Ukraine starts new war crimes trial against Russian soldiers — live updates

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz tells Davos delegates he’s convinced Russia will not win in Ukraine
• Two Russian soldiers are the latest to be tried for war crimes in Ukraine
• Zelenskyy rebuffs calls to cede land to Russia 
• Ukraine says over 40 towns attacked in Donbas region
• Putin orders fast-tracking Russian passports for residents in southern Ukrainian regions

This article was last updated at 15:15 UTC/GMT

Russian troops come close to taking key highway

Russian troops came in the east, but were beaten back after seizing positions on the last highway out of two Ukrainian-held cities.

Moscow has poured thousands of troops into its assault, attacking from three sides in an attempt to surround Ukrainian forces in Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.

The two cities straddle the Siverskiy Donets river, and their fall would bring almost all of Luhansk province under Russian control.

After abandoning its assault on the capital, Kyiv, Russia is trying to consolidate control of the eastern Donbas region, where it has been backing a separatist revolt since 2014.

The governor of Luhansk province, Serhiy Haidai, said about 50 Russian soldiers had reached the highway and that they had “managed to gain a foothold for some time. They even set up some kind of checkpoint there”.

“The checkpoint was broken, they were thrown back. That is to say, the Russian army does not control the route now, but they are shelling it,” he said in an interview posted on social media. Haidai hinted at further Ukrainian withdrawals, saying: “We need to win the war, not the battle.”

“It is clear that our boys are slowly retreating to more fortified positions — we need to hold back this horde,” he said.

Sense of normality returning to Kyiv, says DW correspondent

With fighting having moved away from the capital to the east, there is a sense of normality returning to Kyiv, DW correspondent Rebecca Ritters reports.

She said feelings ranged from frustration and fatigue with the war to a hopefulness about the outcome.

“People here really still believe Ukraine can win this war. They say the other option is just too horrible to think about. People are remaining hopeful.”

“There is still some fear here — the sirens are still sounding. But there is a sense of relief now that the troops have left the surounds of Kyiv. “

“It definitely feels like more of a normal city, if you will. More restaurants and cafes are open, and you see more people out in the streets.” 

“For all intents and purposes you could almost be forgiven for forgetting that the war is on from time to time — except that people are talking about it. It is the main topic of conversation, people are still very worried.”

Kharkiv comes under renewed shelling

Local authorities say at least four civilians were killed and several wounded in a new Russian shelling of the city of Kharkiv.

Kharkiv, which is Ukraine’s second-biggest city, had been relatively quiet in recent days as Ukrainian forces regained territory around it in northeastern Ukraine.

The city had restarted its metro service on Tuesday, asking hundreds of people who had used the underground as a bomb shelter to free up the train carriages.

However, many were already too scared to return home even ahead of the latest attacks.

“The occupiers are shelling the regional center again,” Kharkiv region Governor Oleh Synehubov wrote on the Telegram messaging app, urging residents to go to shelters.

Russian foreign ministry threatens to expel Western journalists over YouTube block

Journalists from Western media houses have been threatened with expulsion by Russia’s Foreign Ministry if its weekly broadcasts on YouTube are blocked.

Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the warning during a roundtable discussion according to Russian state media.

“A few of my briefings were blocked. What we did is we went ahead and said: if you block a briefing one more time, one journalist or one US outlet will go home,” Zakharova said.

YouTube has deleted a number of pro-Kremlin channels since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Russian lawmakers have passed a bill which affords prosecutors the power to shut down foreign media bureaus if they’re deemed “unfriendly” to Russian media.

Russian soldiers appear in court in new Ukraine war crimes trial

Ukrainian prosecutor’s are seeking 12 year prison terms for two Russian soldiers who are on trial for war crimes.

The two were accused of bombing civilian infrastructure in the Kharkiv region and have pleaded guilty.

Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office said that the two were responsible for firing shells that hit residential buildings in the village of Kozacha Lopan in Kharkiv Oblast on February 24.

The defense lawyer representing the two soldiers has asked for leniency, arguing that they had been following orders and had repented. A verdict is expected on May 31.

The latest war crimes trial comes after a Ukrainian court sentenced another Russian soldier to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian, in the country’s first war crimes verdict over the conflict.

‘Putin must not win his war in Ukraine’ — Chancellor Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the World Economic Forum in Davos that he was convinced that Russia would not win the war in Ukraine.

“Putin must not win his war in Ukraine, and I am convinced that he will not,” Sholz told delegates on Thursday.

The German chancellor said: “We must make Putin realize that there will not be a dictated peace, Ukraine won’t accept it, and we neither.”

Scholz said that €100 billion ($106 billion) would be made available enhance Germany’s defensive capabilities.

The German leader also said dependence on Russian energy was coming to an end and that Putin’s war had given more reason to shift from fossil fuels.

Russia central bank significantly cuts interest rate

Russia’s central bank has reduced its key interest rate again in a bid to ease monetary policy.

The Bank of Russia announced on Thursday that it would be reducing the interest rate by three percentage points to 11%, making it the third consecutive rate reduction since April.

At the end of February, shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the central bank hiked the key interest rate by 10.5 percentage points to 20% in a bid to counter the devaluation of the ruble.

“Inflationary pressures are easing due to the dynamics of the ruble exchange rate

as well as the noticeable decline in inflation expectations of households and businesses,” the bank said in a statement.

The central bank is aiming for an inflation rate of 4%.

Russian forces attack more than 40 towns in Donbas — Ukraine military

Ukraine’s armed forces say that Russian troops have attacked more than 40 towns the Donbas region, which is putting the last major civilian escape route at risk.

According to a Facebook post from Ukraine’s military, more than 47 civilian structures were destroyed or damaged.

“As a result of the shelling, five civilians were killed and 12 injured,” the post read.

Russia state media is meanwhile reporting that around 8,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war are being held in the Russian-backed separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. That figure cannot be independently verified.

British intelligence point to failures of Russia’s airborne forces

The latest intelligence update from the UK’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) highlights the performance of Russia’s airborne forces — the VDV.

The MOD briefing states that the branch of Russia’s armed forces “have been heavily involved in several notable tactical failures since the start of Russia’s invasion.”

These include the attempted advance on Kyiv via the Hostomel Airfield, stalled progress in Izium, and the botched crossings of the Siverskyi Donets river.

The MOD says the failures of the 45,000 strong force “reflects a strategic mismanagement of this capability and Russia’s failure to secure air superiority.”

Russian journalist who staged on-air protest wins ‘creative dissent’ award

Marina Ovsyannikova, the Ukrainian-born Russian journalist who staged an anti-war protest during a live broadcast on Russian TV has been awarded the Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent.

Osyannikova interrupted a live news bulletin on Russian state TV during the first few weeks of the invasion, holding up a sign which called for “no war.”

In a tweet, Osyannikova dedicated the award to Ukrainians who have been displaced by Russia’s invasion. 

The award for creative dissent was established by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and honors those who engage in creative ways of dissent to challenge injustice.

The prize is named after the late HRF chairman, Vaclav Havel, who led a nonviolent revolution which ultimately freed the former Czechoslovakia from communist rule.

The award ceremony took place in Oslo on Wednesday.

Zelenskyy: Calls to cede land aren’t considering ‘ordinary people’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed suggestions that Kyiv cedes control of some areas occupied by Russian forces as a compromise to reach a peace deal. 

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had suggested this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Ukraine should let Russia keep Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

“You get the impression that Mr. Kissinger doesn’t have 2022 on his calendar, but 1938, and that he thinks he is talking to an audience not in Davos but in Munich back then,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Wednesday.

Zelenskyy was referring to a pact signed in Munich by Britain, France, Italy and Germany that gave Adolf Hitler land as part of a failed attempt to persuade him to abandon further territorial expansion.

The Ukrainian leader also called out a New York Times editorial that suggested a negotiated peace might require Kyiv to make some hard decisions, arguing that a military victory was not realistic.

“Those who advise Ukraine to give something to Russia, these ‘great geopolitical figures,’ never see ordinary people, ordinary Ukrainians, millions living on the territory they are proposing to exchange for an illusory peace.”

Talks between Ukraine and Russia have been stalled for some time, more than a month according to Russia, with Moscow blaming Kyiv for this.

Summary of Wednesday’s events in the war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the procedure for residents of the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, largely under Russian control, to get a fast-tracked Russian passport.

Ukraine accused Putin of “criminal” behavior over the announcement.

Meanwhile, the governor of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine said at least six civilians were killed by fresh Russian shelling.

In the southeastern city of Mariupol, Russian forces who had seized control of the strategic port have now allowed its operating “on a daily basis,” the Russian Defense Ministry claimed. 

The European Commission proposed to make breaking EU sanctions against Russia a criminal offense. This would aid in confiscating the assets of companies and individuals flouting the measures.

The Commission said it was seeking a unified approach to deal with sanction evasion.

Meanwhile, Russia called for the easing of international sanctions on Moscow to avoid far-reaching threats to the global food supply.

Moscow said it would allow vessels carrying food to leave Ukraine in return for the lifting of some sanctions, a proposal that Kyiv labeled as “blackmail.” 

To read Wednesday’s live updates in full, click here. 

kb, fb/msh, rs (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters) 

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