Russia’s war on Ukraine latest: Putin gives nuclear warning, Biden rallies allies

February 21 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday issued a nuclear warning to the West about Ukraine, suspended a bilateral nuclear arms control agreement, announced new strategic combat systems and warned Moscow could resume nuclear tests.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden, fresh off his pledge of support for Ukraine on an unannounced visit to Kiev, was in Poland and arguing for sustained Western efforts to ensure Kiev wins the war.

DIPLOMACY

* “A year ago, the world was preparing for the fall of Kiev,” Biden said at Warsaw’s Royal Castle. “I can report: Kiev stands strong, Kiev stands proud, it stands tall and, most importantly, it stands free.”

* Almost a year after ordering an invasion that has sparked the biggest confrontation with the West in six decades, Putin said Russia will achieve its goals and accused the West of destroying it.

* China is “deeply concerned” that the Ukraine conflict could spiral out of control, Foreign Minister Qin Gang said, and he urged certain countries to stop “stoking the fire” in an apparent standoff with the United States.

* Any peace that involves handing over Ukraine to invading Russian forces “cannot be a real peace,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a visit to Kiev.

* Financial leaders of the Group of Seven will meet on Thursday to discuss anti-Russia measures that will put pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine, Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said.

BATTLE

* Six civilians were killed and 12 wounded in Russian shelling on Tuesday at a market and public transport station in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the Ukrainian military said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

* Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, accused unspecified officials of deliberately denying his fighters enough ammunition as part of an ongoing rivalry between himself and sections of Russia’s elite.

ANNIVERSARY

* Zelenskyy of Ukraine has defied Putin against all odds a year after the start of the war.

* Putin, securely in power, has set the stage for a long and exhausting war.

* A year after the Russian invasion, Ukraine and its government not only survived. You fought back.

* Hardened by the scars of war, Kiev pushes on as Russia attacks

* Barber by day, drone hunter by night will help defend the skies over Ukraine

* Russia’s defense chief keeps his job despite Ukraine’s defeat thanks to Putin

OPINION

* BREAKINGVIEWS-Even a weak Russia is a problem for Europe

*BREAKINGVIEWS-Ukraine has yet to make defense a safe haven for investors

Compiled by Reuters editors

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