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

German chancellor says he told president Xi that China’s word carries ‘weight’ in Russia

UK has fasttracked the production of laser energy and radio waves weaponry

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.

Earlier, a Russian source said Moscow was ready to redeploy Wagner troops working in Africa to bolster its offensive in Ukraine.

The source claimed Russian authorities are preparing to redeploy unspecified detachments of the Africa Corps from Africa to Belgorod, Ukraine, according to US think tank Institute for the Study of War.

Key Points

• Scholz urges China to help end war in Ukraine
• Zelensky: Major power plant destroyed as Kyiv had zero missiles to protect it
• Attacks on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant put the world at risk, says IAEA
• Vital US aid impacting Ukraine’s defence against Putin’s troops, think tank warns
• Zelensky and his Ukrainian commanders discuss war strategy
• Ukraine uses UK-made Strom Shadow missiles to strike target deep in occupied territory

[16 April 2024 22:00 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: 15 Ukrainian civilians injured in Russian airstrike in Kherson

Some 15 Ukrainian civilians have been injured in a Russian airstrike on the city of Beryslav in the Kherson Oblast region.

The region’s prosecutor’s office said the 15 suffered concussions following a strike that damaged residential buildings, shops, a pharmacy and other buildings at around 11:30 local time.

All 15 received medical treatment at the scene.

[16 April 2024 23:00 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: Poland should be part of several air defence systems, says PM

Poland will cooperate with the European Sky Shield Initiative air defence umbrella and it makes sense for the country to be part of several air defence systems, prime minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday.

The European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is a common air defence scheme set up by Germany in 2022 to boost European air defence.

Earlier on Tuesday, President Andrzej Duda said Poland hadn’t given any thought to joining what he described as a “German business project”.

[17 April 2024 00:01 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: Kremlin dismisses France’s call for Olympic truce

The Kremlin reacted coolly on Tuesday to French president Emmanuel Macron’s call for a truce in international conflicts during the Paris Olympics, saying Ukraine might use it as an opportunity to regroup and rearm.

Suspending armed conflicts under an “Olympic truce” is a longstanding tradition of the Games, and Macron said in an interview on Monday that he would work towards achieving one when Paris hosts the Olympics from 26 July to 11 August.

Asked about Macron’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that both president Vladimir Putin and the Russian military had “noticed that, as a rule, the Kyiv regime uses such ideas, such initiatives to try to regroup, to try to rearm, and so on and so forth. This, of course, significantly complicates the process of considering such initiatives.”

[17 April 2024 01:00 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: Thousands without power as strong winds and heavy rain damage energy infrastructure

Strong winds and heavy rain left thousands of people in Ukraine without power on Tuesday.

The adverse weather damaged electrical infrastructure, leaving four regions without power supply.

“Due to the bad weather, 173 settlements in four regions are without power supply,” Ukraine’s energy ministry said.

In Dnipropetrovsk, the worst affected area in central Ukraine, over 15,000 people in 96 towns and villages were cut off.

DTEK, one of the main energy providers, said its engineers had worked “all night and in the morning” to restore power to the region.

[17 April 2024 02:00 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: On a China visit, the German chancellor says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens global security

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Chinese leader Xi Jinping who hosted him in Beijing on Tuesday that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine threatens global security, in an apparent call for China to apply greater pressure on its neighbor and close strategic partner to resolve the conflict.

Scholz also told Xi at their meeting that the use of nuclear weapons in the 2-year-old war should not even be threatened, German media reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last month that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence is threatened, his latest such threat since invading Ukraine.

Full report:

[17 April 2024 03:00 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: Russia has so far lost 455,340 troops in war - Ukraine

Russia has lost 455,340 troops in Ukraine since invading the country in February 2022, Ukraine has said.

Some 920 of those casualties occurred in the past day, according to a report by Ukraine’s general staff of the Armed Forces.

According to the report, Moscow has also lost 7,189 tanks, 13,809 armored fighting vehicles, 15,563 vehicles and fuel tanks, 11,609 artillery systems, 1,046 multiple launch rocket systems, 759 air defense systems, 347 airplanes, 325 helicopters, 9,277 drones, 26 ships and boats, and one submarine.

[17 April 2024 04:00 · Matt Mathers]

ICYMI: Ukraine says it downs all nine drones launched by Russia

Ukraine’s air defence systems destroyed all nine drones launched in a Russian attack, the air force said on Tuesday.

The aerial weapons were destroyed over several eastern and southern regions, Ukraine’s air force said on the Telegram messaging app.

[17 April 2024 04:04 · Arpan Rai]

Ukraine PM calls for more investment in war-torn country in US visit

Ukraine prime minister Denys Shmyhal drumming up calls for investment and business in the war-torn Ukraine as he kicked off a United States visit with multiple stops in Chicago.

He spoke to Chicago-area business leaders before a joint news conference with Penny Pritzker, the U.S. special representative for Ukraine’s economic recovery, and her brother, Illinois governor JB Pritzker.

“We would warmly welcome the participation of Illinois companies in projects related to the recovery of Ukraine,” Mr Shmyhal told reporters, calling it the country’s “most difficult time” in recent history.

Shmyhal’s trip comes comes as Congress is considering an aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other allies.

He cited World Bank estimates of $486bn needed for recovery over the next decade. For example, more than 250,000 residential buildings that have been damaged or destroyed since Russia invaded in 2022, he said.

[17 April 2024 04:31 · Arpan Rai]

Zelensky thanks German chancellor for diplomacy in China

Volodymyr Zelensky thanked German chancellor Olaf Scholz for his diplomatic efforts in Beijing to resolve Kyiv’s 25-month-old war with Russia and said China could play a role in securing peace.

Ukraine has deployed considerable effort to secure the backing of China, which has close ties with Russia, for a peace summit due to take place in Switzerland in June. Russia is not invited to the gathering and has dismissed any such meeting as meaningless without Moscow’s participation.

Mr Scholz spent more than three hours yesterday with Chinese president Xi Jinping and said he asked him “to exert pressure on Russia so that (president Vladimir) Putin finally calls off his insane campaign, withdraws his troops and ends this terrible war”.

But Mr Xi appeared to dismiss the meeting in Switzerland, saying efforts towards a peaceful resolution should be recognised by both sides and include equal participation by all parties.

“I would like to specially thank Olaf, the Chancellor of Germany, for his leadership and appropriate international communication,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

“For the signals we have heard from Beijing. China can indeed help restore a just peace for Ukraine and stability in international relations.”

Mr Zelensky said the meeting in Switzerland “offers a real chance for all of us to ensure that the UN Charter and its goals and principles truly come into effect.”

[17 April 2024 04:46 · Arpan Rai]

Zelensky signs new mobilisation bill to boost conscription in Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky has signed into law a bill to overhaul Ukraine’s army mobilisation rules as Kyiv tries to generate fresh manpower to rotate its exhausted troops fighting Russian invaders.

The law obliges Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 years of age to update their personal data with the military authorities, allowing draft offices to see more easily who can be called up in any given region.

Military-age men will be legally required at all times to carry the registration document they are given by the draft office. Draft officers will be allowed to ask to see the document in the street.

The legislation also abolishes mandatory conscription for Ukrainian men aged 18 or older, and replaces it with basic military training for all men starting from September 2025.

One new provision allows people who have been convicted and given a suspended sentence to serve in the army. Convicts are currently banned from any type of military service.

After being mobilised, all men must undergo compulsory training before being sent to a combat area.

The legislation bans people from driving vehicles if they do not abide by the mobilisation rules. An earlier draft had proposed tough punishments such as asset freezes for such people, but that was cut after a public outcry. A separate bill proposing fines for draft dodgers passed its first reading today.