Last war between Ukraine and Russia: Putin unlikely to make major breakthrough in Donetsk

Boris Johnson insisted the West ‘shouldn’t be afraid of escalation when it comes to arms supply’ as he met Republicans in Washington on Tuesday to drum up more support for the Ukraine.

Some hardliners among Republicans, who took control of the House of Representatives earlier this year, have called for an end to US military and other aid to Ukraine.

In a statement, the former prime minister said, “I am here primarily to recognize and pay tribute to the immense contribution of the United States to the security of the Ukrainian people.

“My mission is to demonstrate that Ukraine will win – and that there is no conceivable reason to further delay support for Ukrainians to win this year. We should not fear an escalation in the provision of armaments.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is ready to consider mediating in the war between Russia and Ukraine if asked by the nations and the United States.

“If all the parties concerned ask me, I will certainly think about it, but I don’t impose myself,” Netanyahu told CNN in an interview.

It would have to be the “right time and the right circumstances”, he said.

He added that the United States will also have to ask for its close ally because “you can’t have too many cooks in the kitchen.”

Volodymyr Zelensky said his administration, military officials and the intelligence team were already responding to Moscow’s plans for revenge against Ukraine.

“Today, like every day, I held several meetings with the military and the head of intelligence. We are studying the situation in detail in all major operational departments and over the long term. What the occupier is preparing for and how we are already responding to Russia’s preparations for a revenge attempt,” he said in his evening speech.

He added: “Our defense and security forces, the Ukrainian government, our partners – we are all making efforts so that Russia not only fails to regain ground on the battlefield, but also loses its last hope of aggression in his attempts at revenge.

“The defeat of Russia will prevent any alternative to a lasting and reliable peace. I thank all our partners who support this position of Ukraine,” Mr. Zelensky said.

Boris Johnson met Republican politicians in Washington yesterday as he continued his personal international campaign for Ukraine.

The former prime minister spoke with Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and was due to speak at a private Republican club on Tuesday evening, Reuters said.

On Wednesday, the Tory MP and former Mayor of London will discuss the need for ‘Western unity and support for Ukraine and what more can be done about the threat posed by Russia’ at the Atlantic Council think tank .

Rishi Sunak said it was “impractical” to supply Ukraine with British fighter jets, but he pledged to accelerate support to enable “decisive gains” against Russian invaders.

Downing Street said training Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces on “extremely sophisticated” Typhoons and F-35s would take too long, but he did not object to the allies sending in their own jets.

After completing a review, the Prime Minister told his cabinet that a “prolonged stalemate” in the war in Ukraine “would only benefit Russia” and its President Vladimir Putin, according to 10.

The United States has imposed new trade restrictions on seven Iranian entities for the production of drones that Russia used to attack Ukraine, the US Department of Commerce said.

The companies and other organizations have been added to a US export control list for those who engage in activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy interests.

The additions to the Commerce Department’s “Entity List” were published in a preliminary filing in the US Federal Register, the government’s daily newspaper, and will be officially released on Wednesday.

Alexander Lukashenko said Belarus was ready to offer more help to its close ally Russia in its war against Ukraine – but claimed Moscow needed ‘no help’ at the moment.

“However, if our Russian brothers need help, we are always ready to offer such assistance,” the authoritarian leader told reporters during a state visit to Zimbabwe.

Although it allowed Russia to use its territory to launch its invasion of Kyiv last year, Belarus has not committed any of its troops to the war. Nevertheless, Ukraine claims to have maintained forces along its border with Belarus to repel any possible invasion.

The mayor of Lviv attended a memorial service held in the western Ukrainian city for former US Navy Seal Daniel Swift, who was killed fighting for Kyiv.

Swift had fought for the Ukrainian International Legion and won an award during his service, said Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, who wrote on Facebook: “Sincere condolences to the family and eternal memory to the defender.”

Dozens of people, including Swift’s brother Thomas, attended the service at a Catholic church in central Lviv.

According to a US Navy statement, Swift deserted from the US military in 2019 and was killed in fighting in Ukraine on January 18.

Foreign companies with property in the UK have until midnight to identify their ‘beneficial owners’ in a new public register – announced after Russia invaded Ukraine – aimed at cracking down on oligarchs and corrupt elites laundering “dirty money” in Britain.

But a Reuters analysis of government data found the people behind thousands of foreign companies owning UK property remain shrouded in secrecy, the news agency reports.

More than 19,000 foreign companies had disclosed ownership of British property by Tuesday morning in Britain, according to data from Companies House, which runs the new register. This represents about two-thirds of all foreign corporate owners, based on official land ownership records.

In addition, around a quarter of registered companies did not identify any individual owners, many of which disclosed entities in countries known for business secrecy, such as the British Virgin Islands or Panama. The guidelines define a “beneficial owner” as an individual or an entity.