Russia-Ukraine war live: injuries reported in strikes on Kharkiv; Biden to meet Nato secretary in Poland

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Anton Gerashchenko, who is former deputy minister in the internal affairs department of Ukraine, and currently acts as an adviser, has suggested in a post on Telegram that Ukraine should work with Moldova to restore territorial integrity to the latter. In a post he tagged “my opinion”, Geraschenko said:

If the people of Moldova and the authorities decide to restore territorial integrity, then with the support of Nato and Ukraine, this can be done in 24 hours.

Now Moldova has a unique geopolitical and historical chance to gain independence from Russia. The separatist enclave of Transnistria, which exists solely due to the support of the Russian Federation, has been “sandwiched” between Moldova and Ukraine for a year now.

Moldova needs to muster up the courage and, with the support of Nato allies and Ukraine, to restore its territorial integrity, using all available methods for this. Thus, Chișinău, instead of Kyiv, should end the 30-year history of mockery of Moldovan independence.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region in Russia, has posted to Telegram to say that a shopping mall has been struck in the Russian town of Shebekino. He wrote:

The shelling of Shebekino. Shells hit the mall, causing it to catch fire. According to preliminary data, there is one victim. A man with shrapnel wounds was taken to the Central district hospital. Doctors assess his condition as extremely serious. All necessary assistance is provided. Operational services are on site, rescuers have begun extinguishing [the fire].

Ukraine will ask Turkey and the United Nations this week to start talks to roll over the Black Sea grain deal, seeking an extension of at least one year that would include the ports of Mykolaiv, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.

The Black Sea grain initiative brokered by the UN and Turkey last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports. The agreement was extended in November and will expire on 18 March unless an extension is agreed.

“A formal proposal will come out from us this week on the need to work on an extension,” Yuriy Vaskov, Ukraine’s deputy minister of restoration, told Reuters in an interview.

He said the exact date of the talks, which have previously taken place in Turkey, had not yet been set.

“We will request … to extend it not for 120 days but for at least one year because the Ukrainian and global agricultural market needs to be able to plan these volumes in the long term,” Vaskov said.

He said Ukraine would insist on an increase in the number of inspection teams “in order to eliminate the accumulation of vessels waiting for inspections”.

Vaskov said Mykolaiv’s ports, which accounted for 35% of Ukrainian food exports before the Russian invasion, were ready to join the initiative and would need a maximum of two weeks to start operations.

He said Kyiv did not see Russia’s occupation of the Kinburn spit as an obstacle to adding Mykolaiv’s ports to an extended deal. The spit of land overlooks the route that ships would use to sail from Mykolaiv’s ports into the Black Sea.

“If the ports (of Mykoliav) are included in the initiative, there will be an obligation not to attack ships carrying agricultural products, which can work even in the current situation,” Vaskov said.

Pope Francis, speaking two days before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on Wednesday called for a ceasefire and peace negotiations, saying no victory could be “built on ruins”.

Francis, who has appealed for an end to violence in Ukraine at nearly every public appearance since Russia’s invasion of the country on 24 February 2022, spoke at his weekly general audience at the Vatican.

Pope Francis greets children holding up a Ukrainian flag during today’s weekly general audience at the Vatican. Photograph: Remo Casilli/Reuters

“It has been a year since the start of this absurd and cruel war, a sad anniversary,” he said.

“The number of dead, wounded, refugees and displaced people, the destruction and economic and social damage speak for themselves,” Francis said.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican, Andrii Yurash, attended the audience along with a delegation of Ukrainian officials.

“May the Lord forgive so many crimes and so much violence. He is the God of peace. Let us remain close to the martyred Ukrainian people who continue to suffer,” Reuters reports Francis said.

A group of ten EU member states have called for stronger action to stop Russia sourcing military parts through front companies in neighbouring countries and evading western sanctions.

The ten countries, which include France, Germany, Italy and the Baltic states, write that “2023 must be the year of success in countering circumvention”, warning that public support and international legitimacy of sanctions could wane if they are deemed ineffective.

In an informal paper the group argues that special attention should be given to western components used in Russian weaponry and military equipment, parts that are not easily replaced and could disrupt Russia’s military production if they were to disappear. They write:

We see that Russia is transitioning into a full-on military economy with a view to sustaining its war efforts. Alternative supply chains are created through the use of front companies and intermediates in the circle of countries around Russia. Special focus should be put on western components that are crucial to the Russian military industry. A small disruption of these production chains therefore quickly has a significant impact in the Russian ability to produce weapons and military equipment.

The recommendations include:

• Better cooperation between national and EU authorities, to ensure good information sharing between customs, tax authorities, prosecutors and intelligence.

• Better information sharing between national capitals and Brussels.

• Issuing warnings to individuals and companies in non-EU countries helping Russia evade sanctions that their help for Moscow risks “severe consequences for their access to the internal market”.

• Diplomatic coordination on how to deal with non-EU countries helping Russia evade sanctions.

• Creating a watchlist of companies and sectors of concern to raise awareness.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has urged member states to speed up delivery of ammunition from their stocks to Ukraine “as a matter or urgency”.

Building on comments at the Munich Security conference over the weekend and at Nato headquarters on Tuesday, Borrell said the EU was” looking into the question of joint procurement” of ammunition and “how to ramp up the production capacity of the European defence industry”.

In a letter to EU defence ministers seen by the Guardian, he promised proposals ahead of a meeting in Stockholm on 7-8 March. The European Commission intends to reimburse member states for ammunition sent to Ukraine and carry out joint procurement through the European Peace Facility, an EU military fund. The EPF has released €3.6bn to pay for military equipment for Ukraine over the last twelve months.

Borrell writes “As a matter of urgency, I call on all of you to speed up the delivery of ammunition that you could provide from your stocks… The future of Ukraine is at stake.”

Just a few miles from the Ukraine’s southern frontline, Russian missiles have been pummelling a village near Zaporizhzhia, and turned a newly refurbished medical clinic into a ravaged, abandoned shell. The Guardian’s Luke Harding and Christopher Cherry meet civilians who have refused to flee the bombardment and troops who are determined to fight back.

Two injured in strikes on Kharkiv – regional governor

Oleh Synyehubov, governor of Kharkiv region, has posted to Telegram to report that two people have been injured in Russian strikes on the city of Kharkiv this morning, where there have been reports of at least four explosions being heard. He wrote:

According to preliminary data, ‘arrivals’ were recorded in Kharkiv. Infrastructure objects were in the sights of the occupiers. According to the regional centre of emergency medical assistance, two people were injured. They are in a light condition and are being treated by specialists.

Early reports seem to indicate there have been at least four explosions in Kharkiv this morning so far.

Explosions reported in Kharkiv

Ukraine’s state broadcaster Suspilne reports its correspondents in Kharkiv have heard explosions. Several people have posted to social media to note the same.

Denis Pushilin, who is the leader of the occupied Donetsk region which Russia claims to have annexed, has posted a message to the Telegram app warning citizens that he anticipates increased Ukrainian military activity as the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of approaches. He told residents:

Dear friends, we know from experience that the enemy is always active on anniversaries. There is information that in the next two-three days shelling by Ukrainian armed forces will intensify. Our artillery units are engaged in active battery and counter-battery combat, air defence is in an enhanced mode. Nevertheless, please be careful, do not move around the streets without unnecessary need.