Ukraine-Russia war live: Press Putin to end war, Germany urges China’s Xi Jinping

Russian blogger Anastasia Ivleeva, the organiser of a “Nearly Naked” party that caused a major scandal, has been charged with discrediting the Russian army, according to the Moscow court service.

Ivleeva has been charged with an administrative offence, which could lead to a fine, and the hearing has been set for 25 April, the court service said.

The risks of a Russian attack against Nato in the near future would rise dramatically if the US allows Russia to defeat Ukraine now, the US-based think-tank The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest analysis on the cost of letting Russia win in its invasion of Ukraine.

“The United States thus has only two real choices today. It can quickly resume providing military aid to let Ukraine stabilize the front lines near the current locations. Or it can let the Russians defeat the Ukrainian military and drive toward the NATO borders from the Black Sea to central Poland. There is no third option,” the ISW said.

It added: “The risks of a Russian attack against NATO in the near future would rise dramatically if the US allows Russia to defeat Ukraine now, and the challenge of defending the Baltic States in particular could become almost insurmountable. These long-term risks and costs far outweigh the short-term price of resuming assistance to Ukraine.”

The ISW added that the US lawmakers are debating about providing additional military assistance to Ukraine based in part on the assumption that the war will remain stalemated regardless of US actions.

“That assumption is false. The Russians are breaking out of positional warfare and beginning to restore maneuver to the battlefield because of the delays in the provision of US military assistance to Ukraine. Ukraine cannot hold the present lines now without the rapid resumption of US assistance, particularly air defense and artillery that only the US can provide rapidly and at scale,” the ISW said.

Volodymyr Zelensky repeated his call for increased protection of airspace, comparing the two biggest armed conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.

“In the last two days we have heard all kinds of things. About different conflicts – here in Europe and in the Middle East – different levels of threats, different airspace. Although the ‘Shahed’ drones and ballistics are the same… Different threats of escalation. But are human lives different, are people’s values different? No, they are not,” he said in his nightly address.

He added: “We value every life equally. We must do so. We must protect them from terror on the same level. Ukraine will request a meeting of the Ukraine – Nato Council to discuss the protection of the skies, the supply of anti-aircraft warfare, relevant systems and missiles. We are actively working now to ensure a productive first Global Peace Summit in June.”

German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday said he had asked Chinese president Xi Jinping to exert influence over Russia to end the war in Ukraine, adding that both leaders rejected attacks on nuclear facilities.

Speaking on the final day of his trip to China, Scholz also said China had agreed to open up beef and apple imports from Germany and facilitate pork imports.

Speaking on economic issues, Scholz said Europe wanted to reduce risks, intensify existing contacts and build new ones.

Escalation of conflict in the Middle East risks pushing up food and energy prices across the world, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The UN body also warned that the UK will eke out slower growth this year than previously thought and remain the second-worst performer in the G7 group of advanced economies.

The IMF said the global economy has had an “eventful” journey in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Russia’s war in Ukraine triggered a global energy and food crisis, and a surge in inflation, followed by central banks around the world hiking interest rates.

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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law a bill overhauling army mobilization rules, according to the parliamentary website.

The law will come into force a month after it is officially published.

It obliges men to update their draft data with the authorities, boosts payments to those who volunteer, and adds new punishment for draft dodging.

A Russian missile attack killed and injured residents and damaged social infrastructure in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Wednesday, regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus said.

"The enemy hit with three missiles almost in the city centre.  There are victims among civilians and many injured," Chaus said in a video as sirens blared in the background.

He said on the Telegram messaging app that emergency services and medics were working on the site of the strike in the historic city, about 150 km (93 miles) from the capital Kyiv.

No further details were immediately available. Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, on Wednesday reiterated Kyiv’s plea for more air defence.

In recent weeks Russia has intensified its drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, targeting the country’s power sector and other critical infrastructure.

Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia’s continuing war in Ukraine topping the agenda.

Under Italy’s rotating stewardship, the G7 leaders are expected to issue a united call for Israel to exercise restraint after Iran’s unprecedented weekend attack involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles fired toward the Jewish state.

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said he had spoken to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, on Tuesday and urged Israel to not only de-escalate any reaction to Iran’s attack but to stave off a planned offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

"I reiterated this message and I believe that on the occasion of the G7 foreign ministers in Capri, tomorrow and Friday morning, a similar message will be sent," Tajani told state-run RAI.

With Israel’s war in Gaza in its sixth month, Tehran’s attack added a new element of urgency to the three-day meeting, with German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock making a last-minute visit to Israel before arriving on Capri on Wednesday evening.

"We will discuss how a further escalation with more and more violence can be prevented," she said.

"Because what matters now is to put a stop to Iran without encouraging further escalation," Baerbock said, in calling for new sanctions against Tehran.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz said he urged Chinese president Xi Jinping to press Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

Mr Scholz told Mr Xi in a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday that China’s word carries “weight in Russia.”

“I have therefore asked president Xi to influence Russia so that Putin finally calls off his senseless campaign, withdraw his troops and ends this terrible war,” he wrote on social media platform X.

More than 50,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the Kremlin invaded its neighbour more than two years ago.

The number of deaths was nearly 25 per cent higher last year than in the first 12 months of the war, according to analysis by the BBC.

The corporation used graves, open-source information from official reports, newspapers and social media to confirm the deaths.