Russia ‘will pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad,’ Vladimir Putin expected to say on Thursday; Jens Stoltenberg strongly urges China against backing Moscow

Nato chief sees ‘signs’ China may provide support to Russia

Nato’s chief said Wednesday that the military alliance has seen “some signs” that China may be planning to support Russia in its war in Ukraine, and strongly urged Beijing to desist from what would be a violation of international law.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg also told The Associated Press in an interview that the alliance, while not a party to the war, will support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

Asked whether Nato has any indication that China might be ready to provide arms or other support to Russia’s war, Stoltenberg said:

“We have seen some signs that they may be planning for that and of course Nato allies, the United States, have been warning against it because this is something that should not happen. China should not support Russia’s illegal war.”

Stoltenberg said potential Chinese assistance would amount to providing “(direct) support to a blatant violation of international law, and of course (as) a member of the UN security council China should not in any way support violation of the UN charter, or international law.”

On Wednesday, Putin hosted the Chinese Communist party’s most senior foreign policy official, Wang Yi, raising concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support in the almost year-old war

Putin threatens to strengthen nuclear forces

Russian president Vladimir Putin will use an address to mark Thursday’s Defender of the Fatherland public holiday to threatening to strengthen the country’s nuclear forces.

“As before, we will pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad,” Putin said in remarks issued early on Thursday morning by the Kremlin. The ‘triad’, refers to nuclear missiles based on land, sea and in the air.

Putin said that for the first time, Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles – a weapon able to carry multiple nuclear warheads – would be deployed this year.

“We will continue mass production of airbased hypersonic Kinzhal systems and will start mass supplies of sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles,” Putin said

Welcome and Summary

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

On the eve of the anniversary of the start of the war, Russian president Vladimir Putin has threatened to strengthen the country’s nuclear forces. His comments were released ahead of an address to mark Thursday’s Defender of the Fatherland public holiday.

And Nato’s chief says the military alliance has seen “some signs” that China may be planning to support Russia in its war in Ukraine, and strongly urged Beijing to desist from what would be a violation of international law.

We’ll have more on these stories shortly. In the meantime here are the key recent developments:

• Joe Biden has said Putin made a “big mistake” by suspending the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the US. Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US will not increase the risk of a nuclear war, Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, has said. Russia’s parliament on Wednesday approved Vladimir Putin’s move to suspend the treaty.
• The Biden administration is considering releasing intelligence it believes shows that China is weighing whether to supply weapons to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
• UN secretary general Antonio Guterres condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “an affront to our collective conscience” at a two-day meeting of the General Assembly. Friday’s anniversary is “a grim milestone for the people of Ukraine and for the international community”, he said in New York.
• Two civilians have been killed in Russian shelling of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, according to regional officials. Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the regional military administration, said an 81-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man were killed during shelling of the village of Novotyahinka, about 40 km (25 miles) from Kherson city. A Russian missile strike on the north-eastern city of Kharkiv on Wednesday morning has also left two civilians wounded, Oleh Synyehubov, governor of Kharkiv region, has said.
• Biden vowed that the US will defend “literally every inch of Nato” territory ahead of talks with Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg and leaders of the Bucharest Nine (B9), a collection of nations on the most eastern parts of the Nato alliance and closest to Russia.
• All members of the Bucharest Nine (B9) have jointly condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine, a Polish presidential adviser said. President Biden and the B9 leaders “reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine and underscored their shared commitment to stand with the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes” according to a White House account of Wednesday afternoon’s meeting in Warsaw.
• China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, has met Vladimir Putin in Moscow, as China and Russia reaffirm their close bilateral relationship. Wang told Putin that Beijing will play a “constructive” role in reaching a political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, Russian state-owned Tass news agency reported.
• Earlier on Wednesday, Wang met Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, where he said he expected to reach a “new consensus” on advancing the relationship between the two allies. Xi Jinping, China’s president, is expected to visit Putin in Russia in the coming months.
• Vladimir Putin has praised soldiers who are “fighting heroically, courageously, bravely” to “defend the fatherland” in a speech at a rally in Moscow to mark a year of war in Ukraine. Thousands gathered at Luzhniki stadium in Moscow to attend a concert marking the “Defenders of the Fatherland” Day.
• EU countries have failed to agree on a new set of sanctions against Russia meant to be in place for the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday, four diplomatic sources in Brussels have told Reuters. More talks among Brussels representatives of EU member countries were due on Thursday afternoon, said the sources