in resolving issues between Ukraine and Russia, its Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Friday in a daily briefing, without providing concrete details.
The response, a recurrent line that China has been using when asked about its position on the war in Ukraine, was prompted by questions about a position paper issued by Beijing on Friday.
“We have always maintained that all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the crisis should be encouraged and supported,” Wang said. “On the basis of China’s position paper on the political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, China is ready to continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine.”New paper, old message: In the new document addressing the war in Ukraine, China’s Foreign Ministry called for a resumption of peace talks, an end to unilateral sanctions, and stressed its opposition to the use of nuclear weapons — a stance Chinese leader Xi Jinping communicated to Western leaders last year.
The 12-point paper is part of Beijing’s latest efforts to present itself as a neutral peace broker, as it struggles to balance its “no-limits” relationship with Moscow and fraying ties with the West as the war drags on.
Beijing’s claim to neutrality has been severely undermined by its refusal to acknowledge the nature of the conflict — it has so far avoided calling it an “invasion” — and its diplomatic and economic support for Moscow.
Western officials have also raised concerns that China may be considering providing Russia with lethal military assistance, an accusation denied by Beijing.
1 hr 39 min agoUK announces new sanctions on Russia, including export ban on “every item” used on battlefieldFrom CNN’s Jessie Gretener
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly walks outside Downing Street in London, England, on February 21. (Toby Melville/Reuters)British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Friday announced a new package of sanctions and trade measures against Russia, coinciding with the first anniversary of President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
The new package includes an export ban on “every item Russia has been found using on the battlefield to date,” including aircraft parts, radio equipment and electronics, he said.
“Military intelligence has shown that a shortage of components in Russia as a result of sanctions is already likely affecting their ability to produce equipment for export, such as armored vehicles, attack helicopters and air defense systems. As a result, it is highly likely that Russia’s role as a reliable arms exporter and their military-industrial complex are being undermined by international sanctions,” Cleverly said.
“Today’s measures will damage them further, undermining Putin’s military machine which is already having to mobilize Soviet-era tanks and harvest freezers for low-grade chips.”The sanctions also target 92 individuals and entities, including executives at Russian banks, nuclear power firms and defense companies.
2 hr 34 min agoAnalysis: Putin’s war in Ukraine has exposed Russia’s weaknesses — and brought the West togetherAnalysis from CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an event at the Kremlin, on February 9 in Moscow. (Stringer/Getty Images)If you can remember clearly the Europe of a dizzying year ago, perhaps the biggest surprise in where we find ourselves now is the extent to which the West has been reminded of its values and purpose.
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine served as the unwitting antidote to six years of clumsy populism and the huge economic and psychological shock of the pandemic. It also worked to counter a sense that morality, and the virtue of values, were becoming obsolete in the face of the many challenges posed by the world’s crises.
It shouldn’t have taken the deaths of thousands of innocent Ukrainians, the threat of nuclear attack, and the leveling of so much of a country, to make this point. But it’s perhaps the revulsion to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal and inept war that helped Europe and the rest of the West rediscover a collective sense of purpose.
The eyes of three old men thrust into our van in Posad Pokhrovka, in the early days of the war, desperate to flee shelling that had torn their world apart, still haunt me: Not even the Nazis beat them like that, they said, sobbing. They never thought they’d live long enough to see worse than the 1940s.
Wars can intensify scrutiny of both sides’ conduct to the point where each can be accused of some degree of wrongdoing. So, it’s important to pause at this point and consider the ugliness of the way Russia has waged this war.
Read the full analysis here.
2 hr 38 min agoWagner Group claims control of village near eastern city of BakhmutFrom CNN’s Gianluca Mezzofiore and Nathan Hodge
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russian mercenary group Wagner, said Friday that his fighters have taken full control of a northwestern suburb of Bakhmut, a strategic city in eastern Ukraine where fierce fighting has raged for months.
CNN could not immediately verify Prigozhin’s claim that the village of Berkhivka had fallen under Wagner’s control.
It comes after a Ukrainian military official on Thursday said the situation near Bakhmut remains “the most difficult” as Russian forces try to encircle the city.
1 hr 50 min agoInside Russia’s plot to plunge Ukraine into darkness … and how Ukrainians have survivedFrom CNN’s Eliza Mackintosh, Yulia Kesaieva and CNN Visuals
Before launching its full-scale invasion, Moscow had its eyes on what it thought was a weakness: Ukraine’s power grid.
And yet after hundreds of attacks on its energy facilities, the country has managed to keep the lights on.
Since October, Moscow’s forces have launched hundreds of missiles and drones at energy infrastructure far from the front line, temporarily cutting off electricity, heat and water to millions.
Their attacks appear to be aimed at breaking the country’s power grid and the will of the people with it — a campaign of terror that violates international law.
But Ukrainians have persevered through the cold and darkness.
See how they did it in this CNN special report.