Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukraine moves US tanks away from frontlines after 'hunter-killer drone' attacks (2024)

Russia would struggle to sustain its invasion of Ukraine without China's help, the US secretary of state has said.

Antony Blinken - speaking in Beijing following talks withChina's top diplomat, Wang Yi - said he had "reiterated" serious concerns about China providing components that are "powering Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine".

He added: "China is the top supplier of machine tools, microelectronics and nitrocellulose, which is critical to making munitions and rocket propellants and other dual-use items that Moscow is using to ramp its defence industrial base," he said during a news conference.

That industrial base is "churning out rockets, drones, tanks and other weapons that President Putin is using to invade a sovereign country", he added.

Those weapons are being used to "demolish a power grid and other civilian infrastructure and to kill innocent children, women and men", Mr Blinken said.

He went on: "Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China's support.

"In my meetings with NATO's allies earlier this month and with our G7 partners just last week, I heard that same message: fuelling Russia's defence industrial base not only threatens Ukrainian security, it threatens European security.

"Beijing cannot achieve better relations with Europe while supporting the greatest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War.

"As we've told China for some time, ensuring transatlantic security is a core US interest.

"In our discussions today, I made it clear that if China does not address this problem, we will."

At least four people were injured after Russia bombed an industrial site and a residential building in northeastern Ukraine, local officials have said.

Three children and a woman were hurt when munitions hit acentral part of the town of Derhachi in the Kharkiv region,governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.

In the Sumy region, two bombs struck an industrial facility, regional authorities said.

The neighbouring regions, which border Russia, have undergone frequent aerial attacks.

In recent weeks, more intensive strikes have hitcivilian and energy infrastructure.

A journalist working for the Russian edition of Forbes magazine hasbeendetained on suspicion of spreading "fake news" about the Russianarmy, the magazine has said on its website.

Sergei Mingazov is being held in adetention centre in the far eastern city of Khabarovsk, according to his lawyer,Konstantin Bubon.

There has been no contact with the journalist, Forbes reported.

Forbes is an American business magazine.

By Ed Conway, economics and data editor

The extraordinary, unprecedented and largely unexplained flows of millions of pounds of British luxury cars into states neighbouring Russia continued in February, according to new official data.

Some £26m worth of British cars were exported to Azerbaijan, according to HM Revenue & Customs.

In the latest quarter this former Soviet state - which has developing economy status - was the 17th largest destination for UK cars, and bigger than long-established export markets such as Ireland, Portugal and Qatar, the numbers show.

Read more below...

Russian forces have accelerated their advance west ofAvdiivka, the UK defence ministry has said.

Russia took control of the city, which is north of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, in mid-February.

It has now entered the town of Ocheretyne, about 15km north of central Avdiivka, the MoD added in its latest intelligence update.

The area is one of the "primary areas of Russian operations", it said.

"Despite sustaining continued high losses, it is highly likely that Russian ground forces are able to continuously target Ukrainian positions in the area and have taken control of several small settlements."

Russia has nomilitary or geopolitical interest in attackingNATO states, its defence minister has said.

ButNATO troops have createdadditional threats to Russia by moving closer to its borders,Sergei Shoigu added, according to theTASS news agency.

He was also quoted as saying thatWashington is deliberately dragging out the conflict in Ukraine byexerting unprecedented pressure.

Regarding theZaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, Mr Shoigu claimed that alleged Ukrainian strikes risk catastrophic consequences.

The plant has been occupied by Russian troops since early in the conflict.

Mr Shoigu claimed thatforeign advisers arehelping Ukraine to prepare acts of sabotage on Russian territory, but did not provide evidence.

Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of reckless militarybehaviour in Zaporizhzhia.

Spain will reportedly send a small number ofPatriot missiles to Ukraine.

Madrid hasruled out delivering anti-aircraft launchers, El Pais reported.

But it will provide shells, the newspaper added via anonymous sources.

Spain has three missile batteries - purchased second-handfrom Germany in 2004 and 2014, El Pais said.

A Spanish diplomatic source told foreign reporters yesterday that Madrid needs to "step up" its "commitment to Ukraine".

Earlier this month Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukraininan president, told members of NATO his country needs a minimum of seven Patriot or other advanced air defence systems to counter Russian air strikes.

On Monday, European Union ministers said they were considering providing more air defences to Ukraine.

But they stopped short of pledges regarding Patriot systems - the ones Kyiv wants most.

Spain's defence ministry did not reply to a request for comment.

Ukraine has sidelined US Abrams M1A1 tanks - partly because Russian drones can detect them and launch attacks, two US military officials have said.

Washington agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in January 2023.

Kyiv spent months arguing that the armoured vehicles, worth about $10m each, were vital in targeting Russian positions.

Since then, however, Moscow has begun to use more surveillance drones and hunter-killer drones, making it more difficult for Ukraine to protect the tanks.

Five of the 31 Abrams have already been lost to Russian attacks.

The proliferation of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield means there "isn't open ground that you can just drive across without fear of detection", a senior defence official told reporters.

For the moment, the tanks have been moved away from the frontlines.

The US will work with the Ukrainians to reset tactics, said Admiral Christopher Grady, joint chiefs of staff vice chairman.

A Swiss parliamentarycommittee has backed a £4.4bn aid package for Ukraine.

It is part of a broader package of measures designed to improve Switzerland's domestic security.

A further £8.8bn has been approved for the Swiss army.

Parliament said the funding was both for Switzerland's security and for "peace in Europe".

The money for Ukraine will be used to help withreconstruction.

Switzerland has been under pressure from Western allies to do moreto help Kyiv.

Right-wing nationalists in parliament, however, have pressed for the country to retain a strictly neutral stance, militarily.

Switzerland is due to host an international conference in the coming weeks which will look at how peace might be brought to Ukraine.

The United States is expected to announce about $6bn (£4.8bn) in military aid to Ukraine today.

The package is likely to includemunitions for Patriot air defence systems, US officials said.

Also on the list will be counter-artillery radar,tactical vehicles,drones, counter-drone systems and artillery.

Funding will come through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term contracts with the defence industry.

There could be a delay of months or even years before the weapons arrive.

However, another $1bn package of weapons and equipment approved by the White House earlier this week is likely to arrive in Ukraine quickly because those items -air defence munitions and large numbers of artillery rounds - are already in stock.

Both packages are possible now that a new $61bn (£49bn) programme of funding for Ukraine has been passed byCongress following a long delay.

President Joe Biden signed it into law on Wednesday.

Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, will hold a virtual meeting of defence officials from Europe and the wider world later.

Known as the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, it has been meeting monthly for the last two years.