Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy is set to open the Munich Security Conference, as world leaders gather to renew their vow to back Kiev against Russian forces, as fighting enters its 359th day.
A pedestrian walks past a billboard displaying the symbol “Z” in support of Russian armed forces in Ukraine, in the settlement of Chernomorskoye, Crimea.
(Reuters Archive)
Friday, February 17, 2023
1055
GMT
Russia has accused the United States of inciting Ukraine to escalate the war by condoning attacks on Crimea, warning that Washington was now directly involved in the conflict because “crazy people” had dreams of defeating Russia.
Moscow was responding to comments by US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland who said the United States considers that Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, should be demilitarised at a minimum and that Washington supports Ukrainian attacks on military targets on the peninsula.
“Now the American warmongers have gone even further: They incite the Kiev regime to further escalate the war,” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, told reporters when asked about Nuland’s remarks.
1205 GMT – Leaders focus on Ukraine war at Munich Security Conference
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy planned to give the opening address on Friday at a major annual conference on international security policy, where Russia’s attack on Ukraine was expected to dominate the event after almost a year of war that has produced worldwide repercussions.
About 40 heads of state and government, as well as politicians and security experts from almost 100 countries, including the United States, Europe and China, were expected to attend the three-day Munich Security Conference in Germany. Zelenskyy is participating by video link.
For the first time in two decades, conference organisers did not invite Russian officials. Western countries have sought to isolate Russia diplomatically over its offensive in Ukraine that began on February 24 2022.
1035 GMT — Ukraine says no contracts on fighter jets deliveries so far
Kiev has not yet signed any agreements on the supply of fighter jets, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“So far, no country has committed itself to the supply of fighter jets,” Kuleba said in an interview with German media group Funke.
He said Kiev is most interested in aircraft from the US, UK, France, and Germany since these states have the largest production capacity and fleet.
0912 GMT —Talks on extending Black Sea grain deal to start in a week – Ukraine
Negotiations will start in a week on extending a Türkiye-brokered initiative that has enabled Ukraine to export grain from ports blockaded by Russia after its attack, a senior Ukrainian official said.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by theTürkiye last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports.
The agreement was extended by a further 120 days in November and is up for renewal again in March.
0821 GMT —US diplomat says Ukrainian strikes on military targets in Crimea are legitimate
The United States considers that Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, should be demilitarised at a minimum and Washington supports Ukrainian attacks on military targets on the peninsula, Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said.
Crimea, which includes the port of Sevastopol where Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is based, is seen by Western and Russian diplomats as the biggest flashpoint of the Ukraine war.
“No matter what the Ukrainians decide about Crimea in terms of where they choose to fight etcetera, Ukraine is not going to be safe unless Crimea is at a minimum, at a minimum, demilitarised,” Nuland told the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.
0001 GMT — Munich hosts world’s largest global security conference
Leading politicians, military officers and diplomats from around the world will gather in Munich to survey a European security landscape transformed by Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and US Vice President Kamala Harris are among many top officials attending the Munich Security Conference on Friday, a major annual global gathering focused on defence and diplomacy.
Senior Ukrainian officials are also expected to address the conference, which runs until Sunday at the luxury Bayerischer Hof hotel in the southern German city.
Ukraine probes ‘Russian killing’ of civilians in Bakhmut
Russian Grad rockets and barrel artillery slammed into a residential district in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, killing three men and two women and wounding nine more, Ukraine’s prosecutor general alleged, adding it was being investigated as a war crime.
“Five dead and nine wounded due to shelling of Bakhmut by the invaders,” read a caption under blurred images of the victims shared on Telegram by the office of the prosecutor general. “Criminal proceedings have been initiated.”
An investigation had determined that Russia fired barrel artillery and Grad rockets at Bakhmut on February 16, the office said. “The occupiers’ shells once again hit the city’s residential quarter.”
There was no immediate word from Moscow on the allegation that civilians were killed.
For our live updates from Thursday (February 16), click here
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
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