Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 372 of the invasion

Ukrainians survived the past winter thanks to government efforts to ensure energy and heat, but Russia still poses a threat to the generating system, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said. “Winter is over. It was a very difficult one and every Ukrainian, without exaggeration, felt the difficulties,” the Ukrainian president said in a video message delivered after a meeting on energy issues. “But we managed to provide Ukraine with energy and heat. The threat to the energy system remains.”

Russia has lost at least 130 tanks and armoured personnel carriers in a three-week battle at the town of Vuhledar in southern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. They said the “epic” fight on a plain near Vuhledar produced the biggest tank battle of the war so far and a stinging setback for the Russians, the New York Times reported.

The United States is sounding out close allies about the possibility of imposing new sanctions on China if Beijing provides military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine, according to four US officials and other sources. The consultations, which are still at a preliminary stage, are intended to drum up support from a range of countries, especially those in the wealthy G7, to coordinate support for any possible restrictions.

The Ukrainian military may decide to withdraw its forces from Bakhmut, an economic adviser to Zelenskiy has said. “Our military is obviously going to weigh all of the options. So far, they’ve held the city, but if need be, they will strategically pull back,” said Alexander Rodnyansky on CNN. “We’re not going to sacrifice all of our people just for nothing.”

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, said Ukrainian forces were putting up “furious resistance” against Moscow’s attempt to seize Bakhmut. Prigozhin said he so far had seen no signs of a Ukrainian withdrawal. The battle for Bakhmut, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance as defenders hold out against relentless shelling and repel waves of Russian troops who have been carrying out a months-long campaign to capture it.

Russia’s defence ministry has said its forces repelled what it described as a major Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014. “Six Ukrainian attack drones were shot down by air defence systems. Another four Ukrainian drones were disabled by electronic warfare,” the ministry said.

Vladimir Putin has said he is preparing for a visit to Moscow by China’s president, Xi Jinping, Russian state media reported. The Russian leader said he planned to show the Chinese delegation the Moscow metro’s Bolshaya Koltsevaya line (Big Circle line) during their visit to the Russian capital.

The leaders of China and Belarus – Xi Jinping and Alexander Lukashenko – have issued a joint statement calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and negotiations to bring about a political settlement. The joint call amounted to an endorsement of Beijing’s peace plan issued last week that called for respect of national sovereignty and “territorial integrity”.

Finland’s parliament has overwhelmingly approved joining Nato. Finnish MPs voted 184 in favour of accepting the Nato treaties, with seven against and one abstaining, increasing the chances of it becoming a member of the transatlantic defensive alliance before its neighbour Sweden.

Hungary’s president, Katalin Novák, urged lawmakers on Wednesday to ratify Finland and Sweden’s Nato entry “as soon as possible”. “It is a complex decision, with serious consequences, so careful consideration is necessary,” Novák said on Facebook. Hungary and Turkey are so far the only two Nato countries not to ratify their admission. Talks between Turkey, Sweden and Finland resume in Brussels on 9 March.

Germany will ramp up ammunition production as well as ensure it has enough replacement parts and repairs capacity in its defence industry to better support Ukraine, the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has said.

Russia would only agree to extend the Black Sea grain deal if the interests of its agricultural producers were taken into account, Russia’s foreign ministry has said. The deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey, allows safe exports from Ukrainian ports and is up for renewal this month.

Russia brought new legal amendments to parliament on Wednesday that further strengthen the country’s censorship laws, envisaging up to 15 years in jail for discrediting the armed forces or voluntary military organisations such as the Wagner group.