China says it will propose peace plan for Ukraine, as chief diplomat refers to conflict as ‘warfare’
China says it will propose peace plan for Ukraine, as chief diplomat refers to conflict as “warfare”
From CNN’s Xiaofei Xu and Cristiana Moisescu
Beijing is ready to present its peace proposition for Ukraine, its top diplomat announced Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, in a rare remark that referred to the Ukraine conflict as a war.
“This warfare can not continue to rage on,” said Wang Yi, top foreign policy adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Territorial and sovereignty integrity of all countries will be respected in China’s proposal, Wang said, adding that Beijing will continue to work for peace.
“We can of course continue to shout out our positions at international conferences like this one, but I suggest that we should also begin to think calmly, especially for my friends in Europe,” he said.
“We need to think about what efforts we can make to bring this warfare to an end,” Wang added.
Some key context: Many European Union leaders in Munich remain wary of Beijing’s intentions, as Wang called on European countries to change their approach to the war.
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday said the US was “troubled” by China’s continued support of Russia since the war in Ukraine began.
And European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen told CNN on Saturday: “We need more proof that China isn’t working with Russia, and we aren’t seeing that now.”
China has repeatedly refused to condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. In late 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that their partnership was more important than ever in the face of “unprecedented pressure” from the West. Xi echoed Putin’s message of unity, saying that the two countries should “strengthen strategic coordination” and “inject more stability into the world,” according to Chinese state media Xinhua.
In September 2022, Putin conceded Beijing had “questions and concerns” over the invasion, in what appeared to be a veiled admission of diverging views on the war.
China’s top diplomat will also visit Russia this month, according to its foreign ministry, in the first visit to the country from a Chinese official in that role since the war began.
US vice president commits to supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes” during speech in Munich
From CNN’s Jasmine Wright
US Vice President Kamala Harris pledged the United States’ enduring support to Ukraine during a speech Saturday in Munich, Germany.
“The United States will continue to strongly support Ukraine and we will do so for as long as it takes,” the vice president said during the Munich Security Conference.
Harris, whose trip precedes the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, praised the Ukrainian people’s resolve and resilience.
“There will be more dark days in Ukraine. The daily agony of war will persist,” she said. “But if Putin thinks he can wait us out, he’s badly mistaken. Time is not on his side.”
As questions continue to swirl about how much more funding the US will provide to Ukraine’s war effort, now that Republicans are in charge of the House of Representatives and have promised no “blank checks,” Harris noted how many congressional leaders were at the conference. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was spotted on camera, while GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham and other Republicans were also in attendance.
“They are here together because they understand the stakes. The leadership of these members has been vital to America’s support of Ukraine, and President Biden and I know that their support for Ukraine will continue,” Harris said.
In conversation with Germany’s Amb. Christoph Heusgen, the chairman of the conference, Harris reassured the crowd that funding will continue to flow from the US to support the war effort.
“You only have to look at where we were a year ago and where we are today,” she said, referring to weapons that the US has provided to Ukraine — including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, Abrams tanks, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and Javelin missiles.
Harris said “the largest delegation, bipartisan and bicameral, of the United States Congress” was with her in Germany.
“Our priority is to ensure Ukraine’s strength on the battlefield. And that is our commitment,” she said.
Earlier in the conference: Harris announced that the US government has officially declared Russia committed crimes against humanity during its war in Ukraine.
Russia launches cruise missiles at Ukraine from the Black Sea, Kyiv says
From CNN’s Sophie Jeong, Maria Kostenko and Duarte Mendonca
Russia has launched four cruise missiles at Ukraine from the Black Sea on Saturday, the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed forces said Saturday on Telegram.
“On February 18 Russian occupation forces launched four Kalibr-type cruise missiles at Ukraine from the Black Sea area,” it said. “Two missiles were intercepted by the air defense.”
Andriy Yermak, the head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Russia “is using strategic aircraft, in the airspace over the occupied territories in particular, launching missiles.”
Two explosions were reported in the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi on Saturday, Serhiy Hamaliy, the head of the region’s military administration, said in a post on Telegram.
One strike hit a military facility and the other hit near a public transport stop, the head of the regional military administration said in a Telegram post.
“The shock wave damaged civilian buildings, three educational facilities, hundreds of windows were shattered, and 11 cars were damaged,” said Serhiy Hamaliy, the head of the Khmelnytskyi region military administration.
“Two civilians have asked for medical help, a man and a woman. The man who received a shrapnel wound was inside the bus at the time. They both are in stable condition, and received necessary medical assistance,” Hamaliy’s post added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also addressed the attack in a Telegram post on Saturday, saying, “The terrorist state does not stop trying to intimidate the civilian population.”
He added that 10 regions of Ukraine have been shelled by Russian forces within the last day.
“Fair punishment will be for anyone who perpetrates this continued terror. You will definitely have to answer. For every destroyed life. For every missile fired at Ukraine. For all the evil and suffering that Russia brought to our land,” Zelensky added.
Vice President Harris says the US is “troubled” by China’s support of Russia
From CNN’s Jasmine Wright
Vice President Kamala Harris said the US was “troubled” by China’s continued support of Russia since the war in Ukraine began, as the US continues to warn Beijing about its support for Moscow.
CNN has previously reported that China’s top diplomat will visit Russia this month, according to its Foreign Ministry, in the first visit to the country from a Chinese official in that role since Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
“Of course, we have also seen nations like North Korea and Iran send weapons in support of Russia’s brutal war. We are also troubled that Beijing has deepened its relationship with Moscow since the war began,” Harris said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
“Looking ahead, any steps by China to provide lethal support to Russia would only reward aggression, continue the killing, and further undermine a rules based order,” she said.
Harris spoke of “strategic interests,” saying no nation is safe if one country can violate the sovereignty of another, a nod to China.
Reciting international rules and norms, Harris said the Western alliance’s response to Russia’s war is a reflection of how they have been upheld.
“Indeed, this moment, has tested our willingness to defend and uphold these rules and norms,” Harris said.
“Other nations could feel emboldened to follow is violence example, other nations could feel emboldened to follow is violence example. Other authoritarian powers could seek to bend the world to their will, through coercion, disinformation, and even brute force. The international order, upon which we all rely, could be at risk,” Harris said.
The US faces diplomatic and national security tensions with China, which were heightened after the US shot down a Chinese spy balloon in recent weeks.
Ukrainian soldier says military in need of ammunition: “There are situations when there are not enough shells”
From CNN’s Kostan Nechyporenko and Duarte Mendonca
Ukraine is in need of more ammunition to fight the war against Russia, a member of the country’s 109th territorial defense brigade, Yehor Firsov, said on Friday night.
“Of course, we need shells, shells, and, once again, shells. Because, frankly speaking, there are situations when there are not enough shells. Weapons are the first thing we need at the frontline,” Firsov told a Ukrainian national telethon.
Firsov, a former member of parliament who is now serving on the front lines, said there have been logistical improvements since the early days of Russia’s invasion, but they could always use more hardware.
“Of course, we would all like more hardware because it covers infantrymen. Don’t get me wrong — if there is no artillery or tanks are not working and they are not covering the infantry, it is very, very difficult for the infantry. So the more hardware we have, the better,” Firsov said.
On Saturday at the Munich Security Council, the leaders of various allies of Ukraine, including the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, urged others to ramp up support for Ukraine, including ammunition production.
Firsov also addressed the impact of fatigue on the front lines.
Asked about his assessment of the current state of the way, Firsov described it as “always tense,” saying that the momentum seems to change in waves.
“In recent months, there has been an enemy offensive here. It happens in waves. In some places, the enemy is making significant aggressive actions and infantry attacks. In some places, they ease their pressure a little. But there are constant enemy attacks using everything possible — MLRS, tanks, mortars. All this is constant. Every day, sometimes even every hour,” he said, adding that such occurrences take a psychological toll on his fellow soldiers.
“Many fighters have some psychological fatigue. It is unavoidable — you perform your function 24/7. Fatigue accumulates,” the soldier said.
Vice President Harris says US has formally determined Russia committed crimes against humanity
From CNN’s Jasmine Wright
The US government has officially declared that Russia committed crimes against humanity during its war in Ukraine, Vice President Kamala Harris announced in Germany on Saturday.
“The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity,” Harris said during a high-profile speech at the Munich Security Conference.
“And I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors who are complicit in those crimes, you will be held to account.”
Harris laid bare some of what could be used as evidence of Russia’s alleged crimes against humanity. She outlined specific instances that have peppered news clips and official reports from the United Nations.
“First, from the starting days of this unprovoked war, we have witnessed Russian forces engage in horrendous atrocities and war crimes,” the vice president said.
“Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population — gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation. Execution-style killings, beating, and electrocution,” she added. “Russian authorities, have forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of people, from Ukraine to Russia, including children. They have cruelly separated children from their families.”
Harris’s speech cited evidence of indiscriminate attacks that deliberately targeted civilians including the bombing of a maternity hospital that killed a pregnant mother and a theater in Mariupol where hundreds were killed. The vice president spoke of the horrific images out of Bucha that showed men and women shot and left to rot in the streets and reports by the United Nations of a four-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by a Russian soldier.
“Barbaric and inhumane,” Harris said.
As it was when the US government declared Russia committed war crimes last March, it still remains to be seen whether there will be any accountability for those accused of carrying out the alleged crimes, and whether Russian President Vladimir Putin himself will be forced to bear any responsibility.
Still, Harris vowed that the US would “continue to support the judicial process.”
Some context: The latest proclamation comes after the US government announced that members of the Russian armed forces committed war crimes in Ukraine.
President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have said it was their personal opinion that war crimes have taken place and Biden has gone as far as saying atrocities at the hands of Moscow’s troops qualify as “genocide.”
The decision to announce the official findings comes days before the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Harris is in Germany as a part of the Biden administration’s intense efforts to show commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, and unity among western allies who have provided billions in aid, funding and weapons to combat Russia’s aggression. President Biden is scheduled to visit Poland on Monday.
UK PM to urge allies to “double down” on military support for Ukraine
From CNN’s Duarte Mendonca
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to urge world leaders on Saturday to “double down” on military support for Ukraine.
In a speech that is set to be delivered at the Munich Security Conference, the UK prime minister will make an appeal for allies to provide the nation with “advanced, NATO-standard capabilities that they need for the future.”
“We must demonstrate that we’ll remain by their side, willing and able to help them defend their country again and again,” Sunak is expected to say at the conference.
“When Putin started this war, he gambled that our resolve would falter. Even now he is betting we will lose our nerve,” a copy of Sunak’s speech says.
Sunak will also reiterate the need to defend the security of Europe as well as the global order.
“What is at stake in this war is even greater than the security and sovereignty of one nation,” Sunak is expected to say, also adding that “it’s about the security and sovereignty of every nation.”
“Because Russia’s invasion, its abhorrent war crimes and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric are symptomatic of a broader threat to everything we believe in,” the speech says.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has joined world leaders at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where the war in Ukraine is top of the agenda.
The conference comes just ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
“No change” in Sweden and Finland’s desire to join NATO “simultaneously,” Finnish PM tells CNN
From CNN’s Arnaud Siad and Ben Kirby
There is “no change” in Finland and Sweden’s desire to join NATO “simultaneously,” Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin told CNN on Saturday.
“We’ve sent a very clear message: we want to join together with Sweden. At the same time, it’s not only because we are good neighbors and good partners. It’s also to do with very concrete matters,” Marin told CNN’s Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour while participating at a panel at the Munich Security Conference.
“The security planning of NATO in the whole north, it’s in the interest of us, but it’s also in the interest of NATO that Finland and Sweden will join simultaneously,”
“And we have sent very clear signal and a very clear message to Turkey and also Hungary, that hasn’t ratified yet, that we want to enter NATO together, and this is in the interest of everyone,” she added.
The Finnish PM was pressed to clarify whether there had been a change in Helsinki’s approach in light of NATO member Turkey’s current opposition to Sweden joining the defense alliance.
“No change. Of course we cannot influence and affect how some countries would ratify, it’s their decision. But our message is that we are willing to join and we prefer and want to join together,” she said.
On Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg suggested Finland and Sweden could join separately.
“So the main question is not whether Finland and Sweden are ratified together. The main question is that they are both ratified as full members as soon as possible,” he said.
Some context: Sweden and Finland are relying on Turkey to support its bid for membership of NATO, in the light of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Tensions between Sweden and Turkey have grown recently however, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu reportedly accusing the Swedish government of being complicit in the burning of the Quran at a protest in Stockholm last month.
Turkey has previously said Sweden must take a clearer stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt, before Ankara approves its bid to join NATO.
Scholz warns it’s “wise” to prepare for long war at Munich Security Conference
From CNN’s Nic Robertson
World leaders are focusing on strategy and unity in the face of Russian aggression at the three-day Munich Security Conference in Germany, which kicked off on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who made a speech via video link on Friday, continued to urge his Western allies to make speedy weapons deliveries.
Zelensky also said he intends to attend the Munich security conference in person next year, predicting the war would be over by then. Unfortunately, if he had read the room, it would have told him they thought that statement was ambitious, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warning on Friday it would be “wise to prepare for a long war.”
US Vice President Kamala Harris joined world leaders at the conference, where the war in Ukraine is top of the agenda.
Harris, in a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, welcomed Berlin’s decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The leaders discussed how best to work together – particularly regarding how to uphold the values of democracy globally in the face of threats from China.
The conference comes just ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell are among other top officials in attendance.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-2-18-23-intl/h_759a57e32da55f6f55a0700e6c018b5d
