March 2, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 in New Delhi, according to a State Department official traveling with Blinken.

The brief contact marks a significant moment as high-level engagements between the United States and Russia have become exceedingly rare since the start of the war last February. The meeting comes as tensions remain high over Ukraine as well as Russia’s suspension of the New START nuclear weapons treaty.

What we know about the meeting: Blinken and Lavrov spoke for roughly 10 minutes, the same official said. In the conversation, Blinken called on Russia to release Paul Whelan and restart participation in New START, as well as underscoring US support for Ukraine, according to the source.

The source also said that this meeting was unplanned and that Secretary Blinken was the one to approach Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi.

Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova confirmed to CNN that the meeting took place.

“Blinken asked for contact with Lavrov. On the go, as part of the second session of the twenty, Sergey Viktorovich (Lavrov) talked. There were no negotiations, meetings, etc,” she said.

The last time Blinken and Lavrov met in person was before the Russian invasion.

Earlier Blinken said that a meeting of G20 finance ministers was "marred" by the war in Ukraine.

"Unfortunately, this meeting has again been marred by Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine, deliberate campaign of destruction against civilian targets, and its attack on the core principles of the UN Charter," he said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged China not to provide weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, instead asking Beijing to use its influence in Moscow to work for peace.

"My message to Beijing is clear: use your influence in Moscow to persuade the withdrawal of Russian troops," Scholz told German lawmakers at the Bundestag on Thursday.

"And do not deliver any weapons to Moscow."

Scholz also referred to China's position paper on Ukraine, in which Beijing reiterated its calls for a political settlement to the Ukraine conflict and stressed its opposition to the use of nuclear weapons.

The 12-point document is part of China's efforts to present itself as a neutral peace broker, as it struggles to balance its "no-limits" friendship with Moscow and fraying relations with the West as the war drags on.

''It is very positive that China has sent out this clear signal and in its 12-point plan has said that there can be no use of chemical or biological weapons,'' Scholz said. 

''However, China should be discussing this 12-point plan with those most involved - such as President Zelensky," he added. "At the G20 meeting there was no will unfortunately to emphasize that message.''

Some context: Beijing is coming under increasing pressure from the United States and its allies over its growing partnership with Moscow.

China's claim to neutrality is severely undermined by its refusal to acknowledge the nature of the conflict — it has avoided calling it an "invasion" — and its diplomatic and economic support to Russia.

For example, China and Russia were the only two G20 nations to refuse to sign a joint statement condemning the invasion produced during a meeting of finance ministers in India on Saturday.

Russia and China have “unanimously rejected” what they called “attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries" at the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting on Thursday.

The two nations expressed a “high degree of closeness and concurrence of positions” on the situation in Ukraine, according to a Russian readout of a meeting between Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Qin Gang.

Lavrov and Qin said they also rejected attempts "to impose unilateral approaches through blackmail and threats, and to oppose the democratization of international relations.”

Some context: G20 officials are gathered for a series of events in India, the current holder of the group's presidency.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for nations to “rise above [their] differences," adding that “multilateralism is in crisis."

Regular and sustained artillery could be heard around the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, five kilometers (more than 3 miles) west of the besieged city of Bakhmut, reported by a CNN team on the ground.

CNN witnessed convoys of Ukrainian armored vehicles heading in both directions along the main supply road into Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine on Thursday. One tank group gave CNN the "V" for victory sign. 

Ukrainian “infantry are fighting against what remains of the Wagner group and at least two Russian paratrooper battalions," a soldier who has been in Bakhmut for weeks told CNN.

Another Ukrainian soldier said they had no intention of retreating from Bakhmut.

“If we leave Bakhmut, Russians will start destroying the next Ukrainian villages and towns,” they said. 

Chasiv Yar would likely be the next target for Russian forces should they claim Bakhmut, according to Ukrainian military officials.

CNN spoke with residents in the town at a bus stop serving as a delivery point for tarpaulin to cover their windows.

One elderly lady, Valentina, said that many shells were flying overhead and that from certain points in the town “you can walk to Russian positions.”

Some context: Ukrainian commanders and soldiers have described the situation in and around Bakhmut as extremely difficult in the past few days.

Ukraine's military general staff has acknowledged that Russian forces have been able to make gains in the city and were no longer operating only on the outskirts.

Ukrainian commanders have also said they are not planning on withdrawing from Bakhmut yet.

Germany and its Western allies are in talks with Kyiv over future security guarantees in preparation for peace for Ukraine, according to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

In his address to the German parliament on Thursday, Scholz renewed calls for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

However, Scholz said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not currently open to negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

"Is Putin even ready... to negotiate a just peace? Nothing suggests it at the moment," he said. 

Instead, the Russian president was relying on "threats" such as the suspension of Moscow's participation in the New START nuclear arms control pact, said Scholz.

His speech came just over a year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

On February 27, 2022, Scholz made a historic speech in parliament, outlining a major U-turn in Germany's security and defense policy.

Since then, Germany has reversed its policy over never sending weapons into conflict zones, unwound its business relationship with Russia and increased investments in its own military. 

Russian forces are advancing within the city of Bakhmut, according to the Ukrainian military and analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The small, eastern city appears to be close to falling to Russia. Its capture would mark progress for Russian forces, as well as giving them a springboard to target urban areas further west.

“In the Bakhmut direction, the enemy continues to advance,” the Ukrainian military General Staff said on Thursday, also suggesting there is a Russian presence within the city rather than just on the outskirts.

The ISW says Russian forces “advanced within Bakhmut and continued ground attacks around the city.”

Despite Russian advances, the Ukrainian military says it is not planning to withdraw from Bakhmut and is still holding its ground in the city.

“Our defenders repelled attacks in the areas of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Dubovo-Vasylivka, Bakhmut and Ivanivske,” the General Staff said on Thursday.

Russian forces are reportedly using highly trained fighters from the Wagner mercenary group in the assault on Bakhmut.

Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has said he is skeptical that Ukrainian forces will withdraw from the city, and has told Russian media that the Ukrainian military is transferring large numbers of reserves to the area.

The foreign minister of the Netherlands on Thursday described the Russia-Ukraine war as a "litmus test" for Dutch, European — and global — credibility.

“There’s much more than just Ukrainian sovereignty at stake here," Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra told reporters on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi.

The Netherlands would continue to support Ukraine for the long haul, he said, adding that the already year-long war might continue "for a very long time."

At least three people have now been confirmed dead after Russian shelling hit a high-rise residential building overnight in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a senior Ukrainian official said Thursday.

In a Telegram post, the Ukrainian President’s Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak, also said five people were hospitalized.

Earlier, Ukrainian authorities said a pregnant woman was among nine people rescued from the rubble of a residential building in Zaporizhzhia after it was destroyed by Russian rockets.

After spending close to five months stuck inside an airport in South Korea, Dmitry is finally able to breathe fresh air. But he is yet to taste freedom — and his real wait may have only just begun.

He is one of five Russian men who became stranded at Incheon International Airport last year while trying to flee Moscow’s military mobilization order for its war in Ukraine. The South Korean Justice Ministry refused their applications for refugee status, effectively leaving them in limbo at the airport.

Too scared to return to Russia, they resorted to sleeping rough at the airport, living on handout meals from the South Korean immigration department.

Dmitry (not his real name; he asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution if he is sent home) and one other of the men were allowed to leave the airport this week and were checked into a government holding facility — the Foreigner Support Center — while their dispute with the ministry continues. The other three remain in the airport. It’s unclear why the men did not attempt to reach a third country once they realized the difficulties in South Korea.

Applying for refugee status here could take months or years and in the meantime, Dmitry will need prior approval if he wishes to leave the center and even then he will face a 6:00 p.m. curfew and must take a Covid test at his own expense. He will also not be allowed to work for at least six months and possibly much longer.

But for Dmitry this semi-existence is better than the alternative — even though he had to leave a wife and 7-year-old son behind in Russia.

Read the full story here.